Since the Detroit Pistons had the luxury of resting up while the play-in round determined their playoff opponent, Tobias Harris and his teammates still found a way to remain sharp in the meantime. 

Over the past several days, the Pistons have had their longest stretch without a game since the All-Star Break, so the Detroit coaching staff took advantage of that time with some key adjustments to the squad entering the postseason. 

“We are ready to play,” Harris said on Saturday. “Obviously, it’s good to know who we’re playing against coming in today, just going over our game plan and everything, so just locked in and focused. We know what we have to do to execute, so we’re just ready for the challenge.”

The Orlando Magic will serve as a familiar foe for the Pistons after the two sides met four times during the regular season. Detroit walked away with a 2-2 record after those contests, but All-Star Cade Cunningham was unavailable for their final meeting just two weeks ago, which unfolded as a 16-point win for Orlando. 

But later tonight, Harris is expected to see a heavy dose of Paolo Banchero in the paint considering the Magic appear determined to provide the Duke product with remarkably high usage rates each night. Banchero, who serves as the No. 1 option in Orlando, averaged north of 20 points per game this season, but he still possesses clear limitations in terms of creating separation, perimeter shooting and he struggles to create under pressure. So, if Harris can disrupt Banchero’s rhythm early on, the Magic could struggle right out of the gate against an opportunistic Pistons defense. 

“Just stick to our focus, stick to what’s been successful for us all year– locking up on the defensive end, being assertive, aggressive, not changing the way that we play,” Harris said of his approach. “On the offensive end, taking what the game gives us offensively, getting opportunities out in transition. That’s been our motto all year: let our defense fuel our offense and just let the game flow from there.”

By now, the Pistons have zero illusions about what type of team they are. Detroit has thrived off of its hard-nosed, combative pressure on defense that helps spark transition buckets, so Harris had confidence that his team could handle themselves against whichever opponent they faced in the first round, which just so happened to be the Magic. 

“We knew it was down to four teams, so it’s kind of like let’s see what happens,” Harris said. “We played against all the guys during the regular season already. We were up in here playing against ourselves probably harder than most people would assume, so that’s just how we are as a group, so today we’re locked in. We’re locked in on the gameplan for what we have to accomplish, and guys are just ready to go, ready to play and ready to hoop and get excited to be in front of our fans.”

The Pistons stay ready so that they don’t have to get ready, essentially. But during the course of the regular season, Detroit ran into a peculiar four-game road block during the beginning of March. At that time, the Pistons had their longest losing streak of the season at a four-game slide, and Harris referenced an influential offensive shift that the Pistons underwent, one that he says benefited the team moving forward. 

“We made some adjustments and I think the team’s collective effort of figuring out the gravity of how well the basketball moves,” Harris began. “We watched some San Antonio Spurs basketball with Tim Duncan, Tony and Manu. I remember saying they have like four Hall of Famers and they were able to [share the ball], so we definitely can do it. It was a collective effort. We all kind of knew that that’s when we’re at our best on the offensive end.”

To be specific, Harris alluded to a period where the Pistons’ offense ran into a bit of a funk. Detroit was running up against some quality defenses in the Cleveland Cavaliers and San Antonio Spurs, but the Pistons offense began to operate as a trigger-happy group to their own detriment. 

“The coaching staff showed the numbers of when we’re two-plus passes per possession versus when we’re one or zero, so that was pretty eye-opening for the whole group,” Harris said. “We made some adjustments right after that, for sure.”

After the Pistons internalized those critiques and understood the value of ball movement, Detroit began to regain their rhythm with a 15-4 record to close the regular season. 

“I think our confidence is at an all-time high,” Harris said. “Truth be told, having a full team that’s healthy and guys in a good setting mentally and physically all around I think is important. I think our mission is what we expected it to be. We want to go out there and be at our best. Guys are hungry, ready and we’ve been able to use these last few days of getting in the gym, getting ourselves better, staying sharp. So, I think for our whole group, we’re really primed for the moment, and we’re excited to go out there and we’re made of.”

Harris and his teammates will take the floor at Little Caesars Arena tonight at 6:30 pm against the Orlando Magic in the opening installment of their first round playoff matchup. 

For more information on the latest Detroit Pistons team or player news, follow @EricJRutter on X for continued basketball coverage. Also be sure to look up Roundtable - Michigan Men Media on Facebook for continued social media coverage of all the sporting teams in the Mitten.