Coming off a huge 31-point win over the New York Knicks with a depleted starting lineup on the tail end of a back-to-back sequence, the Detroit Pistons are full of momentum after knocking down the East’s No. 2 squad. Cade Cunningham posted 29 points and 13 assists in an efficient night at the office, and he outdueled Jalen Brunson from a playmaking standpoint on a 13-to-0 assist level. 

With such an important victory in the rear view mirror, the Pistons have another tough test coming up in the Central Division’s third place Chicago Bulls. Detroit will be without Jalen Duren and Tobias Harris once again, while Caris LeVert’s status could go either way for tonight’s matchup. 

The Knicks are three games below .500 on the road this season, and they’ve had a turbulent recent stretch of games, posting a 2-3 record over their last five matchups. Most recently, the Bulls are coming off back-to-back losses to the Hornets and the Celtics, so Chicago has taken a considerable fall from their early-season dominance. 

Last time out, the Bulls had no answer for the Celtics’ defensive pressure in the first half. Boston limited the Bulls to just 33 points in the first half, and Chicago was never able to recover from that quick deficit. Bulls standout rookie Matas Buzelis was able to muster 26 points on a tidy 9-for-12 shooting performance from the field, but he stood as Chicago’s lone 20-point scorer on a night when the Celtics’ defense was the deciding factor. 

The Pistons are knowingly entering tonight’s Central Division showdown with a tighter rotation than normal with Jalen Duren and Tobias Harris already ruled out of the game. However, the Pistons turned in two straight big performances without JD and Harris on consecutive nights against the Cavs and Knicks, so Detroit already knows the blueprint to a victory without those key pieces. Cunningham, Caris LeVert and Duncan Robinson also carry minor injury designations going into tonight's game, though Cade's status is still shifting. 

As for the Bulls, a handful of injuries to their squad will hamper the Chicago rotation as well. Guard Josh Giddey and forwards Zach Collins and Jalen Smith are slated to miss tonight’s game due to various injuries as well, so the Bulls will have a few obstacles to overcome of their own. 

The Pistons’ defense stood out on a night when Karl-Anthony Towns only managed six points on four shots and Jalen Brunson was held without a single assist all night long. Bickerstaff spoke about Detroit’s defensive tenacity after their huge 31-point win: 

“That’s what it was about for us tonight,” Bickerstaff said after defeating the Knicks. “When we defend that way, it makes our offense easy. When we get to play in transition, play on a broken floor, play with tempo, we will get what we’re looking for offensively. But I couldn’t be more proud of the guys, and it’s everybody. Everybody that played had the right mentality, had the right mindset, understood that this was going to be one of our identity games. And if we played to our identity, we were going to give ourselves a chance to win it, and I thought we did that tonight.”

READ MORE: Best In The East: Cade Cunningham Leads Pistons To Blowout 121-90 Win Over New York Knicks

With Giddey out of the lineup, Buzelis has been the Bulls’ most explosive shot creator all season long. The talented Chicago rookie is averaging just under 15 points per game, but he’s shouldered more of the offensive responsibility recently with Giddey out of the rotation. The Pistons are more than equipped to handle Buzelis’ dribble-drive propensity, though, so it will be interesting to see who the Bulls turn to if Detroit decides to shut Buzelis down later tonight. 

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