The Detroit Pistons have stumbled throughout the season, sitting on the outside looking in for the playoff picture. The Pistons are coming off a home win over the Phoenix Suns.
Meanwhile, the Oklahoma City Thunder have stayed in the thick of the playoff picture in the stacked Western Conference. The Thunder are heading into the contest after their third straight win by topping the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Pistons struggling to find their way offensively
It has been nothing short of a tough season for the Pistons as they have fallen out of the playoff picture in the Eastern Conference. That saw them be a seller at the trade deadline by moving off star big man Andre Drummond by sending him to the Cleveland Cavaliers. That alone showed the level of confidence that the franchise has in finding any sort of consistency on the court. That is a major loss as it puts them without their most reliable frontcourt option heading into the second half of the season. It puts them at a greater disadvantage, especially in the frontcourt without what has been a cornerstone for the franchise.
Instead, the Pistons are continuing to trek in the wrong direction, which is primarily linked to their lack of offensive production on the court this season. They have been one of the more ineffective teams on that end of the floor that has seen them fall completely out of the postseason picture. The Pistons may be coming off a win over the Suns, but it hasn’t been a consistent flow forward as they have scored fewer than 100 points twice in the last five contests. Their lone source of consistent scoring has been the play of veteran point guard Derrick Rose, who is leading the team with 18.5 points per contest. However, there is no clarity to Rose’s status for Friday’s game, which could put them further in a hole against the Thunder.
Thunder continuing upward trend
Meanwhile, the Thunder have moved securely into the playoff picture in the stacked Western Conference, behind the stable play of their core group that has made them one of the surprising teams in the league. It was expected that this season would be a rebuild, but it hasn’t been that as they have shown much poise on the court behind their strong collective play. Despite their being questions about his play heading into this season, Chris Paul is once again playing at an elite level earning yet another All-Star game selection as he’s been the driving force to what has the Thunder in the thick of the Western Conference playoff picture at this point.
Paul is putting forth a productive campaign as he’s averaging 17.0 points and 6.6 assists while shooting 47.7 percent from the floor. He has scored in double figures in four out of the last five games, including three contests with double-digit assists that have resulted in a pair of double-doubles. If Rose is unable to play against the Thunder, expect Paul to be an even greater factor on the floor. Meanwhile, second-year guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has been their leading scorer with 19.5 points on 46.0 percent shooting from the floor. He returned to the floor against the Cavaliers, where he dropped a double-double with 23 points and 10 rebounds. Saturday’s game should see Oklahoma City’s backcourt lead the charge on their home floor.
