Pistons Game 1 set

The Detroit Pistons will open their first-round playoff series at 6:30 p.m. Eastern on Sunday, April 19, at Little Caesars Arena. (nba.com) The National Basketball Association’s playoff schedule lists Detroit as the Eastern Conference No. 1 seed, with Game 1 airing on NBC and Peacock. The opponent is still listed as to be determined. (nba.com) The Detroit Pistons’ own schedule page shows the same Game 1 slot: Sunday, April 19, at 6:30 p.m. Eastern in Detroit. The listing also marks it as a home playoff game at Little Caesars Arena. (nba.com) Detroit locked in home-court advantage through the Eastern Conference playoffs on April 4, when it beat the Philadelphia 76ers 116-93. That win clinched the top seed in the East, the franchise’s first No. 1 seed since 2006-07. (abcnews.com) The same April 4 result also secured the Central Division title, Detroit’s first since 2007-08. The Associated Press reported the Pistons were 56-21 after that win and had won 12 of their previous 15 games. (abcnews.com) Detroit still does not know its first-round opponent because the East No. 8 seed will come through the Play-In Tournament. The league schedule shows the East play-in games on April 14, April 15 and April 17. (nba.com) The East play-in field is Charlotte against Miami in the 9-versus-10 game and Philadelphia against Orlando in the 7-versus-8 game. The winner of the 7-versus-8 game takes the No. 7 seed, and the loser gets one more game against the 9-versus-10 winner for the No. 8 seed. (nba.com) That leaves Detroit with a fixed date, time and television window before it has a named opponent. By Friday night, the bracket will be complete; by Sunday evening, the Pistons will be back in a Game 1 at home as the East’s top seed. (nba.com)