Pistons open Sunday
The No. 1 seed Detroit Pistons, who finished 60–22, will open Game 1 of the first round on Sunday night at Little Caesars Arena — their opponent depends on the play‑in results. (freep.com) (sportsnet.ca)
Detroit will open its first-round National Basketball Association playoff series on Sunday, April 19, at Little Caesars Arena, with tipoff set for 6:30 p.m. Eastern on NBC. (nba.com) The Pistons finished 60-22 and locked up the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference, so they will face the eventual No. 8 seed after the play-in tournament ends on Friday, April 17. (nba.com) That opponent was still unsettled Wednesday because the East play-in bracket had four teams alive for the final spot: the Philadelphia 76ers, Orlando Magic, Charlotte Hornets and Miami Heat. Charlotte already advanced by beating Miami 127-126 in overtime on Tuesday, April 14. (nba.com) The play-in works like a two-step qualifier for the last two playoff spots. The No. 7 and No. 8 teams play for the No. 7 seed, and the loser gets one more game against the winner of the No. 9 versus No. 10 matchup for the No. 8 seed. (nba.com) For Detroit, that means waiting on the result of Magic-76ers on Wednesday night and then the East 8-seed game on Friday night. The Pistons will not know their full matchup until that Friday result is final. (nba.com) The rest of Detroit’s first-round calendar is already set: Game 2 is Wednesday, April 22, at 7 p.m.; Game 3 is Saturday, April 25, at 1 p.m.; and Game 4 is Monday, April 27, with the time still to be announced. Games 5 through 7, if needed, are scheduled for April 29, May 1 and May 3. (freep.com) Detroit earned home-court advantage throughout the East bracket by finishing ahead of the Boston Celtics at 56-26 and the New York Knicks at 53-29. Only the Oklahoma City Thunder, at 64-18, finished with a better regular-season record leaguewide. (espn.com) The 60 wins matched a rare standard in franchise history. Detroit reached that mark for only the third time, joining the 1988-89 and 2005-06 Pistons teams. (freep.com) The series also opens a postseason test the franchise has not cleared in years: Detroit is chasing its first playoff series win since 2008. Sunday night starts that attempt, even if the opponent will not be known until two days earlier. (freep.com)
