The Detroit Pistons have averaged 18.8 wins per season across the last half-decade. That interminable nothingness is finally over, with Cade Cunningham and his crew emerging as legitimate NBA upstarts this winter. The searing-hot Pistons take a trip to Inglewood, drawing an LA Clippers team that just blew a big lead on national TV.
How to watch Detroit Pistons at LA Clippers
- Venue: Intuit Dome — Inglewood, Calif.
- Time: 10:30 p.m. ET, Wednesday
- TV: FanDuel Sports Network — SoCal and Detroit
- Streaming (in-market viewers): Fubo (try for free)
- Streaming (out-of-market viewers): NBA League Pass
- Watching in-person? Get tickets on StubHub.
Here are two ships passing in the night. Well, one ship and one automobile? The Clips were quietly sailing through much of this campaign but are badly slumping post-All-Star break. They squandered a 23-point lead in Phoenix on Tuesday night. Meanwhile, the Pistons spent five years doing donuts with the emergency brake on, but they’re finally on the freeway at 10-2 in their last dozen games.
This whole play is perfection
Assist of the Week × @BELFORGroup pic.twitter.com/WZ6HWX8VZv
— Detroit Pistons (@DetroitPistons) March 3, 2025
Detroit had the NBA’s fifth-best plus-minus mark in February. Malik Beasley averaged 4.9 made treys for the month. Ausar Thompson hovered around three steals, and Jalen Duren had a full four offensive rebounds per game. Wednesday’s battle in Inglewood will be the second part of a four-leg road run out West.
Los Angeles opens a critical homestand here. It hosts the Knicks on Friday and the Kings on Sunday. Last weekend’s consecutive losses to the Lakers were by a combined 10 points. The Clippers were February’s second-worst team in clutch minutes at a minus-3 plus-minus and handily led the league in clutch-time turnovers.
Both teams are grinders with competent defenses. “Lawler’s Law” should be in effect. League Pass viewers will see mascot Chuck the Condor get a few fits off. Prolific storyteller and former Coach of the Year Mike “The Czar” Fratello has ’80s vibes on color commentary.
How the Pistons can win: It’s hard not to win when you force the opponent’s ball-dominant top dog into a terrible game. That’s what happened in the previous episode of Clippers-Pistons on Feb. 24, as James Harden shot 5-for-22 with more turnovers (seven) than assists (five). The Pistons mostly guarded Harden with a combination of Beasley, Tobias Harris and Tim Hardaway Jr., unafraid to switch and not needing Thompson’s clamps. They forced some bad passes and dominated the fast break as a result.
How the Clippers can win: Detroit is generous with its giveaways, 23rd in turnovers per game and 24th in fouls allowed. Pacific Time road swings can be particularly tough for young lineups like J.B. Bickerstaff’s. LA will gladly oblige to a messy rock fight.
From Law Murray’s latest power rankings:
Detroit (11) — “Break up the Pistons! Detroit capped its dominant win streak by destroying the defending champions at Little Caesars Arena and then went right back to spanking foes following a night off defensively against the Nuggets. J.B. Bickerstaff earned East Coach of the Month honors, and, though the Pistons have already lost the regular-season series against the Pacers, they can still set themselves up to potentially steal home court from the Bucks in April.”
LA (15) — “The Clippers’ putrid performance has them squarely in the Play-In realm after hanging onto a top-six seed for most of February. LA hasn’t been below seventh in the West since Christmas, but it is staring at that possibility considering how poorly it has played without shooting guard Norman Powell, who exchanged knee soreness for a bad hamstring almost immediately upon his return to the lineup over the weekend. Kawhi Leonard seems ready to ascend towards hero ball with his minute restriction mostly gone, but James Harden’s strong performances are becoming increasingly infrequent.”
Starting five of players to wear both jerseys (minimum 50 games with each franchise):
- Reggie Jackson
- Luke Kennard
- Tobias Harris
- Blake Griffin
- James Edwards
This would be an even better fusion team if we removed the games minimum to add Chauncey Billups, Grant Hill, Corey Maggette and Mark Aguirre.
Pistons at Clippers odds
(Photo by Gregory Shamus / Getty Images)
