Detroit Pistons Hanging on Edge of Playoff Position
By Zac Snyder
The Detroit Pistons are in line for a return to the NBA Playoffs at the halfway point of the season, but there is not much margin for error.
The conclusion of yesterday’s game against the Chicago Bulls marked the halfway point in the Detroit Pistons’ 2015-2016 season. While they have certainly enjoyed a resurgent season in Stan Van Gundy’s second year in control of the basketball operations, a much-awaited return to the playoffs is far from guaranteed.
Along with the Pistons, the Eastern Conference as a whole has had a bounce-back season so far. The Eastern Conference’s eighth seed has gone to a team with just a 38-44 record in each of the last three seasons. This season, it will take a record of at least .500 to make the postseason in the East.
The Pistons hit the halfway point on the right side of that mark, but don’t have a lot of wiggle room as the second half begins.
At 22-19, the Pistons are tied with the Indiana Pacers for the sixth-best record in the conference but sit just a game and a half ahead of ninth place Orlando. They may be scary close to a hole in the floor, but they also aren’t far from breaking through the ceiling.
The intrigue of the Eastern Conference this year is that there are so many teams so closely packed together. While the eighth place Jazz sit 19.5 games back of the West leading Golden State Warriors, the Cleveland Cavaliers have just a 7.5 game lead on the eighth place Boston Celtics in the East. The Pistons are seven games back of the Cavs, but only 2.5 games back of a top-four seed that would give them home court advantage in the first round of the playoffs.
Here is a look at the current Eastern Conference standings:
| Rank | Team | W | L | Pct | GB |
| 1 | Cleveland Cavaliers | 28 | 11 | 0.718 | – |
| 2 | Toronto Raptors | 26 | 15 | 0.634 | 3 |
| 3 | Chicago Bulls | 24 | 16 | 0.600 | 4.5 |
| 4 | Atlanta Hawks | 25 | 17 | 0.595 | 4.5 |
| 5 | Miami Heat | 23 | 18 | 0.561 | 6 |
| 6 | Indiana Pacers | 22 | 19 | 0.537 | 7 |
| 7 | Detroit Pistons | 22 | 19 | 0.537 | 7 |
| 8 | Boston Celtics | 22 | 20 | 0.524 | 7.5 |
| 9 | Orlando Magic | 20 | 20 | 0.500 | 8.5 |
| 10 | New York Knicks | 21 | 22 | 0.488 | 9 |
| 11 | Washington Wizards | 19 | 21 | 0.475 | 9.5 |
| 12 | Charlotte Hornets | 19 | 22 | 0.463 | 10 |
| 13 | Milwaukee Bucks | 18 | 25 | 0.419 | 12 |
| 14 | Brooklyn Nets | 11 | 31 | 0.262 | 18.5 |
| 15 | Philadelphia 76ers | 5 | 38 | 0.116 | 25 |
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The Pistons get the second half of their season underway when they return to the court for a road game against the Houston Rockets on Wednesday night. That starts a four-game road trip that continues with games against the New Orleans Pelicans, Denver Nuggets and Utah Jazz.