With eight games left in the regular season, the Detroit Pistons are in an excellent spot to clinch home-court advantage throughout the Eastern Conference playoffs.
The Pistons boast a four-game lead over the No. 2 seed Boston Celtics, giving them enough of a cushion to start focusing on the postseason rather than the final two weeks of the regular season. In fact, Detroit's injury report ahead of Monday's game against the Oklahoma City Thunder suggests that head coach J.B. Bickerstaff is already focused on his team's path to the NBA Finals.
The Pistons have their final back-to-back set of the season to kick off this week. After coming back home from Oklahoma City, the Pistons host the Raptors on Tuesday. Bickerstaff and the coaching staff have seemingly made their decision on which game to prioritize.
Pistons Are Seemingly Punting Monday's Clash vs. Thunder
In addition to Cade Cunningham, who continues to be sidelined with a collapsed lung, the Pistons have listed multiple key contributors on the injury list.
According to Detroit Free Press' Omari Sankofa II, Isaiah Stewart will miss his ninth straight game with a calf strain. Jalen Duren and Tobias Harris are listed as doubtful with right knee injury management and left hip injury management, respectively. Duncan Robinson and Ausar Thompson, on the other hand, are listed with a questionable tag with similar injury-management designations.
The fact that four important Pistons have popped up on the injury report for "injury management" reasons suggests that they are being overly cautious close to the postseason. They have every reason to rest their key players ahead of the playoffs rather than letting them play through injuries, no matter how minor they may be.
That's especially true when going up against the most physical team in the league, the Thunder. In other words, the Pistons clearly don't want to risk further injury.
Plus, this is a potential NBA Finals preview.
The Pistons could benefit from not showing their hands against the Western Conference leaders. The Thunder are still battling the San Antonio Spurs for the No. 1 seed, so they have less of an incentive to rest their players against Detroit. Not relaying any information about how they would defend Shai Gilgeous-Alexander or how the Pistons would attack the league-best Thunder defense could pay dividends in June.
There is no downside to the Pistons punting Monday's game against the Thunder. They already proved that they can defeat the reigning champions in their first matchup of the season. Now, they can keep their players fresh for their two home games this week, against the Toronto Raptors and Minnesota Timberwolves.
Expect more rest games for key Pistons between now and the regular-season finale against the Pacers on April 12.