The white-hot San Antonio Spurs are back on the road to square off against the reeling Detroit Pistons in an inter-conference battle.
The San Antonio Spurs are playing like the best team in the NBA since December rolled around and they’re showing no signs of slowing down. While the Spurs have been busy dominating their opponents, the Pistons have struggled to tread water in a flimsy Eastern Conference.
Blake Griffin and Andre Drummond will undoubtedly be a handful to contain, but outside of their star-studded frontcourt duo Detroit gives the Silver and Black very little to worry about. The Pistons’ bench is paper thin and the rest of their starters are wildly inconsistent.
No victory is a given in the NBA, but the Spurs matchup favorably and it’s hard to imagine them dropping a game to such a mediocre team. Detroit can hardly lay claim to home-court advantage, so the Spurs road woes shouldn’t be an issue tonight.
DeMar DeRozan has played incredibly well-rounded basketball since day one in San Antonio and fellow All-Star LaMarcus Aldridge has finally come around. The chemistry between the two Spurs continues to grow with each passing game and the dynamic duo has their squad surging.
DeRozan and Aldridge run the show in San Antonio, but second-year combo guard Derrick White has stolen the spotlight. Though White started the season a bit shaky, the former Colorado Buff has hit his stride on both ends of the floor.
Derrick White has been a different player since his six-steal performance in Denverand his numbers are beginning to reflect his improved play. A switch seemed to flip in his head when he returned to his home state of Colorado and it looks like the Spurs have found yet another late first-round gem.
Don’t forget about the one-two punch of Rudy Gay and Bryn Forbes to round out the starting five. The sharpshooters have taken a bit of a back seat in the offense of late, but they can light up the scoreboard in an instant.
San Antonio likely won’t need them to go off in order to win, but Gay and Forbes will definitely need to pick their shots carefully in The Motor City. While the Detroit Pistons are just a middle of the road defensive team, their penchant for preventing three-pointers is unmatched.
Detroit may hold their opponents to aleague-low three-point percentage, but the San Antonio Spurs are the league leaders in that offensive category. The Spurs’ roster is full of three-point marksmen and I anticipate even a low-volume long-range assault will be too much for the Pistons to handle.
The Spurs’ key advantage lies in their depth and I doubt Detroit has the manpower to match all of San Antonio’s capable bodies. The starters should take care of business early and the second unit should have no trouble closing this one out.
Viewing details for the game are below:
Date: Monday, Jan. 7 Time: 6:00 p.m. CST Location: Detroit, MI Venue: Little Caesars Arena TV Info: FSSW-SA, FSD Live Stream: FuboTV
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