Detroit Pistons Weekly: Closer To Keeping The Pick
By Adam McGee
The Pistons entered the penultimate week of the season in an uncomfortable position. After a disastrous year the players likely wanted to finish the season strong and salvage some professional pride, but on the other hand, that could be damaging to long term competitiveness of the franchise. The Bobcats hold the rights to the Pistons pick in the upcoming draft, unless that pick falls within the top eight. With the Pistons currently holding the eighth worst record in the NBA, there’s a 72.4 percent chance of Detroit retaining their pick. This is the sort of situation that raises questions about the future of the lottery, but for players committed to Detroit for the next few years, there’s no doubt they’d want the team to keep the pick.
The week opened up with a visit to the ATL, to square off against the Atlanta Hawks, although an injury would prevent Josh Smith from squaring off against his former club. Next on the schedule, Detroit headed to Cleveland to face the Cavaliers who were scrapping to keep their playoff hopes alive. Then on Friday they moved on to face a team that had already clinched their playoff spot, as the Bulls hosted Detroit in the United Center. Before finally, on Saturday night, it was back home again with the Toronto Raptors, the visitors.
The Pistons went on to finish the week 1-3.