Detroit Pistons: 3 keys to making the 2019 NBA Playoffs

1. Get better against the East

Among the six teams vying for the final three playoff spots, the Pistons own the second-worst record against the Eastern Conference. When it comes down to tiebreakers and final seeding, the conference plays a major role, and Detroit doesn’t have that right now. Sixteen of the team’s final 26 games come against teams from their conference, and it needs to win at least half of those if at all possible.

The Pistons will likely be matching up with a team like the Milwaukee Bucks or Toronto Raptors when the playoffs start, and they need to find ways to cause problems for them. The next two months have to be focused on developing chemistry as a team and finding ways to beat the league’s best teams. They aren’t set to be contenders this year, but they can learn how to build toward the future by seeing what works this year.

If they stumble down the stretch against their conference, they’ll likely be sitting on their couch when the regular season ends in April. They have a number of very winnable games still remaining against the East, but they have to seize those opportunities. The best teams win against lower competition, and that’s why the San Antonio Spurs have been so good for the last 20 years. If they Pistons can do that, the playoffs should almost be a guarantee.