Right back to work! The Philadelphia 76ers will close their 15th of 16 back-to-backs this season hosting the Detroit Pistons on Saturday night.
The Sixers are coming off a great win on Friday night, taking down the Minnesota Timberwolves 115-103. It was a crucial win, not only because it was one of the harder opponents left of the schedule but because every other relevant team in the Eastern Conference surrounding the Sixers won their games as well. They hold steady in the No. 6 seed, the final non-Play-In playoff spot, coming into Saturday.
This is one of the other tough ones that’s left on the regular season schedule for the Sixers, though. Coming in on the second leg of back-to-back, Philadelphia is facing an East-leading Detroit squad that is looking to keep the good times rolling, even if they’re without a few major players themselves. The Pistons are 3-0 against the Sixers so far this season.
With a victory over the 76ers tonight, the Pistons would officially clinch the No. 1 seed in the East, pulling out of reach of the Boston Celtics (currently four games back) in second.
The massive wrinkle that has been thrown in to the Pistons squad recently has been the loss of star guard Cade Cunningham to injury. The two-time NBA All-Star has missed the last nine contests for the Pistons, but the rest of the squad has been stepping up in his absence. More on that later.
Isaiah Stewart also remains out — he has been sidelined longer than initially expected with a calf injury and has not played since mid-March. Marcus Sasser is probable as of Saturday morning with a hip strain and former Sixer Tobias Harris is questionable after exiting the Pistons’ last contest early with a knee contusion.
Again, this is the second leg of a back-to-back for Philadelphia, so no official injury reports until this afternoon. That being said, even in this late season push, I wouldn’t be surprised to see Joel Embiid out for this one based on the fact that he has not played both legs of any back-to-back this season. Paul George has not played on zero days rest either this campaign, but it feels like his odds of playing are a bit higher than Embiid’s at this stage with him seemingly healthy and enjoying the restful effects of being suspended for 25 games mid-season. He’s been playing extremely well since his return, so it would certainly help to have him in the lineup for this one.
Either way, though, we will let you know for sure when we know!
Even without Cunningham (and Stewart), the Pistons have been firing, going 7-2 in the last nine games without their team’s leader. Jalen Duren has used the opportunity to continue his career-best, All-Star nod-worthy season. The 22-year-old big has been fantastic and efficient throughout the year, averaging 19.5 points on 64.5% field goal shooting with 10.7 rebounds (3.8 offensive) per game across 66 contests. He’s played in eight of these last nine games without Cunningham, averaging 23.1 points on 67.5% field goal shooting with 11.0 rebounds in that stint. He’s showing no signs of slowing down either, most recently posting a 22-point, 14-rebound double-double in the Pistons last game on Thursday (a win over the Timberwolves).
Not having the big fella would obviously make it all the more easy for the 6-foot-10 Duren to continue to dominate as well. Adem Bona and Andre Drummond would have their work cut out for them for sure when it comes to rim protection.
Another name that has come alive in the absence of Cade — one you might not recognize as well as Jalen Duren’s — is Daniss Jenkins. The 24-year-old guard is in his sophomore NBA season and has been starting in Cunningham’s place these last nine games, putting up impressive numbers even when being asked to do the impossible job of filling the star’s shoes. Jenkins is averaging 19.3 points and 7.0 assists per night in these recent starts, including a career-high 30-point night against the Los Angeles Lakers on March 23 and a 19-point, 10-assist double-double against the Atlanta Hawks two nights later.
Alas, even without Cunningham, the Pistons are looking to keep the success that has kept them leading the East going, especially being able to clinch the top seed tonight.
The Sixers, however, need to keep their winning ways going too as they continue to fight their own Eastern Conference battle. Philadelphia are currently No. 6 in the conference, with just the division record tiebreaker putting them atop the Toronto Raptors at No. 7. The No. 8 Charlotte Hornets and No. 9 Orlando Magic trail just behind as well, with the Miami Heat three games behind Philadelphia in the No. 10 spot.
Of those teams, only the Sixers and the Heat play tonight, with the Heat facing a much more favorable opponent in the tanking Washington Wizards.
The Pistons are still a powerhouse to be dealt with even without Cunningham it seems, but with the Sixers healthy (even factoring in Embiid being possibly sidelined for rest), this is probably the best opportunity Philadelphia could ask for to sneak their first win of the season over Detroit.
And there couldn’t be a more important time for them to make it happen.
Five games to go. The Sixers and Pistons tip off in South Philadelphia at 7 p.m. ET.
When: Saturday, April 4, 7:00 PM ET
Where: Xfinity Mobile Arena, Philadelphia, PA
Watch: NBC Sports Philadelphia
Radio: 97.5 The Fanatic
Follow: @LibertyBallers
