There’s nothing better than seeing two mid-strength teams compete against each other the day after Christmas. A gift for everyone. These teams are desperate to prove that they can play on the big stage. The Detroit Pistons got rolling before the Christmas list. They are on a two-game winning streak against strong opponents and are looking to beat another California team in the 13-17 Sacramento Kings.

Game Vitalities

When: 10:00 p.m. ET
Where: Golden 1 Center, Sacramento, California
Regard: FanDuel Sports Network Detroit
Opportunities: Piston +6

analysis

Hoping to avoid missing a fourth game in a row, it’s doubtful Iasiah Stewart will play tonight. Ron Holland is next to him on the injury report with an illness and he is also questionable. Jalen Duren, who bounced back in minutes after Stew was sidelined, is likely to play as he deals with an ankle sprain.

Against a team like the Kings, who have an All-Star center in Domontas Sabonis, missing out on the two bigs would be huge. The versatile big man posted 21 points, 13.5 points and six assists on 60/41/79 splits. He is battling an illness and is expected to leave this evening. The Kings will lose some of their one-two punch if Sabonis is out. Paul Reed, who noticeably frustrated Anthony Davis, will be a thorn in Sabonis’ side if Sabonis plays and one of Stew or Duren doesn’t.

The other member of this duo will certainly emphasize defense tonight. De’Aaron Fox has been an enigma since his emergence in 2017 and remains one of the fastest players in the league. At 6-3, Fox routinely blows past defenders to get to the rim, where he shoots a wing-like 71%. Jaden Ivey, Asaur Thompson and Holland (if he plays) need extra support on their kicks tonight. Holland and Thompson purposely screwed up the Lakers’ game and helped bring this game home.

Cade Cunningham bought it on that side of the ball against LeBron and Co. It’s infectious when your franchise mainstay struggles to make shots and make second attempts. Cade’s shot didn’t go down against a suspect Lakers defense, so expect the Kings’ 15th-ranked defense to even out since there are no good stoppers (Keegan Murray is solid and Keon Ellis doesn’t play as often, as he should).

DeMar DeRozan doesn’t help the Kings’ defensive infrastructure, but man, is he still a slammer? With his 20 points per game, the Kings have an upside on and off the court, according to PBP stats. Derozan’s methodical midfield approach hasn’t slowed the Kings’ pace – last year they were 6th, now 8th. This could definitely be a high quality thriller.

The Pistons’ offense was slightly better than their hot-start defense. The offense wasn’t something to celebrate, but they did put together two impressive offensive performances against the Los Angeles Lakers and Phoenix Suns. Ivey was solid in these two games after missing the previous two games. His consistency will forever be a talking point and he can put together another great performance against a Kings team that struggles to contain unprepared players.

Planned lineups

Detroit Pistons (13-17)

Cade Cunningham, Jaden Ivey, Tim Hardaway Jr., Tobias Harris, Jalen Duren

Sacramento Kings (13-17)

De’Aaron Fox, Malik Monk, DeMar Derozan, Keegan Murray, Domantas Sabonis

Question of the day:

How should the Pistons use their cap space as the trade deadline approaches?