Two years ago, the Detroit Pistons won 14 games and were the worst team in the NBA. Friday night, they became the first Eastern Conference team to lock up a playoff spot.
Behind 23 points from Jalen Duren and 22 from backup point guard Daniss Jenkins — starting in place of the injured Cade Cunningham — the Pistons beat the Warriors 115-101 and with that became the first team in the Eastern Conference to secure a playoff berth.
Detroit now has a four-game lead over the Boston Celtics for the No. 1 seed in the East with a dozen games left to play. Without Cunningham for at least two weeks — and maybe through the end of the regular season (and beyond) — due to a collapsed lung, there are questions about whether the Pistons can hold on to that seed.
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However, the Pistons are now 7-2 in games Cunningham has missed this season with a +2.2 net rating when he is off the floor. It’s going to be tough for the Celtics to make up that ground.
Either way, we know the Pistons are going to the playoffs.