{"id":697045,"date":"2026-04-04T02:44:41","date_gmt":"2026-04-04T02:44:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/697045\/"},"modified":"2026-04-04T02:44:41","modified_gmt":"2026-04-04T02:44:41","slug":"pistons-poised-to-clinch-no-1-seed-in-east","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/697045\/","title":{"rendered":"Pistons Poised to Clinch No. 1 Seed in East"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"submission-link-wrapper\"><a href=\"https:\/\/forms.nationaltoday.com\/news?location=Minneapolis%2C+MN&amp;city=Minneapolis&amp;type=Update+Existing+Story&amp;headline=Pistons+Poised+to+Clinch+No.+1+Seed+in+East&amp;page=https%3A%2F%2Fnationaltoday.com%2Fus%2Fmn%2Fminneapolis%2Fnews%2F2026%2F04%2F03%2Fpistons-poised-to-clinch-no-1-seed-in-east%2F\" class=\"submission-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Got story updates? Submit your updates here. \u203a<\/a><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/69d01e5ce27d3.jpg\" alt=\"A fractured, geometric painting in bold colors depicting the energy and movement of a basketball game or competition, with no recognizable figures or logos.\" width=\"1344\" height=\"768\" class=\"news-image\"\/>The Pistons&#8217; quest for the No. 1 seed in the East is captured in a dynamic, cubist-inspired illustration.Minneapolis Today<\/p>\n<p>The Detroit Pistons are on the verge of clinching the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference for the first time since 2007, needing just a win over the Philadelphia 76ers on Saturday or a Boston Celtics loss to the Milwaukee Bucks on Friday to lock up the top spot.<\/p>\n<p>      Why it matters<\/p>\n<p>Securing the No. 1 seed would give the Pistons home-court advantage throughout the Eastern Conference playoffs as they look to make a deep postseason run, especially with star Cade Cunningham sidelined due to a collapsed lung.<\/p>\n<p>            The details<\/p>\n<p>The Pistons currently hold a 4.5-game lead over the Celtics for the No. 1 seed with five games left. They can clinch the top spot on Friday if the Bucks can upset the Celtics, or they can lock it up themselves with a win over the 76ers on Saturday. Detroit has thrived without Cunningham, going 8-2 in his absence.<\/p>\n<p>      The Pistons play the 76ers on Saturday, April 5 at 7:00 p.m. ET.The Bucks face the Celtics on Friday, April 4 at 8:00 p.m. ET.<\/p>\n<p>        The players<\/p>\n<p>        Detroit Pistons<\/p>\n<p>An NBA franchise based in Detroit, Michigan that is on the verge of clinching the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference for the first time in nearly 20 years.<\/p>\n<p>Cade Cunningham<\/p>\n<p>The Pistons&#8217; star player who has been sidelined with a collapsed lung, but the team has continued to thrive in his absence.<\/p>\n<p>Daniss Jenkins<\/p>\n<p>The Pistons&#8217; guard who has stepped up in Cunningham&#8217;s absence, scoring in double figures in 9 of his last 10 games.<\/p>\n<p>Boston Celtics<\/p>\n<p>The Pistons&#8217; closest competitor for the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference, currently 4.5 games behind Detroit.<\/p>\n<p>Milwaukee Bucks<\/p>\n<p>The team that could help the Pistons clinch the No. 1 seed if they can defeat the Celtics on Friday night.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/forms.nationaltoday.com\/news?location=Minneapolis%2C+MN&amp;city=Minneapolis&amp;type=Upload+Story+Photos&amp;headline=Pistons+Poised+to+Clinch+No.+1+Seed+in+East&amp;page=https%3A%2F%2Fnationaltoday.com%2Fus%2Fmn%2Fminneapolis%2Fnews%2F2026%2F04%2F03%2Fpistons-poised-to-clinch-no-1-seed-in-east%2F\" class=\"submission-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Got photos? Submit your photos here. \u203a<\/a><br \/>\n            What\u2019s next<\/p>\n<p>If the Pistons clinch the No. 1 seed, they will have home-court advantage throughout the Eastern Conference playoffs as they look to make a deep postseason run.<\/p>\n<p>        The takeaway<\/p>\n<p>The Pistons&#8217; ability to thrive without their star player Cade Cunningham has put them in prime position to secure the No. 1 seed in the East, a remarkable accomplishment that could pay dividends in the playoffs.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Got story updates? Submit your updates here. \u203a The Pistons&#8217; quest for the No. 1 seed in the&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":697046,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3773],"tags":[7,296,188,3860,6,297],"class_list":{"0":"post-697045","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-detroit-pistons","8":"tag-basketball","9":"tag-detroit","10":"tag-detroit-pistons","11":"tag-detroitpistons","12":"tag-nba","13":"tag-pistons"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/116344145868721713","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/697045","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=697045"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/697045\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/697046"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=697045"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=697045"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=697045"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}