The Detroit Pistons will define their season over the course of the next month, for better or worse.
The Pistons (14-24) began a 20-game stretch with a 115-113 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers, in which Sekou Doumbouya delivered an arrival announcement by dunking on Tristan Thompson. But the following 19 games leading up to the trade deadline and All-Star Weekend are important.
Detroit gained a game closer to the eighth playoff spot, currently sitting three games behind the Brooklyn Nets. The Nets, without Kyrie Irving, are on a seven-game losing streak.