The Detroit Pistons demonstrated during the first half of the season that they can play with anyone in the NBA on any given night, winning on the road against Golden State, Boston, Oklahoma City and Minnesota.
They can also fall flat against lousy teams, losing to the likes of Dallas and Orlando.
They got off to a great start at 10-3 but have limped along since, going 12-16. Still, at 22-19, they’re four games ahead of last season’s pace and they’re among a group of seven teams competing for the final five playoff spots in the Eastern Conference behind Boston, Toronto and Cleveland.