The Pistons and Heat play a regular season basketball game, but it is also group play for the newly-named Emirates NBA Cup. Not only are we no longer calling it the “In-Season Tournament,” but we have also gotten a sponsor for it.
The Pistons seem to be in a weaker group than they were last season, so they actually have an opportunity to maybe win a game or two. It all starts with this very winnable game against a Miami Heat team missing Jimmy Butler.
The Pistons have won three of their last five games and the two losses during that stretch were by a combined three points, so the Pistons are playing the best basketball they can be playing right now.