This is a game-day preview, but it honestly could be a playoff preview. There’s still a chance the Detroit Pistons could match up with a division foe in the Indiana Pacers. Still, Basketball Reference’s playoff probability model believes a battle with the New York Knicks is almost inevitable (unless the Knicks don’t want the Pistons’ smoke).
A late-season game with a likely playoff opponent screams don’t show your hand. The Knicks are going that route with their injury report, but the Pistons can’t afford to move like that. Tobias Harris is probable to return, and his absence has been felt.