Pistons vs. Bulls preview: New rotations being tested in the Motor City, Windy City

For the second time this season, the Detroit Pistons will have an opportunity to win three games in the row. To achieve that goal they need to beat their division rivals, Chicago Bulls, at home tonight. The task could look tough when you see it through the prism of the whole season, but it looks much easier when seen from the perspective of the last 10 games of each team, as Motor City sits at 3-7 while the Windy City is 4-6, and in their last two games it’s 2-0 and 0-2, respectively.

Game Vitals

When: 7 p.m. EST
Where: Little Caesars Arena, Detroit, Michigan
Watch: Fox Sports Detroit
Odds: Pistons +3

Analysis

Both teams are experimenting lately with their lineups. Injuries, trades and the rapid development of young players have forced and allowed Detroit to try numerous backcourt pairings. The latest combination of Delon Wright and Frank Jackson delivered only 6 points for Wright (though he had 8 assists and no turnovers), while Jackson scored a season-high 23 points. This means that the Pistons might now have 5 young intriguing guards (Jackson, Hamidou Diallo, Killian Hayes, Saben Lee and Dennis Smith Jr.) on top of a group of three savvy veterans, Wayne Ellington, Rodney McGruder and Wright. Divvying up 96 minutes on both guard positions won’t be enough to deal with this abundance when Hami and Killian are back … heck, it’s already not enough even without those two. Hmmm, are there some trades around the corner? On the other hand, it’s by taking various options from this abundance that contributes significantly to Motown wins. Hmmm, are some trades desired?

The Bulls, in turn, are trying something that is becoming a trend around the NBA. They inserted Thaddeus Young to the starting five to play a passing big role. The 14-year veteran become a starter four games ago, and in this span he averages 6 assists per game. It started promising for his team and Bulls won first two games of this experiment. However, it wasn’t so helpful in the next two matches in which they faced teams familiar with that strategy.

Detroit knows the playmaking big scheme very well as it’s applying it successfully throughout the season – Mason Plumlee is one of the best passing bigs in the League. So the franchise also should be ready to deal with this new version of Chicago team. And will Bulls, in turn, be able to deal with surging Pistons guards, while even Pistons fans don’t know which one of them might strikes again? Which streak will come to an end this evening? Well, soon we’ll find out…