The Spurs beat the Pistons during their undefeated February. Can they down the East’s best once again?
SAN ANTONIO — The Spurs‘ annual Rodeo Road Trip is over, and for the first time in a while they’re in position to make noise in the Western Conference playoff race.
Despite the many road games in February, the Spurs didn’t miss a beat. In fact, they won every single game en route to an undefeated month (11-0). This resulted in Victor Wembanyama winning Western Conference Player of the Month and Defensive Player of the Month.
Not only that, but Dylan Harper won Rookie of the Month and Mitch Johnson won Coach of the Month. They became the first Western Conference team to win those three accolades in the same month.
And while March didn’t start off quite as spectacular with the team’s 114-89 loss to the Knicks, the Spurs responded with their biggest win of the season: a 40-point demolition of the shorthanded 76ers on Tuesday night.
One of those wins in February was against the No. 1 team in the Eastern Conference, the Detroit Pistons.
The Spurs are currently the No. 2 seed in the West at 44-17 while the Pistons sit at No. 1 in the East, at 45-15. The only team that has a better record right now is the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder at 48-15.
Like the Spurs, this isn’t the Pistons fans have grown used to seeing in recent years. Just two seasons ago, this team set the NBA record for most games lost in a row at 28.
Now, that same team has the best record in the East and has a legitimate shot at representing the conference in the NBA Finals.
That’s how much a team can change in two years. Just look at the Spurs.
The Pistons lost their 28th straight game on Dec. 28, 2023 against the Boston Celtics. They dropped to 2-29 on the season before snapping the losing streak on Dec. 29 with a win over the Raptors.
Who had the second worst record in the NBA at the time? The San Antonio Spurs at 5-26.
The two teams that were once a combined 8-55 just two seasons ago are now some fans’ picks to make the NBA Finals. The turnaround shows how quickly things can change in the NBA.
Now the teams with the second- and third-best records in the league will face off Thursday in what could be a potential NBA Finals preview, something few fans expected just two years ago.
Like we said earlier, the Spurs beat the Pistons during their historic February run. That game took place in Detroit on Feb. 23 and resulted in a 114-103 win for the Silver & Black.
Wembanyama finished the game with 21 points, 17 rebounds and six blocks on 6-of-16 shooting from the field. The leading scorer for the Spurs, though, was Devin Vassell; scored 28 points on 10-of-14 from the field and 7-of-11 from 3-point range. Julian Champagnie added 18 and Stephon Castle scored 17.
The one Spurs player who did struggle was De’Aaron Fox, who only put up 10 points on 4-of-17 shooting. He did add 7 rebounds and 7 assists and had a +14 plus/minus, so he did impact the game in other ways despite not shooting well.
On the Pistons’ side, first-time All-Star Jalen Duren had his way with Wemby, putting up 25 points in only 29 minutes while grabbing 14 rebounds.
Cade Cunningham, arguably the best player in the East this year, severely underperformed his 25 points per game season average against San Antonio, only scoring 16 points on 5-of-26 shooting from the field and finishing with a minus-18 rating.
Since the loss to the Spurs, Detroit has gone 3-1 with wins over the Thunder, Cavs and Magic, all playoff teams. Their one loss was a revenge game for the Cavs who beat them four days after the Pistons beat them.
If the matchup from a week and a half ago is any indication, we may be seeing another dogfight between two of the best teams. With the playoffs a little more than a month away, both teams are looking for another statement win to add to their respective resumes.
How to watch
The game will be televised on FanDuel Sports Southwest. You can also listen to game action on WOAI 1200 and KXTN 1350.
Team stats leaders
- POINTS: Victor Wembanyama (23.4), De’Aaron Fox (18.6), Stephon Castle (16.5)
- REBOUNDS: Wembanyama (11.1), Luke Kornet (6.5), Julian Champagnie (5.8)
- ASSISTS: Castle (6.8), Fox (6.2), Dylan Harper (3.7)
- BLOCKS: Wembanyama (2.9), Kornet (1.1), Champagnie (0.4)
- POINTS: Cade Cunningham (25.2), Jalen Duren (18.6), Tobias Harris (13.3)
- REBOUNDS: Duren (10.8), Ausar Thompson (6.0), Cunningham (5.8)
- ASSISTS: Cunningham (9.9), Thompson (3.0), Daniss Jenkins (2.9)
- BLOCKS: Isaiah Stewart (1.7), Cunningham (0.9), Thompson (0.9)
Injury report
As of 6 p.m. Wednesday, the Spurs look to be without newly signed Mason Plumlee for non-injury related reasons. They will also be without Harrison Barnes as he deals with an ankle injury.
The Pistons look to be at full strength as they try to get their revenge against San Antonio.
Five more things to know
- The Pistons hit the third-fewest 3-pointers per game with only 10.8. They also have the sixth-worst 3-point percentage at only 34.4%. Despite this, Detroit is tied for the fifth best FG% of any team at 47.9%.
- The Pistons hit the seventh most free throws a game at 20.0, but only hit 75.6% of those free throws, fourth-worst in the league.
- Like many great Pistons teams of the past, defense is where Detroit hangs their hats. They currently allow the fourth least amount of points at 109.5 per game and allow the least amount of assists at 23.5 per game.
- Detroit leads the league in steals a game with 10.6. Ausar Thompson (1.9 SPG), Cade Cunningham (1.5 SPG), Ron Holland (1.3 SPG), Javonte Green (1.3 SPG) and Tobias Harris (1.0 SPG) average more than one a game.
- San Antonio’s 40-point win over the 76ers on Tuesday was their largest win of the season and is tied for 10th largest in team history.