Pistons vs. Rockets GameThread: Victor Oladipo leads undermanned Rockets into Detroit

For the first time this season, I literally had to do a double take. Your Detroit Pistons are ... favored ... to win ... a professional NBA basketball game in the year 2021. I almost didn’t believe it. But then again, the Rockets were struggling, purged themselves of the player they built their entire identity around and are ravaged by injuries.

Houston will be playing without former Detroit Pistons big man Christian Wood. That means no Christian Wood revenge game, but it also means we don’t get to see all the cool things Wood did that got us so excited last season when he was with Detroit. A bummer. Also out for the Rockets will be John Wall, which means it becomes a new kind of one-man-show behind Victor Oladipo. I still can’t get myself to believe the Pistons will actually come away with the victory, though.

Game Vitals

When: 7 p.m. EST
Where: Little Caesars Arena, Detroit, Michigan
Watch: Fox Sports Detroit
Odds: Pistons -3.5

Projected Lineups

Detroit Pistons (3-11)

Delon Wright, Wayne Ellington, Jerami Grant, Blake Griffin, Mason Plumlee

Houston Rockets (4-9)

Victor Oladipo, Eric Gordon, Jae’Sean Tate, PJ Tucker, DeMarcus Cousins

Pregame Reading

• Rockets vs. Pistons Preview — The Dream Shake
• Rockets acquire Kevin Porter Jr. in deal with Cavaliers — The Dream Shake
• How Christian wood went from 15th man with Pistons to a face of the Rockets — The Athletic