Bucks vs. Pistons Preview: Detroit (AKA MKE East) comes to Town Against Scorching Hot Bucks

There’s plenty of Milwaukee Bucks history dotting the Detroit Pistons roster, so prepare for most of your old favorites.

Bucks Update

Milwaukee is on a tear of late, winning 10 of their last 11 dating back to the loss against the Boston Celtics. They’re fresh off a tougher than it should’ve been win against Portland, who shot the lights out from deep at over 40% against the Bucks. Home cooking is the name of Milwaukee’s game for some time now, after starting out with a heavy road schedule, four of their next five are in the friendly Fiserv Forum. Thankfully, there’s nothing new on the injury front either. Just settle in and enjoy Giannis Antetokounmpo likely detonating on Thon Maker like he must’ve done a million times in practice.

Player to Watch: Donte DiVincenzo

The Bucks second year player out of Villanova continues to impress since being inserted into the starting lineup, jumping passing lanes, nailing jumpers and generally understanding the geometry of the court while on the fast break. Most importantly, he knows when to get Giannis the ball. Detroit’s running a couple of just middling guards for their backcourt, so whether Donte and the fellow backup guard rotation can outplay them could be a meaningful barometer for whether this team wins or not.

Pistons Update

Blake Griffin was out to start Detroit’s season, but even since his return, they haven’t been able to get on track. At just 5-10, it’s assuredly not the start Dwane Casey had in mind for his second season at the helm there. They beat the lowly Atlanta Hawks on Friday evening, where Andre Drummond feasted on their bereft frontline to the tune of 23 points and 15 rebounds. That 128-103 victory came after dropping five straight, so maybe it’ll give them an injection of confidence. A SEGABABA is never a good sign for a middling team though.

Unfortunately, we won’t get to see our old friend Tony Snell, who is out alongside Reggie Jackson and Khryi Thomas.

Player to Watch: Thon Maker & Christian Wood

Give us all the former high-upside, free the shackles from these athletic big men, former Bucks I can handle. I for one cannot wait to see some online frustration when Christian Wood places Robin Lopez in a trash can and Thon Maker drills a triple in his face. CAN’T WAIT!