Three seasons in the past, the San Antonio Spurs and Detroit Pistons confronted off on January sixth. On the time, the winner of the sport was really thought-about the loser. Each groups have been on a downward slide and enjoying to extend their lottery odds for the last word prize, the possibility to draft Victor Wembanyama. Now, after two unimaginable turnarounds by these historic NBA franchises, they meet for the primary time this season, trying to safe prime seeding of their respective conferences.
Detroit holds the perfect document within the NBA, and San Antonio has the third. Each groups have a top-five protection and a top-ten offense. They’re led by two of the perfect younger gamers within the NBA, in Wembanyama and Cade Cunningham. In some ways, that is shaping as much as be probably the greatest East vs. West rivalries for the foreseeable future. Monday would be the first of many battles between these two within the years to return.
San Antonio and Detroit are comparable groups on the court docket, too. Each have dominant paint huge males in Wembanyama and Jalen Duren, athletic wings like Stephon Fortress and Ausar Thompson, and good lead guards like De’Aaron Fox and Cade Cunningham. They lock down the paint and use their athleticism on the perimeter to take probabilities and create turnovers.
San Antonio is on an eight-game successful streak and is nipping on the Oklahoma Metropolis Thunder’s heels for the highest seed within the West. Beating Detroit on the highway can be one other assertion victory for the up-and-coming Spurs.
February twenty third, 2026 | 6 PM CT
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Spurs Accidents: Harrison Ingram – Out (G League), Stanley Umude – Out (G League), David Jones-Garcia – Out (G League), Mason Plumlee – Out (conditioning), Lindy Waters III – Questionable (knee)
Pistons Accidents: Isaiah Stewart – Out (suspension), Isaac Jones – Out (G League), Bobi Klintman – Out (G League), Chaz Lanier – Out (G League), Wendell Moore Jr. – Out (G League)
Floor-level evaluation right here: the Pistons and Spurs will go so far as Cunningham and Wembanyama take them. That can be true once more on Monday evening. Cunningham is Detroit’s offensive engine. He’s probably the greatest scorers and passers within the NBA. He has nice ground imaginative and prescient and, at 6-foot-6, the scale to make performs within the paint. His one weak point is that he isn’t an elite three-point shooter, hitting simply 33.8% from deep this season. Count on Fortress to get the Cunningham project and hound him on drives and within the pick-and-roll.On the opposite finish, Wembanyama will probably should take care of Duren, a sturdy huge physique within the center. Wembanyama has discovered a number of success in opposition to opposing huge males this season, and has typically struggled in opposition to smaller, extra agile defenders. For that cause, we might see Thompson guarding San Antonio’s huge man to maintain him from establishing a rhythm.
The Pistons are one of the crucial bodily groups within the NBA, dwelling as much as the franchise’s identification. The Spurs have handled their justifiable share of massive, powerful groups. Wins in opposition to the Houston Rockets show what San Antonio can do after they make the opposite staff really feel their presence. This sport might very effectively come right down to which staff can assert its bodily will. San Antonio has a shot, even in opposition to a tricky staff like Detroit, however they’ll have to remain locked in for 48 minutes to make it occur.
Managing the possession battle
Detroit is nice at securing additional possessions. They’re first within the NBA in steals (10.6 per sport), opponent turnovers (17.4 per sport), and fourth in offensive rebounds (13.1 per sport). The Spurs have gotten a lot better at securing the boards (third within the NBA in rebounding) and caring for the ball (fifth within the league in turnovers per sport), however like we noticed on Saturday evening in opposition to the Sacramento Kings, they will have stretches of psychological lapses. So can the Pistons, who’re twenty third within the NBA in turnovers (15.2 a sport). The Spurs might want to handle the ball, win the battle on the glass, and make the most of Detroit’s errors to present themselves an edge.
