Philadelphia 76ers vs Detroit Pistons Prediction & Match Preview - November 4th, 2021 | NBA Season 2021-22
![Joel Embiid and the Philadlephia 76ers will face the Detroit Pistons on the momentum of a four-game winning streak. [Photo: Sports Illustrated]](https://staticg.sportskeeda.com/editor/2021/11/cfc66-16360024174849-1920.jpg?w=500)
The Philadelphia 76ers will carry their four-game winning streak to face the struggling Detroit Pistons at the Little Caesars Arena on Thursday. Detroit will be facing the tough task of exacting revenge on the 76ers after the latter just beat the spectacular Chicago Bulls.
Doc Rivers’ team is on a roll right now. With or without the team’s superstars, they have been able to perform at a high level to string a couple of wins. The Philadelphia 76ers, despite playing on the second night of a back-to-back, will have all the confidence and momentum in this game.
EMBIID GAME-CLINCHING BLOCK 🤚
The foul was overturned after review. https://t.co/hLgc1Yzu1n
The Detroit Pistons were seemingly buoyed by the debut of their No. 1 overall pick, Cade Cunningham. They beat the young Orlando Magic team in Cunningham’s debut. Since then, they have been given a reality check by a hammering courtesy of heavyweights Brooklyn Nets and Milwaukee Bucks.
They will take on yet again another East powerhouse, the Philadelphia 76ers, who just took down the impressive Chicago Bulls. The Detroit Pistons will have to bring in the energy, effort and fight to avoid another blowout defeat.
Match Details
Fixture: Philadelphia 76ers vs Detroit Pistons | 2021-22 NBA season
Date & Venue: Thursday, November 4th; 7:00 PM ET (Friday, November 5th; 4:30 AM IST)
Venue: Little Caesars Arena, Detroit, MI
Philadelphia 76ers Preview
The Philadelphia 76ers are playing their best basketball of the season. Doc Rivers’ team was missing the services of Embiid, Tobias Harris and Ben Simmons against the Portland Trail Blazers for different reasons. All they did was beat the Blazers, who had a full complement of players behind the efforts of Seth Curry, Andre Drummond and Georges Niang.
Joel Embiid returned to play against the Chicago Bulls, who previously had the best record in the NBA. The Philadelphia 76ers were short-handed as Harris is still under the league’s health and safety protocols. They played their best game of the season without their second-leading scorer and kept the Bulls at bay for a thrilling win.
Based on their current performance, the Philadelphia 76ers could rest Joel Embiid’s aching knees and they would still be a tough out for the Detroit Pistons.
Key Player - Joel Embiid
Joel Embiid’s production is way below compared to last year’s MVP-type numbers. He is averaging a pedestrian 21 PPG and 8.7 RPG for the Philadelphia 76ers. This is the first time since the 2016-17 season that he has not averaged more than 10 rebounds per contest. Additionally, his field goal percentages are at a career-low.
The Philadelphia 76ers are still embroiled in the Ben Simmons saga with no apparent end in sight. They have had to work with Tyrese Maxey, a young and still developing point guard, to run the offense. Tobias Harris can’t be of much help until he clears the health and safety mandates. Embiid himself hasn’t fully recovered from a knee injury he suffered last season.
Joel Embiid on his defense: “Obviously the shots are not falling to start the year. I've been focusing a lot on the defensive end. I feel with the offense not being nowhere close to where it should be, the defensive end is where I should put a lot of time.” https://t.co/2W4Cli69s2
Despite the adversity, he has put the Philadelphia 76ers on his back. On an ailing knee and fatigued from playing impressive basketball on both ends of the floor, Embiid stuffed DeMar DeRozan for the winning block. Plays like that capture just how much the All-Star center means to the Philadelphia 76ers.
Philadelphia 76ers Predicted Lineup
G - Tyrese Maxey | G - Seth Curry | F - Matisse Thybulle | F - Furkan Korkmaz | C - Joel Embiid
Detroit Pistons Preview
There seems to be no end to the Detroit Pistons offensive malaise - not with Cade Cunningham shooting bricks. The No. 1 rookie was never meant to be the savior of the team right off the bat. But his seeming inability to shoot has only caused more problems for Dwane Casey’s team.
The Detroit Pistons have the worst offense in the league by a wide margin. It’s been so bad that the team can’t fault the NBA and the fans for thinking that this is an impressive tank job. They are at the bottom of the league in Offensive Rating, field goal percentage and three-point shooting percentage. The Pistons don’t rebound the ball well and are sloppy with turnovers.
The Detroit #Pistons are:
30th in Points Per Game
30th in Field Goal Percentage
30th in 3-Point Field Goal Percentage
30th in True Shooting Percentage https://t.co/LeQ0lKGueJ
The Detroit Pistons understand that this is a process, but this is a process that just looks awful. Against the Philadephia 76ers who rank at the top of the league in Offensive Rating, the Pistons will have to double down on every statistical category to be more competitive.
Key Player - Jerami Grant
From the 2019-2020 season to the 2020-21 campaign, Jerami Grant’s scoring jumped from 12 PPG to 22.3. It was an eye-opening leap that led the league at the time. His scoring has drastically dropped to 16.8 PPG this season.
Grant’s 39.3% field goal percentage is his lowest since his rookie year. He is shooting 31.3% from deep, which is another career-low. These numbers could even go down if the Detroit Pistons can’t find anyone who will help carry the scoring load.
No team in the NBA will be reluctant to suffocate Grant with double-teams, knowing that the Detroit Pistons do not have any other consistent offensive threat.
Detroit Pistons Predicted Lineup
G - Killian Hayes | G - Cade Cunningham | F - Saddiq Bey | F - Jerami Grant | C - Isaiah Stewart
76ers vs Pistons Match Prediction
As lopsided as this match looks on paper in favor of the Philadelphia 76ers, the game still has to be played. But there is just no denying the gap in performance based on numbers between the two teams. Additionally, the 76ers have proven that they can play well with adversity while the Detroit Pistons seem to be clueless.
If the Philadelphia 76ers hold out Joel Embiid to rest his knees, the game could be competitive. With Joel Embiid, Philly could run away with this on the Detroit Pistons’ home floor.
Where to watch the 76ers vs Pistons game?
NBCS Philadelphia and the Bally Sports Detroit airs the matchup between the Philadelphia 76ers and the Detroit Pistons live. The NBA League Pass covers the same game live. Radio commentary is available via WWJ and WPEN.