Game Preview: Pistons Head West for Road Trip Meeting with Clippers

The Detroit Pistons(4-2) begin a four-game road trip tonight, as they head to Los Angeles to take on the Los Angeles Clippers(5-1). The game begins at 10:30pm EST.

The Clippers have started ou hot this season, coming into the game with only one loss on the year. That defeat came at the hands of Russell Westbrook and the Oklahoma City Thunder, where Los Angeles fell 85-83. The Clippers have multiple impressive wins already in the early season. They most recently beat the San Antonio Spurs, 116-92. It was the Clippers largest margin of victory over the Spurs in franchise history. Blake Griffin dominated in the win, scoring 28 points and grabbing five rebounds.

The Clippers bring a mean defense to the floor. Through six games, Los Angeles holds the best defensive rating in the league at 90.7. The Pistons, however, are not far behind. They have the fifth best defensive rating, at 95.5. The Clippers have the second-best net rating in the league at 10.7. Only the Atlanta Hawks rank above them in that category.

The Pistons ran the Denver Nuggets of the court in their last game. As soon as the game began the Pistons put their foot on the gas and never looked back, beating the Nuggets 103-86. Andre Drummond nearly had another 20-20 game, finishing with 19 points and 20 rebounds. It was Drummond’s 30th 20 rebound performance of his career. Jon Leuer had 15 points off the bench, as he continues to play very solid basketball for the Pistons. He played 28 minutes in the game. Stanley Johnson finally played the way he was expected to before the season began. He finished the game with 12 points while shooting 5-7 from the field.

Probable Starting Lineups:

Detroit Pistons

PG: Ish Smith

SG: Kentavious Caldwell-Pope

SF: Marcus Morris

PF: Tobias Harris

C: Andre Drummond

Los Angeles Clippers

PG: Chris Paul

SG: JJ Redick

SF: Luc Mbah a Moute

PF: Blake Griffin

C: DeAndre Jordan

Injury Updates: Pistons point guard Reggie Jackson will return to basketball activities today. It is exactly four weeks since he underwent treatment for left knee tendonitis. Jackson will not play tonight.

Reggie Bullock has yet to play this season. He was dealing with back spasms and now has a hip pointer. He is not expected to play tonight.

Featured image: John W. McDonough/Getty Images