Pistons Schedule is Released and Joe Harris Retires | The Weekly Drive
I had a hard time finding a picture of Joe Harris in a Pistons uniform, as he did spend very long in one. Or on the court at all.
Hey there Pistons fans, and welcome back to the Weekly Drive. We had some NBA news in the past week in the form of a schedule release. Detroit faces a gauntlet out of the gate, but some soft spots should give a good opportunity to string together some wins. Let’s talk about it.
Scheduled Release
The NBA unveiled the 2024-2025 schedule, including those for every individual team. Detroit will open the 2024-25 season at home against the Indiana Pacers on October 23rd, the first of six straight games against some elite teams. From Opening Night through November 1st, the Pistons will play Indiana, Cleveland, Boston, Miami, Philadelphia, and New York - in that order. That’s quite a string of games to start.
Things soften up quite a bit in November with games against Brooklyn, Charlotte (twice), Toronto (twice), and Washington. December’s schedule is broken up with the NBA Cup in the middle of the month, but regardless, the Pistons have a tough road. In fact, in December, Detroit plays all but one of their games against a playoff team from last season. January is perhaps the most even month.
February is another easier month, with games against Chicago (three of them) and Atlanta (twice), along with a home game against Charlotte. March features matchups at home against Brooklyn again and a rare home-and-home against Washington. April is again tough, with all but one game coming against a probable playoff team (Toronto).
Overall, there are some soft areas that the Pistons may be able to take advantage of. They have 15 back-to-backs, two West Coast swings (December and March), and one nationally televised game against Philadelphia. Will the schedule allow Detroit to go from a 14-win disaster to a playoff team? No, of course not. The schedule doesn’t dictate things like that, but it gives an idea of how things will ebb and flow throughout the season. With the head coaching change and adding more quality veterans, Detroit should be able to win the more “winnable” games and remain competitive against tougher competition.
Other News and Notes
The Pistons reportedly hired Matthew Verden as Director of Grassroots Scouting and Intelligence, according to HoopsHype. Verden was previously with the Overtime Elite as the Senior Manager of Player Personnel and Strategy.
Former Pistons guard Joe Harris, whom the organization used most of its cap space on the last offseason, announced his retirement from the NBA.
The Toronto Raptors reportedly signed Jared Rhoden to an Exhibit-10 deal. Rhoden, who spent most of last season with the Motor City Cruise, will likely be with Toronto’s G League 905 team.
What do you think about Detroit’s schedule? As my co-host Aaron Johnson and I noted in the latest edition of the Palace of Pistons podcast, we feel over 24.5 wins is a possibility - but just barely. Let us know in the comments or on social media. See you next week.
Mike