detroit pistons 102 vs orlando magic 128

The Pistons battle the Magic in Orlando on Thursday in a matchup between two of the Eastern conference’s worst teams. Detroit killed Orlando, 121-101, in their last matchup on December 22

Despite their poor 24-35 record, relative to expectations, the Magic have been solid this year. Many expected them to be a part of the league’s bottom feeders, consisting of the Pistons, Hornets, Spurs, and Rockets, but with 23 games left to play, Orlando is only four games out of a spot in the NBA Play-In tournament. Last year’s number one overall pick, Paulo Banchero, has been exceptional this year and is the heavy favorite to win rookie of the year at -1000 on FanDuel.  

The Pistons, despite promising seasons from each of their rookies, have been bad the whole year. With the worst record in the Eastern conference at 15-44, the only thing that can save their season is getting the number one pick in the draft. Detroit had two lottery picks last year, selecting Jaden Ivey fifth, and Jalen Duren 13th overall. Both of them have shown promise this year, as Ivey is averaging 15.2 points per game, and Duren leads the team with 8.7 rebounds per game.