DETROIT – The Detroit Pistons aren’t just a fun story anymore -- they’ve cemented themselves as one of the true contenders in the Eastern Conference.
At 30-10, the Pistons have led the East nearly wire-to-wire for the first half of the season.
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On Monday night, the Pistons will play their 41st game, making this the official midway point of the regular season. And this might end up being the most consequential game when all 82 are in the books.
HOW TO WATCH: Pistons host Celtics at 8 p.m. Monday, Jan. 19, on NBC (Local 4)
The Pistons are welcoming in a Boston Celtics team that’s won 16 of its last 22 games, good enough to vault them into second place in the Eastern Conference.
If the Celtics can win at Little Caesars Arena on Monday, they’ll pull within 3.5 games of the Pistons heading into the back half of the schedule. The Pistons have 13 games left against fellow NBA Finals favorites like Oklahoma City, Denver, San Antonio, Houston, Cleveland, the Lakers, and the Knicks.
So it wouldn’t hurt to build a little bit of a cushion.
A win for the Pistons on Monday would give them a 5.5-game lead over the rest of the East, which feels a whole lot safer than 3.5 games.
But it’s not just about the lead. This is the fourth and final meeting of the regular season between the Pistons and Celtics, which means the Pistons have a chance to lock up the tiebreaker.
Since the Pistons won two of the first three meetings, they could take three out of four and guarantee themselves the head-to-head tiebreaker over the Celtics with a win on Monday night.
So that would effectively make it a 6.5-game lead, since the Celtics would have to pass the Pistons -- not just tie -- to get the better seed.
There’s obviously still a long way to go, since half of the season remains. And there are a handful of other teams -- like the Knicks, Raptors, and Cavs -- who could enter the mix.
But it looks like the Pistons and Celtics will be two of the teams battling it out for the top seed all winter, and Monday is a chance for the Pistons to lock up a key advantage.
Tipoff is scheduled for 8 p.m. Monday, and you can watch the game on Local 4 News (NBC).