DETROIT — It’s got to feel a lot better for the Detroit Pistons knowing they aren’t entering Saturday night’s game against the Indiana Pacers as the team missing the most players.
The last few weeks have seen the Pistons cycle players in and out with injuries, but their most-recent bug seems to be behind them.
[Three starters returned Thursday night](https://www.mlive.com/pistons/2026/01/pistons-welcome-back-starters-with-comeback-win-over-suns.html) and now they’ll get back their final missing piece — not on G League assignment — to face the Pacers with the return of forward Paul Reed from a one-game absence due to personal reasons
Reed was listed as questionable on Friday, but took part in the team’s shootaround and was upgraded to probable in the afternoon before officially becoming active ahead of game time.
Guard Cade Cunningham — who returned on Thursday after missing two games with a wrist contusion — and forward Ausar Thompson (heel) were both listed as probable ahead of the matchup.
They will both be active, with Thompson having left Thursday’s game for an extended period due to a a heel issue. He returned for the closing minutes of the game.
The Pacers are dealing with the exact opposite and are competing in the second night of a back-to-back on Saturday at Little Caesars Arena.
With All-Star guard Tyrese Haliburton still doing rehab on his major achilles injury, the Pacers are also going to be down their top six scorers for the matchup.
Benedict Mathurin (thumb), T.J. McConnell (knee, elbow), Andrew Nembhard (back) and Obi Toppin (foot) are all battling their own injuries, while star forward Pascal Siakam and guard Aaron Nesmith are ruled out due to rest.
That means the team’s top scorers participating will be forward Jarace Walker (nine points per game) and center Jay Huff (8.9 points per game).
The Pistons won’t be taking the Pacers lightly, as they’ve had plenty of their own short-handed games where they still found a way to win with bench players stepping up.
“It just depends on who you are. I think our guys’ approach has been pretty consistent no matter the opponent,” coach J.B. Bickerstaff said before Saturday’s game. “It’s important that we just maintain that. Our understanding is that every single night, we try to worry about us and not who we’re playing against. If you worry about the emotional state of your guys or the mental state, then it can be. But we’re pretty confident in our guys’ approach and how they’ve been consistent all year.”
The Pistons remain the top team in the Eastern Conference with a 29-10 record while the Pacers are in last place at 10-32 the season after reaching the NBA Finals.