On Wednesday night, the Oklahoma City Thunder will take on the Detroit Pistons at Paycom Center. While the Thunder have made easy work of pretty much every team in the NBA this season, the Pistons are one of the friskier teams in the league and were expected to at least put up a good fight.
However, after seemingly the entire Detroit Pistons and Minnesota Timberwolves rosters got into a brawl on Sunday, several Detroit players won't get a chance to take on the Thunder.
Isaiah Stewart, Marcus Sasser, and Ron Holland have all been suspended, with Stewart being barred from Detroit's next two games.
On top of that, Detroit has missed Cade Cunningham for the last four games, and there is reason to believe he won't suit up with a calf injury. Jaden Ivey will miss the game, and Tobias Harris has also sat out the last two contests.
What was originally expected to be a high-level game between two of the more thrilling young teams in the league will likely turn into another OKC Thunder beatdown, which is exactly what fans who only care about a title prefer to see.
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Neither Stewart, Holland, or Sasser are regular starters for the Pistons, but all three are key depth pieces who would have allowed Detroit to somewhat neutralize the Thunder's deep lineup. All three bring a degree of physicality (clearly!) and would have played top-notch defense. Instead, the starters will get little rest in a middle-of-the-week contest.
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This story was originally published April 1, 2025 at 4:13 PM.