Pistons at Spurs
The San Antonio Spurs play at home for the first time since Feb. 1 when they entertain the Detroit Pistons on Wednesday. San Antonio went 6-3 on the annual rodeo road trip and now will get cozy with the home venue with eight of the next 10 contests being at the AT&T Center. Detroit has lost five of its last six games but did record a 109-100 victory over the Spurs on Feb. 10 before the current woes.
The Pistons dropped a 104-96 decision to the Golden State Warriors on Monday and are 2-5 since interim coach John Loyer replaced the fired Maurice Cheeks. Detroit is in ninth place in the Eastern Conference playoff race but sits 11 games below .500, which means a strong turnaround is necessary to make a run at the eighth and final spot. San Antonio is second in the Western Conference and has been off since being routed 106-85 Friday by the Phoenix Suns in the finale of the long road trip.
TV: 8:30 p.m. ET, FSN (Detroit), FSN Southwest (San Antonio)
ABOUT THE PISTONS (23-34): Forward Josh Smith has six double-doubles over the last 10 games and is averaging 20.1 points and 8.5 rebounds during the stretch. Detroit is hoping it is a sign he will finish the season strong after experiencing bouts of inconsistency early in the campaign. Smith scored a season-best 32 points on 14-of-20 shooting in a loss to Dallas last Saturday and came back with 18 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists two nights later against the Warriors.
ABOUT THE SPURS (38-15): San Antonio appeared tired while being no match for the athletic Suns in its last outing. The Spurs shot a season-worst 34.9 percent – including 2-of-21 from 3-point range – and committed 18 turnovers while again being without point guard Tony Parker. San Antonio will be without Parker for the fifth straight game – he has a variety of injuries – and will hope reserve Patty Mills can rebound from a horrendous 2-of-14 shooting performance. Mills averaged 21 points over the previous seven games.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. San Antonio has won the past four home meetings in the series.
2. Spurs F Kawhi Leonard (finger) is expected to return after a 14-game absence.
3. Detroit C Andre Drummond is 9-of-31 from the free-throw line over the last nine games.