- 1 Philadelphia 76ers vs Detroit Pistons: a back-to-back, no Embiid, and a team that went 4-0 against them last season
- 2 Philadelphia 76ers: 2-0 on Maxey’s shooting, but the schedule turns against them on Sunday
- 3 Detroit Pistons: 33 threes in two games, and two starters to monitor
- 4 Free NBA Prediction: Philadelphia 76ers vs Detroit Pistons
- 5 About our free predictions
- 6 No commitment from us
- 7 Information changes
- 8 Your responsibility
- 9 Responsible gambling
- 10 Legal age
- 11 About visuals
Philadelphia 76ers vs Detroit Pistons: a back-to-back, no Embiid, and a team that went 4-0 against them last season 
Detroit trailed Boston by double digits in the second half on opening night, then scored 23 straight points in the fourth quarter and won 121-113. Three nights later the Pistons went to Miami, opened on a 17-2 run and never trailed in a 128-111 win.
That’s a 2-0 start for the first time since 2018-19, and it sets up Sunday 25 October at 7:30pm ET in Philadelphia, against a Sixers team that was also unbeaten going into the weekend.
The Sixers arrived at Saturday’s home game against Milwaukee at 2-0 as well, after a 106-100 win at Madison Square Garden and a 114-106 comeback against Cleveland. This game is the second half of that back-to-back, and Joel Embiid isn’t expected to play in it.
The history points one way. Detroit beat Philadelphia in all four meetings last season and covered in three of them. I’d also flag that the Pistons have made at least 15 threes in both games so far, after topping out at 18 in a single game all of last season.
What could swing it is Detroit’s own injury list. Jalen Duren and Ausar Thompson both left Friday’s win in Miami and there was no update from the coaching staff after the game. If both sit, the size advantage that makes this matchup so awkward for Philadelphia shrinks.
Philadelphia 76ers: 2-0 on Maxey’s shooting, but the schedule turns against them on Sunday 
Tyrese Maxey has carried the scoring. He had 28 in the opener at the Garden and 32 against Cleveland on Thursday, when Philadelphia wiped out a 29-point deficit after committing 14 turnovers in the first half.
The new pieces have fitted in quickly. LeBron James posted 14 points, nine rebounds and six assists on opening night, and Jaylen Brown, in his first game since the trade from Boston, added 19, eight and six. Brown’s three at the third-quarter buzzer capped an 11-0 run that put the Sixers ahead 83-76.
Embiid has been solid rather than spectacular: 13 points, 11 rebounds and six assists against New York, then 34 minutes against the Cavaliers, averaging nine boards across the two games. He’s off the injury report but is expected to rest on the second night of the back-to-back, and that changes the frontcourt picture completely.
James is another doubt. He went on the injury report for the first time this season ahead of the Bucks game, listed questionable with low back and sciatica management. Dean Wade is questionable with an ankle sprain he picked up in the final preseason game, while Dominick Barlow, Tacko Fall and Ariel Hukporti are out.
The underlying numbers through two games are modest. Philadelphia’s offensive rating sits at 103.4, its defensive rating at 96.8, and the pace has been high at 106.4 possessions a game. The defence has done more of the winning than the attack so far.
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Detroit Pistons: 33 threes in two games, and two starters to monitor 
The comeback against Boston came with Cade Cunningham and Duren scoring 22 apiece. Duren went 8 of 13 from the field with nine rebounds, Duncan Robinson hit five of nine from deep for 21, and Javonte Green chipped in 19. Paul George’s 38 for the Celtics wasn’t enough.
Miami was more straightforward. Detroit shot 53% from the field and went 18 of 38 from three, while holding the Heat to 38.2%. John Collins scored 23 and hit five of his six threes, Robinson made five of nine again for 17, and Cunningham added 16 points, eight assists and three blocks, though he also gave the ball away seven times.
Depth decided that one. Paul Reed came off the bench for 19 points and 11 rebounds, nine of those points in the third quarter after he replaced Duren in the lineup. Detroit led 65-53 at halftime and 78-57 after three.
The injuries are the concern. Duren grabbed behind his right knee with 6:45 left in the first half, moments after blocking Giannis Antetokounmpo at the rim, and the team called it a right thigh injury. He’d held Antetokounmpo to 2 of 8 before leaving. Thompson rolled his right ankle with 6:37 left in the third quarter after stepping on Andrew Wiggins’ heel.
Both signed big deals this summer, Duren for five years and $200 million and Thompson for five years and $155 million, a measure of how central they are to the plan. Detroit also plays at the Knicks on Tuesday, so the staff won’t take risks on Sunday if either is borderline.
Probable lineup Philadelphia 76ers: Not announced at time of publication (Joel Embiid expected to rest, LeBron James questionable)
Probable lineup Detroit Pistons: Not announced at time of publication (Jalen Duren and Ausar Thompson uncertain)
Free NBA Prediction: Philadelphia 76ers vs Detroit Pistons
Our prediction: Detroit Pistons to win
I’m backing Detroit. Philadelphia plays its second game in two nights without Embiid and possibly without James, against a team that beat it four times out of four last season and has shot the lights out from three in both games this autumn.
The honest risk is Detroit’s frontcourt. Without Duren the Pistons lose their best rim protector, and Maxey has scored 60 points in two games. Even so, Reed and Collins already showed in Miami that the second unit can absorb an absence, and Detroit’s 33 threes in two games don’t depend on the center.
The moneyline price hadn’t been posted at the time of writing, which is common for the second night of a back-to-back while rest decisions are pending. I’d take Detroit at anything above 1.80, and I’d still lean that way if both Duren and Thompson are ruled out.
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