On December 30th, New York made a trade with Toronto. That same day, the Pistons faced the short-handed Raptors and won.
On January 14th, Detroit made a trade with Washington. The next day, the Pistons faced the short-handed Wizards and won.
On January 16th, Tim Connelly astutely did not make a trade leading up the game.
The Minnesota Timberwolves entered this game with a bone to pick. They notoriously struggled against the league’s bottom-feeders last season, including two double-digit losses to the league-worst Detroit Pistons. Would Minnesota once again follow that trend?