Isaiah Stewart’s Suspension Comes at Terrible Time for First-Place Pistons

The NBA officially announced suspensions for four players following Monday’s ugly brawl between the Pistons and Hornets. Detroit’s Isaiah Stewart headlines the group, earning a seven-game suspension that will last through the All-Star break and into March. His teammate, All-Star center Jalen Duren, will miss two games, while the two Charlotte players most heavily involved, Moussa Diabaté and Miles Bridges, will miss four games each.

Stewart has been a high-impact player for Detroit, averaging 10.1 points, 5.1 rebounds and a career-high 1.7 blocks per game—a mark that puts him tied for sixth in the NBA this season despite him largely being a bench player. Stewart’s block percentage of 7.3% is third in the league behind only Jay Huff and Victor Wembanyama.

Only the Thunder and Celtics have allowed fewer points per game than the Pistons’ 109.6, and Stewart is a huge part of that stifling defense. At 39–13, Detroit has a healthy 5.5-game lead over Boston for first-place in the Eastern Conference. Even with the lengthy suspension for Stewart (and the two games for Duren), the Pistons likely won’t see their lead evaporate too much.

Even so, the playoffs aside, there are few worse stretches for Detroit to lose a key piece like this. The next seven games feature a gauntlet run against six likely playoff teams—four in the Eastern Conference with Detroit and the two best teams in the Western Conference. We should find out a lot about the Pistons’ status as true title contenders over this next stretch of games through the beginning of March, but Stewart will be out for all of them.

Pistons schedule during Isaiah Stewart’s suspension

Stewart and Duren will begin their suspensions on Wednesday night at the Raptors, the No. 5 team in the East entering the night. After the All-Star break, they take on the third-place Knicks in New York. Duren will return in time for a trip to Chicago to play the Bulls the only team outside the playoff picture during the stretch.

Here is the full slate of games that Stewart will miss:

DATE	OPPONENT	PLACE IN STANDINGS
2/11	Raptors	5th in East
2/19	Knicks	3rd in East
2/21	Bulls	11th in East
2/23	Spurs	2nd in West
2/25	Thunder	1st in West
2/27	Cavaliers	4th in East
3/1	Magic	7th in East

How the Pistons have performed against the NBA’s best teams this season

So far, the Pistons have impressed against the top teams in the NBA, owning a 12–3 record in the 15 games they’ve played against the top six teams in both conferences.

OPPONENT	RECORD	GAMES REMAINING
Celtics	3–1	0
Knicks	2–1	1
Cavaliers	1–1	2
Raptors	0–0	3
76ers	2–0	2
Thunder	0–0	2
Spurs	0–0	2
Rockets	1–1	0
Nuggets	2–0	0
Lakers	1–0	1
Timberwolves	0–0	2

If the Pistons hold serve over the next few weeks and continue to perform like a potential Finals team, it will be a great sign for the team’s prospects come playoff time. However, they’d much rather be at full power for this upcoming stretch, especially considering the firepower of looming opponents like Oklahoma City.

More NBA on Sports Illustrated

Listen to SI’s NBA podcast, Open Floor, below or on Apple and Spotify. Watch the show on SI’s YouTube channel.