Why Detroit Pistons Must Tighten Up After San Antonio Spurs Loss

The Pistons lost to the Spurs last night, and have the 12th strongest schedule remaining in the NBA. Here’s why Detroit needs to tighten up their game in the coming weeks.

Feb 23, 2026; Detroit, Michigan, USA; Detroit Pistons forward Tobias Harris (12) dribbles defended by San Antonio Spurs guard Dylan Harper (2) in the first half at Little Caesars Arena. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images | Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images

The Detroit Pistons kicked off arguably their most difficult series of games of the season last night with a home loss to the San Antonio Spurs.

Detroit is now set to host the top-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder, followed by two games with the Cleveland Cavaliers (who are fresh off a seven-game winning streak) with an away game against the desperate, fringe playoff Magic in between Cavs games.

The Pistons finally finish this harsh stretch of games in San Antonio against the Spurs one final time.

Spurs beat Pistons on Monday

The Pistons kicked off this brutal sequence of games with a loss against the Spurs, the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference.

This loss is cause for concern for Pistons fans; if superstar point guard Cade Cunningham lets this abysmal game carry over into the matchup against the top-seeded Thunder, then the Pistons are in for a rude awakening.

Even though the Pistons have been playing phenomenally this season, the rest of the contenders in the eastern conference have kept pace.

Other Eastern contenders are gaining ground

The Boston Celtics are only five games back followed by the New York Knicks and the Cleveland Cavaliers who are both within a game of the next team.

The Cavaliers and the Knicks both have fairly easy schedules to end the season, while Boston has the seventh strongest remaining schedule. To stay ahead of the competition, the Pistons will have to pick up multiple wins over this difficult span of games.

If the Pistons can split with the Spurs and the Cavaliers, and beat either the Thunder or the Magic, they would have a good chance at staying two or more games ahead of the Celtics.

Worst case scenario

The Pistons have done a good job avoiding losing stretches this season, however they have yet to face a stretch of games quite like this one.

Should Detroit drop multiple games, it would be essential to at the minimum split with the Cleveland Cavaliers. Dropping two games rapidly to a team as close as Cleveland is in the standings would be an essential four-game swing in the conference standings.

Making a statement

Keep in mind, Cleveland finishes the season with the fourth-easiest schedule, while New York has the eighth easiest.

The Pistons have the 12th most difficult schedule remaining after their loss to the Spurs; many of these games against western conference contenders.

If the Pistons can shake off this loss and heat back up throughout such a difficult run of games, they can put the league on notice one final time that the eastern conference runs through Detroit.