Why Charles Barkley Believes Detroit Pistons Will Force Game 7 Against Orlando Magic

During Inside the NBA after the Pistons victory, the crew discussed the series dynamic ahead game 6 in Orlando.

Apr 29, 2026; Detroit, Michigan, USA; Detroit Pistons guard Cade Cunningham (2) dribbles defended by Orlando Magic guard Anthony Black (0) in the second half uring game five of the first round of the 2026 NBA Playoffs at Little Caesars Arena. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images | Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images

After a historic game five where Cade Cunningham continues to etch his name into the Detroit Pistons record books, the Inside the NBA crew had many thoughts for this series going into game six.

After reading through the finals scores and listening to some quotes from the players, Kenny Smith prompted Charles Barkley with an interesting line of questioning given Chuck’s personal playoff experience.

Kenny notes that Charles himself has before been a No. 1 seed that fell into an early hole against a No. 8 seeded opponent. He then prompts Barkley what was his mentality then, and what should the Pistons mentality be now?

That’s when Charles tells the crew, 

“It’s game 7 for Orlando, cause they not gonna go back [to Detroit] and win”

Charles Barkley

He goes on to explain that this does not mean that the Pistons should be openly confident. Despite the shift in momentum, Barkley notes the Pistons should remain cautious as Orlando will be playing desperately in game six.

The philosophy is that both teams expect to win their remaining home games. However as Orlando is the lower seed, their final home game adds extra pressure since they just lost in Detroit and must return there for a game seven.

So when Barkley notes that game six is essentially game seven for Orlando, he speaks from a place of experience since he understands the importance of momentum and home court advantage. Both of which the Pistons are in possession of.

As Charles explains how the pressure mounts against the lower seed to win game 6, his mentality going into his own elimination game was this:

“All you got to do is get back home”

Charles Barkley

These comments should bring renewed hope to Pistons fans as even Hall of Famers believe they still have a good chance to win this series.

Pistons still have hope

For a situation that isn’t entirely common, there are so many examples where the No. 1 seed falls into an early deficit against a No. 8 seed and completes the comeback to win the series.

Barkley did it back when round one series were only five games and his No. 1 seeded Suns went down 2-0 to the Los Angeles Lakers. His words of encouragement come from personal experience and his belief that this Pistons team earned that top seed.

Even the Pistons have history completing a 3-1 comeback against a No. 8 seed back when the “goin’ to work” Pistons beat Tracy McGrady’s Magic in the first round of the 2003 playoffs.

Now Cade Cunningham has a chance to lead his team to even more history and records than they have already achieved this season, and a 3-1 first round comeback would be quite the accolade to add to this season’s already impressive accomplishments.