Spring in Detroit works like this:
The last of the snow stubbornly melts away, the birds and grandparents make their safe return from Florida, and we prepare to watch our professional hockey and basketball teams in their respective postseason tournaments.
The Red Wings have qualified for the NHL playoffs in an astonishing 22 consecutive seasons. The Pistons have obviously fallen on hard times over the last half-decade, but they too were annual playoff participants for a good long while. Both are fighting desperately for their postseason lives currently. Okay, maybe the Pistons aren’t so much “fighting” as “sleepwalking,” but the standings say they’re right in the mix.
The last time there was a spring in Detroit with no playoffs at all (puck or hoops) would take you all the way back to 1983. Gandhi and E.T. were flickering across movie screens, Paul Woods was a left wing (not yet a broadcaster) for the Red Wings, and the Pistons were still calling the Silverdome home while getting almost 27 a night from Kelly Tripucka’s mullet. There has been at least some form of playoff action in Detroit for 30 straight years. For the first time in a long time, that streak is in serious jeopardy.
Race to the Finish
Right now, the Red Wings are in the better position of the two, but not by much. They currently occupy the 8th slot in the Eastern Conference, tied with the Flyers and just barely edging out a host of other teams. Deadline Detroit reader Electric Aubrey always likes to point out that “the Wings have a game in hand on Philly,” but that’s of little comfort when such a historic streak is on the line.
Mike Babcock’s squad will lace ‘em up twice more before a near three week break for the Olympics. It is imperative they finish strong heading into the vacation. A win tomorrow night against the perennial cellar-dwelling Florida Panthers is a must.
The Pistons also find themselves in a tangled web of teams battling for the eighth and final playoff spot. In contrast to the Wings, who at least put together a couple of nice stretches during the year, the Pistons’ are in the race solely due to the fact that this season’s NBA Eastern Conference is equivalent to a slightly upper-echelon B’nai B’rith league.
In a normal year, a 19-28 record would get you a cozy seat in the draft lottery. In 2014, however, it offers a very healthy opportunity for postseason qualification -- the Pistons are currently just 1.5 games behind Charlotte for the last slot. Leading up to next weekend’s All-Star break, Andre Drummond & Co. have a five-game stretch they must take advantage of; a highly-winnable tilt in Orlando tonight, then a friendly quartet of dates at the Palace.
Still Worth Fighting For
It goes without saying that neither of the two squads are likely to make any kind of significant dent in their sport’s playoffs. The Red Wings are undergoing a major youth movement and their goaltending has been quite shaky at times. The Pistons’ roster is an absolute mess and there are new rumors every morning about which players (Monroe, Smith, Abdenour) might be dealt in advance of the February 20th trade deadline.
But regardless of those acknowledged ceilings to future accomplishment, it would still be nice to have a week or two of playoff excitement in Detroit. Who knows, maybe the Pistons go into Indiana and steal the opener behind 36 points from Brandon Jennings. Maybe the Red Wings invade Pittsburgh and find a way to gain a split despite the Pens’ league-best 23-4 mark at home.
Or maybe none of those things happen. Maybe it’d be a double-thrashing, both local teams getting swept four straight, more of a playoff cameo than featured performance.
But at least they would be playing.
And for the 31st year in a row, we’d know that spring had officially arrived.
