Miami Heat-Detroit Pistons Preview: Injuries, Odds, Starters

Game date, time and location: Friday, Oct. 23, 8:00 p.m., Kaseya Center, Miami, Florida

TV: WPLG Local 10 (South Florida), TV-20, DAZN (Detroit)

Radio: 104.3 FM/560 AM, 710/1140 AM (South Florida), 97.1 FM, (Detroit)

VITALS: The Miami Heat and Detroit Pistons meet for the first of four matchups this regular season. Last season Miami won the series, 2-1, and has currently won nine of the last 13 overall against Detroit. The Heat are 74-61 all-time versus the Pistons during the regular season, including 41-26 at home and 33-35 on the road.

The Pistons are coming off a season where they finished as the 1st seed in the Eastern Conference, winning 60 of 82 games, which was the most they'd won in 20 years. They ended up losing to the Cleveland Cavaliers in the second round of the NBA Playoffs after beating the Orlando Magic in 7 games previously.

This offseason, the Pistons were unable to bring back starting forward Tobias Harris in free agency and traded away longtime big man Isaiah Stewart for three second round draft picks during the 2026 Draft.

To address their needs, (shooting and shot creation), they drafted Ebuka Okorie, who averaged 23 points as a freshman guard for Stanford, and traded two second round picks to the OKC Thunder for veteran sharpshooter Isaiah Joe. They also re-signed Jalen Duren to a five-year contract after months of negotiation.

Unlike the Pistons, the Heat are coming off a disappointing opening night game, having been routed by the Minnesota Timberwolves 131-106. Although Giannis Antetokounmpo played as advertised, the Heat's defense was anything but, allowing Anthony Edwards and LaMelo Ball to have their way around the court, whether as scorers or playmakers.