Pistons Close the Preseason Against a Raptors Team Looking for Depth

Detroit's settled core and clean injury report give it the edge in its preseason finale.

TOR @ DET Oct 16, 2026 at 11:00 PM UTC

Detroit hosts Toronto at Little Caesars Arena in its final preseason game, and both teams arrive at 2-1. Preseason status shapes everything here. Rotations and minutes may look nothing like they will in the regular season, so the team that gets more from its second unit could decide this one.

That favors a Detroit team with a settled identity. The Pistons finished last season as the No. 1 seed in the East, and their young core of Cade Cunningham, Jalen Thompson and Jalen Duren is still intact. Duren's agreement on a five-year, $200 million fully guaranteed contract to return removes a long-running question around the roster. How many minutes he plays on a preseason night is uncertain, but the continuity matters. Detroit also reports no injuries, and its 128-106 win at Minnesota shows how it has played coming in.

Toronto's picture is less clear. Chucky Hepburn, who is listed with a hamstring issue, and Nate Bittle are both questionable. If either sits, the Raptors have fewer options for sorting out their backcourt and big-man rotations, and those are the spots coaches usually use to audition players in games like this. Toronto did put up 148 points in a blowout of New York earlier in the week, so the offense has a ceiling. But a full-strength group is rarely on the floor for long in October.

Expect a competitive first half and a game that tilts toward the team with more certainty about its lineup. Detroit has that edge, and it is at home. The Pistons hold on late.

Prediction: Pistons 114, Raptors 108.

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