The Washington Wizards play host to the Detroit Pistons at Capital One Arena on Monday.

The Pistons (20-25) come into this matchup winning three of their last five games, as they're hopeful that's the start of a positive run. The reason for that is their recent struggles, with Detroit losing 16 of their previous 20 games before this mini-surge. The most recent loss was an absolute collapse though, with the Sacramento Kings prevailing 103-101 thanks to a Buddy Hield game-winner. The Pistons led for almost the entirety of that game, as they allowed the Kings to win in comeback fashion. Losses like that can be devastating but the Pistons can't allow that to deter them from going forward. The status of Andre Drummond is obviously a huge part of their success, as he continues to be in the concussion protocol. Losing the leading rebounder in the league would hurt any team and they'd be ecstatic to see him return here.

The Wizards (19-26) own a 6-3 record across their last nine games, as they're slowly climbing back into playoff contention. It comes at a surprising time too, as Washington is without John Wall. Without their all-star point guard, Washington has chosen to ride Bradley Beal and he's played the best basketball of his career. It's not just him though, as this roster is full of wings. Their best players are Beal, Trevor Ariza, Otto Porter Jr, Tomas Satoransky and Jeff Green and it's a wonder if they can succeed without any point guard or any center. That would make you think their defense is tough with all those lengthy players out there but the Wizards currently sit 29th in points allowed. They need to improve that if they want to stay in contention, as another missed playoffs would be extremely disappointing for the Wizards.

Detroit prevailed in their first game against Washington this season, 106-95, on December 26. Prior to that, the Wizards won nine of their previous 12 games over the Pistons dating back four years.