The Detroit Pistons just won a basketball game.

It’s not something that has been said much this season, especially since their back-to-back wins in October, but on Monday, the Pistons got back in the win column for the fourth time this season when they knocked off a dreadful Washington Wizards team in an afternoon game for Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

The win for the Pistons came just about 24 hours after the two teams completed a trade, with Detroit sending Marvin Bagley III, Isaiah Livers and some picks to Washington for Mike Muscala and Danilo Gallinari, both players on expiring contracts.

TRADE ANALYSIS: Why Detroit Pistons believe Danilo Gallinari, Mike Muscala can help them this season

None of the players involved in the deal suited up, but the victory was certainly a welcome sign for the Pistons’ management who decided some type of shake-up was necessary.

The bad news for the Pistons is they will get no respite after their win on Monday, even though Wednesday is the start of a six-game homestand. The Pistons’ next three games are against the Minnesota Timberwolves and Milwaukee Bucks, who are the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds in their respective conferences and are a combined 56-23.

The tough stretch starts with the Timberwolves, who have completely reinvented themselves this season after falling flat on their faces last year and present some serious challenges for the Pistons.

Everyone in the NBA community of course remembers the Wolves trading a boatload of picks to the Utah Jazz to acquire Rudy Gobert and amidst injuries and a tough transition period, the Wolves finished just two games over .500 in 2022-23.

Many of the concerns over the fit of Gobert alongside Karl-Anthony Towns appear to be squashed now, at least for the regular season, and a big reason no one is talking about that anymore is the emergence of Anthony Edwards.

The fourth-year guard out of Georgia is averaging 26 points, 5.4 rebounds and 4.9 assists on good efficiency and appears to be the T-Wolves cornerstone going forward.

Whoever the Pistons task with handling Edwards will surely have their hands full, especially with Towns and Gobert occupying the paint. A lack of perimeter defense against wing players has been one of the Pistons biggest downfalls this year, and without Cade Cunningham on either side, it will be a tall task to slow down the top-seeded Timberwolves.

Detroit Pistons vs. Minnesota Timberwolves start time today

Matchup: Pistons (4-36) vs. Timberwolves (28-11).

Date: Wednesday, Jan. 17.

Time: 7 p.m. ET.

Where: Little Caesars Arena in Detroit.

Betting line: TBD. (how to bet and get sign up bonuses).

• Box score

[ MUST WATCH: The “The Pistons Pulse” podcast with Omari Sankofa II and Bryce Simon reacted live to the trade Sunday morning with Spotrac cap expert Keith Smith. Watch the broadcast replay below. ] 

Detroit Pistons vs. Minnesota Timberwolves TV channel today

TV: Bally Sports Detroit Extra (Red Wings on Bally Sports Detroit).

Radio: WXYT-FM 97.1 (Pistons radio affiliates).

Streaming: Fubo (free trial).

If you do not have Bally Sports Detroit, you can sign up for Fubo with a free trial to watch the Pistons all season long.

Detroit Pistons injury report vs. Minnesota Timberwolves

Cade Cunningham (left knee strain) continues to be out after missing the past four games. Monte Morris (right quad strain) remains out having yet to play a game this season, but he’s getting closer to his debut. The status of both Mike Muscala and Danilo Gallinari is still to be determined after they were traded to the Pistons on Sunday. Bojan Bogdanovic has missed the last two games with a calf strain and is listed as day-to-day.

Meanwhile, the Timberwolves have been relatively healthy this year, and have just one player listed on the injury report, and that’s Jaylen Clark, who remains out with an Achillies injury.

EARLY MOVE: Detroit Pistons trade with Wizards ‘first step’ in charting franchise back on track

Detroit Pistons vs. Minnesota Timberwolves projected starting lineups

Pistons: G Killian Hayes, G Jaden Ivey, F Kevin Knox, F Isaiah Stewart, C Jalen Duren.

Timberwolves: G Mike Conley, G Anthony Edwards, F Jaden McDaniels, C Karl-Anthony Towns, C Rudy Gobert.

Lineups subject to change.

Pistons uniform, jersey vs. Timberwolves

The Pistons will wear their black Statement Edition jerseys with blue and red stripes through the center and down the sides and “DET” on the chest.

Meanwhile, the T-Wolves will wear their Association Edition uniform which are white with blue at the top and the bottom.

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