NBA

NBA 2026-27 · Regular season · Meeting 2 of the season

What does Pelicans vs Pistons change in the NBA playoff race?

Pelicans

New Orleans Pelicans

3-4

7:00 PM ET

Scheduled

Pistons

Detroit Pistons

6-1

Wed, Dec 30, 2026 · 7:00 PM ET (Dec 31, 09:00 KST)Little Caesars Arena, Detroit

This weekend in Around Columbus · 3 games · See routes →

What's at stake

Current standings (104 games played league-wide) plus this one result, recomputed for all 30 teams in both conferences. Arithmetic, not odds. Interconference game: each result moves one team in each conference.

Pelicans win

  • PelicansWest #11→#10outside the top 10→play-in (7–10)Tragic 75→-
5 more teams
  • NuggetsWest #10→#11play-in (7–10)→outside the top 10Tragic 76→75
  • SunsTragic 76→75
  • ClippersTragic 74→73
  • JazzTragic 73→72
  • KingsTragic 73→72

Pistons win

Both teams going in

TeamMagicTragicTop-6 magic
PelicansWest #11 · 3-4-75-
PistonsEast #2 · 6-172-73

Magic number = wins left to lock a top-10 (play-in) finish (top-6 magic: a direct berth); tragic number = losses left until elimination. Ties count against the team. How we calculate →

Season series

Meeting 2 of 2 this season

Pelicans 0Pistons 0

Before this game

Plan a trip to this game

AdClinch earns a commission from Klook if you book through this link.

Wed, Dec 30 game · Detroit

Local date

See the ground on the Stadium Trip Map →

Team records

Season records counted by this site from BALLDONTLIE results.

Injury report

Pelicans

  • Yves MissiOut
  • Jordan PooleOut
  • Dejounte MurrayOut

Pistons

  • Jalen DurenOut
  • Isaiah JoeOut

BALLDONTLIE injury report (status only). It can change before tip-off.

Pelicans playoff scenarios →Pistons playoff scenarios → NBA schedule & results Magic numbers Stat leadersNBA standings & scenarios →

Game data: BALLDONTLIE. Magic and tragic numbers are computed by this site.