With Cade Cunningham's collapsed lung likely to keep him out at least until the 2nd Round, I would place them as underdogs against whoever they are likely to face in the 1st round....the red-hot Atlanta Hawks, the hot Charlotte Hornets, the Heat or the Magic (also have been playing well even with injuries, and they are likely to get Franz and Black back for the 1st Round, Black much sooner). Even PHI would be a likely loss if the 76er's could return some key players who have been out (Maxey and Embiid, who has been upgraded for the Kings game).

With the real possibility of DET being knocked out of the 1st Round in the East, the Conference Championship series is wide open for the other 9 Seeds. Keep in mind though, during the eight games that Cunningham has missed this season (he'll be ineligible for any post-season awards having been 5 games short of qualifying), the Pistons still had a +2.7 point differential in those games. Jalen Duren has been beasting all season and is getting even better during the playoff push. He's a Super Star at this point of his career.