Raptors-Pistons Preseason Slugfest Blows Past 220.5 in Detroit Shootout

So much for preseason caution. The Pistons edged Toronto 129-125 in a track meet that torched our under 220.5, finishing 33.5 points over the number in a game that had no business being this wide open.

We leaned on limited starter minutes and deep experimental rotations to suppress scoring. Instead, both sides treated Little Caesars Arena like an open gym scrimmage, pushing pace and hunting shots with zero regard for October restraint. Detroit's projected starters clearly didn't get the memo about 18-25 minute caps—or the coaching staff decided preseason stat-padding mattered more than load management. Cade Cunningham and the frontcourt ran enough possessions to keep the scoreboard spinning, while Toronto's depth pieces refused to play like camp bodies, instead launching everything in transition.

The 254 combined points obliterated last season's efficiency profiles and made a mockery of those sub-101 pace metrics. When both benches decide defense is optional and every possession becomes a live-ball audition, totals explode. We got burned by assuming professionalism in a format that rewards chaos. Preseason logic works until it doesn't—and tonight it absolutely didn't. Pistons win, bettors who trusted restraint lose. Onto the next.