Los Lions

No news this side of the Detroit River regarding the Lions other than the hiring of Drew “The Bald Eagle” Petzing as our new OC, but since we’ve already touched on that, we’re focusing on something a little different. It’s no surprise when I say we got absolutely screwed when it came to the schedule last year, and it’s a large part of why we missed the playoffs. I mean we played so many hard games that it felt a little like Goodell didn’t want us to succeed. However, with the 2026-2027 list of opponents dropping a short while ago, it’s safe to say that we have a significantly easier path towards the Lombardi this year. I’ll be going over every game and giving us a projected record based on where every team stands right now. Obviously we have no way of telling when these games are happening, so there will be some variance to them all I’ll have to take into account. These will be split into two parts, with this week tackling the away games the Lions are playing. 

Bears of Chicago: I think this is going to be our first game, just a hunch, but I’m making the bet now. Playing at Soldier Field when it’s still warm out is better than later in the year when it’s frigid, especially when you have Jared Goff as your QB. I’m going to give us the win here, even though we will not be favored. Chicago may be the better team, but Ben Johnson still has yet to beat us, and the emotional value cannot be understated in this game. Lions by a score.

Packers of Green Bay: I’m trying to give takes that are realistic, but there’s definitely a sense of bias in me being a diehard Lions fan. Playing at Lombardi is super tough, and we have struggled against the Packers as of late. I think we’re going to be significantly better than we were last year, however, I think the same is true to the Packers. I’m going to give us the loss here, especially if it’s cold out, but it’s going to be a tough game. Packers by 10.

Vikings of Minnesota: The last of the three divisional games, I think we beat the Vikings pretty easily here, given the fact that it’s indoors, and while I do think JJ will improve a little, he still won’t be the ‘Nine’ he sees himself as. I think we get three defensive turnovers this game and rout the Vikings in a vintage way. Lions by 20.

Falcons of Atlanta: The last time these teams played was in 2021, if you can believe it. Given the fact that ATL doesn’t have a set QB for next year, either the aging Kirk Cousins or the injured Michael Penix Jr, I think we win this one in Atlanta, but it’s going to be super close. Atlanta still has weapons and they also blitz a ton, which we struggle against. We get the win, but people start to take the Falcons more seriously. Lions by a field goal.

Bills of Buffalo: If it’s snowing in Buffalo when we play Josh and company, I don’t think it’s going to be close. Their defense isn’t amazing, and there’s a real chance they digress because of the coaching change, but this one is very dependent on the weather (a common theme). The last time Detroit won in Buffalo was in 1991. We’ve never beaten Josh at home, and the weather can only get worse for us. I’m gonna have to give us the loss here. Bills by 6.

Panthers of Carolina: Bryce Young is either prime Cam Newton, or Josh Rosen. There is no inbetween. Given the combo of Carolina’s mediocre O-line, and our rising pass rush, which hopefully gets boosted in the offseason, I think we put the pressure on Bryce in this one and beat the Panthers in their own house, getting a lot of turnovers doing so. Lions by 10.

Dolphins of Miami: With no set QB for the upcoming season there’s a very real chance the Dolphins are in the lottery for the #1 pick this coming year. If Tua starts, it’s a win for us given his ability to turn the ball over. If Quinn Ewers starts, it’s a win for us given he’s not looked that great. If Zach Wilson starts, it’s a win for us because it’s Zach Wilson. Combined with a sub-par defense, I’m giving us the win here in dominant fashion. Lions by 30.

Cardinals of Arizona: Drew Petzing’s revenge game. I doubt much changes with Arizona in the span of one year, and given the vacancies in their OC and head coach positions, it’s likely they will stay in this mediocre to bad range. Not much to be said about this one, just look at the game two years ago when we played. Easy win, indoors, in a dome. Lions by 17.

Home game predictions come next week.

Motor City Kitties

After a little pause in the opening day lineup discussions due to another idiotic move from Chris Ilitch, we are now back to our regularly scheduled programming. So far we’ve covered spots 1-6 in the batting order, and will now finish it off with the bottom of the lineup.

Batting seventh I will take the designated hitter, Colt Keith. The big issue last offseason was who was going to be at third base. That problem has not really gone away in 2026, but the Tigers may have found a long term option there with Colt Keith. Now, I still want him as DH just to start out, it was between him and McKinstry for who starts at third, and while the numbers do slightly favor Colt in feilding percentage, McKinstry played almost twice the amount of innings at third. So I’d take McKinstry at third ever so slightly, but that could change in the year at some point. As for Colt’s offensive numbers, which slid as the year progressed, he hit .256 with a .413 slugging percentage, but I still think he’s going to improve more as a 24 year old, while I think McKinstry might digress a bit as a 31 year old. Overall, I do really like Colt Keith and could see him becoming a Tiger for a while, but I still want to play it safe with him on the defensive end.

Batting eighth I will take the third baseman and speed demon, Zach McKinstry. Again, neck and neck between him and Colt, even though the Z-Man did get a Silver Slugger award in 2025 (a little fraudulent but who cares). McKinstry was one of our primary third baseman in 2025, and given that he has much more experience than someone like Colt or McGonigle there, I would feel more comfortable sticking him at third to start the season. McKinny hit .259 with 49 RBIs last year and placed third on the team in batting WAR, which doesn’t seem real. In 2025 he notched career highs in homers, RBIs, OPS, walks, slugging %, and hits, so even though eight on the order seems a little low, it’s good to have someone down there that knows what they’re doing, and proves that we do have a relatively consistent nine.

Batting ninth I will take the shortstop Javier Baez. Oh Javy. Where do I begin with you? From placing second in MVP voting in 2018 and taking the Cubs to the World Series, to having one of the worst eyes in baseball I’ve ever seen. Doesn’t matter if it’s right down the middle or three feet wide, Javy is swinging. However, 2025 marked a bit of a turnaround for El Mago, given the fact that he was unplayable the past two years. Javy is without a doubt the best fielder we have, playing 400 innings at three different positions last year, which is crazy. Shortstop seems like the best fit seeing as McGonigle was on pact to set the record for most errors made at shortstop in the minors, and we have nobody better than Javy defensively. Hitting .257 last year, he can come up clutch every now and then, but I think he’s still one of the weaker hitters in our lineup. Yeah, he can walk off the Red Sox and hit two homers in the same game, and then have one of the most egregious strikeouts you will ever see the next at bat. I still love Javy, even after all the pain he’s caused this fanbase.

So the lineup looks a little something like this: 1. Parker Meadows (CF) 2. Gleyber Torres (2B) 3. Kerry Carpenter (RF) 4. Riley Greene (LF) 5. Spencer Torkelson (1B) 6. Dillon Dingler (C) 7. Colt Keith (DH) 8. Zach McKinstry (3B) 9. Javier Baez (SS).

Rotation comes next week.

The ‘Stons

As the trade deadline nears, and the eastern conference becomes more wide open with the seemingly imminent departure of Giannis Antetokounmpo (yes I did spell it right on the first try) from the Bucks of Milwaukee (did not spell that one right on the first try), the Pistons are very close to becoming actual contenders. Sitting still at numero uno in the east, the roster needs, in my eyes, two roles: Another 3-point shooter, or a secondary scorer to play off Cade. I love the roster as it is right now, but if JB and company were to shake things up, here are my top three reasonable trade candidates for the Pistons. Reasonable means Trey Murphy III, sadly, will not make the list, but I’d be very happy if we got him regardless.

Norm Powell, PG, Miami Heat. 23 points, 2.6 assists, 3.7 rebounds. They say if you leave a monkey in front of a typewriter for long enough, he’ll crank out some Shakespeare. Well, that’s essentially what Norm Powell is doing for the Heat of Miami. The 11 year veteran has never averaged a ton of points, but has found a home down south and is currently the Heat’s leading scorer. Now I hear you asking: ‘Why would the Heat trade away their leading scorer, especially when they’re about to get Tyler Herro back?’ Well, that’s an excellent question. There is just one remaining variable in the Greek Freak, Giannis Antetokounmpo. 

So the Heat have surpassed all expectations at the beginning of the year, making a run in the NBA cup and being top three in the east for a good chunk of 2025. There is some digression there, they are currently at #8 but are neck and neck with the Magic of Orlando and 76ers of Philadelphia, but they’re about to get their best player, Tyler Herro, back from injury, and could prove to be contenders in the east if they make a move for Giannis. Miami is an ideal destination for the big man, he’ll be in a big market, title contending team, coached under Erik Spoelstra, the best coach of the last 10 years, and I can imagine how appetizing that Miami weather looks to a guy who just spent 13 years in Milwaukee. 

If they did decide to trade for Giannis, Norm would likely be included in the deal. Why not make it a three team trade? Why not give up some guys for a much needed secondary scorer to play off of Cade? I really like this move, Norm is a solid player and is a fringe all-star this year, and his contributions would be significant to the squad. Some combination of Ivey, LeVert, Sasser, and some picks (hopefully not Ron Holland) would be my ideal package, but it would probably cost a bit more. Overall, I don’t think we’ll trade for Norm given all that has to happen, but I still would love to see him on the team.

Michael Porter Jr, SF, Brooklyn Nets. 25.2 points, 3.2 assists, 7.2 rebounds. This is a guy I’ve brought up in past D-Brief’s given his unparalleled ability to shoot threes. We definitely need those, as we are still in the bottom five in shots from behind the arc, with Duncan Robinson and Cade being the only people to average over four attempts on our team.

MPJ averages 9.5 attempts per game, which would easily be first on our squad, and shoots 39.5%, which is actually not bad. He is on the Nets of Brooklyn, an abysmal team this year, so he doesn’t exactly have much to do besides shoot to his heart’s content, but that’s pretty much what he did when he was on Denver anyway.

The only caveat with MPJ is that he doesn’t exactly pass the ball. The 3.2 assists are misleading. His literal nickname on basketball reference is “Never Swing the Rock”, the rock being the basketball. I don’t know if we would trade for him given the locker room problems in the past and his personality of hero ball, but he would definitely get us out of that bottom five of attempted threes, but I’m hesitant of the clash that would be inevitable between him and JB. Hi’s got a pretty big contract, another caveat, but I don’t think he would be that expensive to this young and rebuilding Nets team.

Klay Thompson, SG, Dallas Mavericks. 11.7 points, 1.4 assists, 2.5 rebounds. A lot of people won’t agree with me on this one, but if we were scraping the bottom of the barrel, I would want to make a move for Klay. Again, we need shooters. Klay is the second greatest shooter of all time behind Stephen Curry. Argue with a wall. A guy who’s primary function is to stand in the corner and shoot, he would insert himself perfectly on our squad. Not to mention, he’s stated that he wants to compete, and the Mavericks of Dallas are definitely not in that category. 

Now Klay is definitely not the player he once was, but he’s still a threat. Beasley last year was amazing behind the arc, but was a little bit of a traffic cone on defense (not good). Klay is the definition of three and D. He’s been in Defensive Player of the Year talks before, and again, although he’s not as good as he once was, he’d make a great addition to the defensive centered Pistons. 

Speaking of Beasley, let’s have a quick powwow about his playoff performance last year. It was terrible. He couldn’t make a shot down the stretch and turned into a liability on the floor. A shell of his regular-season self. Klay, on the other hand, has four championships, and playoff experience galore. He once had 60 points off of 11 dribbles. Yes, he dribbled 11 times, and got 60 points. He holds the record for most threes in a game. You can tell that I really like Klay Thompson. If anything, if we were to make any last second move, you can’t get an option that’s cheaper and better than Klay. He would cost pennies on the dollar.

TL;DR, we don’t have to make a move for anyone, but if we were to make a move, one of these three would be the best move we can make. 

Wings, Red

Bit of a rough patch for the Wings this week, most notably because of Simon Edvinsson’s lower-body injury on their last road trip, and a loss to the Kings of Los Angeles two nights ago, one that we desperately needed to win. The Sabres of Buffalo, another team contending for a playoff spot, is on a hot streak and catching up to us fast. And seeing how we play the Avalanche of Colorado, the de-facto best team in the league, in back to back games coming up, it’s going to be a tough end to the month for the Wings.

Edvinsson’s injury means more time on ice for Travis Hamonic, who has been without a doubt the worst player this season for us. I don’t want to say he single handedly cost us the game against the Wild of Minnesota last Thursday, but he absolutely single handedly cost us the game. Giving the Wild two separate power plays, both of which they scored on, to beat us OT didn’t exactly help his case. Edvinsson has also been incredible this season, making a lethal defensive combo with Seider, and throwing himself in front of any and every shot. Ranking third in blocks and fifth and hits and takeaways on the team, his absence will be missed. His no fear attitude definitely contributed to his injury. Hopefully he can return after the olympic break (Go USA), but until then we’ll have to deal with more Hamonic.

The Wings also extended veteran defenseman Ben Chiarot to a three-year 3.85 million deal recently, and although it is a pretty expensive extension, I am very happy to see him back for another three years. Chiarot is not a star on the defensive side, but he brings a veteran presence to a still extremely young team. Even though we’re fighting for a top spot in the Atlantic, our cup contention window isn’t really for another 3 years. That’s not saying we can’t make any progress or playoff success in that time, but given the overall age of our team, that’s the analytical window. In that time, Chiarot can mentor these young defensemen to mold them into better players. Kind of like a Dennis Schroder type role on last year’s Pistons squad. A veteran defensive dog whose leadership has a profound effect on the young’uns.

As the Wings get closer and closer to the dreaded month of March, it’s very crucial to get some wins against good teams in these next coming weeks, especially because we have the strongest strength of schedule remaining, aka, we play better teams moving forward more consistently. But I’m starting to believe in this young squad again, and who knows? Maybe Gibson becomes a dark horse candidate for the Vezina (I’m delusional).

As always, LGRW.