Tom Washington, John Wall

John Wall and the Washington Wizards are trying to crash the playoff picture.

(AP Photo | David Zalubowski)

WASHINGTON -- The Detroit Pistons have settled into what appears a cozy three-team race for the last couple of playoff spots in the Eastern Conference.

The task tonight is not to expand that field any when the Pistons (34-32) face the Washington Wizards (30-35) in an 8 p.m. game (ESPN, Fox Sports Detroit).

With Charlotte and Atlanta drawing clear and seemingly solidifying the first six teams in the East playoff field (those two, plus Cleveland, Toronto, Boston and Miami), that leaves Indiana, Detroit and Chicago, separated by two games in the standings, to duke it out for the last two spots.

Unless Washington crashes the party.

The Wizards are 3 1/2 games behind the Pistons for the last playoff spot, 2 1/2 games behind ninth-place Chicago.

Washington starts a two-game homestand tonight against Detroit and Chicago. The Wizards will not get a better opportunity to close the gap directly than tonight and Wednesday. They also are 2-0 against the Pistons this season, with a final meeting scheduled April 8 at Auburn Hills.

The Wizards have fallen off the pace with five consecutive losses against a brutal road-heavy schedule. That's a fact to be stated from the outside; internally, it's only an excuse, not a reason. The Pistons tonight complete a daunting stretch of their own with six out of seven games on the road. They are 3-3 thus far in that stretch.

That is what separates contenders for playoff spots from teams like the Wizards, who aspire to contend for a playoff spot during the final month of the season.

Schedule works in the Pistons' favor in many ways down the stretch. Not necessarily so for the Wizards, who have the advantage of seven games against the worst teams in the league during these final 17 games of the season, but also have a five-game trip through the Western Conference still upcoming.

The Wizards' current losing streak was built, in part, on the first of two West Coast trips in the final five weeks of the season. They just completed a 0-3 trip against the West in which their defense was awful.

The Pistons return home late tonight and will remain there for the rest of March. They have a cushy nine-game homestand ahead, beginning Wednesday. They still have to win the games but the schedule favors them after they took care of business on the road recently.

The Wizards' last stand begins tonight.

The Pistons' job is to short-circuit them before they can get started.

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