Pistons end playoff drought, knock out Wizards

Playoff basketball is back in Motown.

The Detroit Pistons are headed to the postseason for the first time since 2009 after taking down the Washington Wizards 112-99 Friday.

With point guard John Wall sitting out for the second-straight night, the shorthanded Wizards couldn't muster up enough fight. It was a two-point game midway through the fourth, but ultimately the Pistons led wire-to-wire and pulled away in the end.

The Pistons are locked into either the seventh or eighth seed, where they will take on either the Toronto Raptors or the Cleveland Cavaliers.

For the Pistons, the win highlights the team's continued ascent following the hiring of Stan Van Gundy. He inherited a miserable roster with the likes of Josh Smith, Tayshaun Prince, and Greg Monroe ranking as key fixtures and within two seasons, Van Gundy reoriented the team around Andre Drummond and Reggie Jackson.

The last Pistons playoff team was an aging crop of veterans led by Allen Iverson and Rip Hamilton. They were swept by the Cavaliers after losing every game by double-digits, and the team was promptly dismantled. This time around, Detroit has a young core in place that will only improve in the coming years.

Related: Stan Van Gundy building future contender in Detroit

As for the Wizards, the 2015-16 campaign can only rank as a tremendous disappointment. Having won a playoff series in each of the last two seasons, Washington was expected to take the next step forward by implementing an up-tempo offense, but that quickly fell apart when Bradley Beal went down due to injury.

Suddenly, losses pilled up, players got angry, and fanciful plans of luring Kevin Durant back to his hometown subsided. And instead of making yet another fantastical run through the playoffs, the Wizards are looking at a long summer of uncertainty.