The Phoenix Suns play host to the Detroit Pistons at Footprint Center on Friday.

The Pistons (5-15) had no road wins before this week started, but they grabbed two in two nights. The nature of those road wins is more shocking than anything, beating the Denver Nuggets and Utah Jazz in a back-to-back set. Not many teams have done that in the history of the NBA, and it shows just how unpredictable the NBA can be at times. The most surprising part of that win was a 21-point performance from Kevin Knox off the bench. He had one foot out of the league when he didn't make it in New York, and Detroit might have stumbled into a gem with his lottery potential. They've also been surprised by the play of rookie Jaden Ivey, who needs to run the show in the absence of Cade Cunningham (shin). The top overall pick is deciding what to do with his shin fracture, but there's some thought he could get surgery and miss a significant portion of the season. If that's the case, Ivey and Knox are going to have to keep playing like this.

The Suns (11-6) have one of the best home records in the NBA, posting a 9-1 record at Footprint Center. They also enter this matchup winning three of their last four in total, with all three wins coming at home. They've done that damage without Chris Paul, but the Point God is expected to return in the coming days after practicing in full on Wednesday. Adding one of the best point guards of all time is obviously a massive boost for this team, especially since Cameron Payne was averaging nearly 20 points and 10 assists per game when filling in. He'll be a dynamic sixth man for the remainder of the year, and Phoenix looks like the same team that led the league in wins last year.

Phoenix has won three straight games in this series, with all three being decided by double-digit margins. Ironically, that snapped an eight-game winning streak by Detroit prior to that.