Tale of the tape: 7-1 76ers visit 6-1 Pistons for first place in the East

The two best teams in the Eastern Conference meet tonight in Detroit. The 76ers come in 7-1 and in first place, the Pistons are 6-1 and right behind them, and tipoff at Little Caesars Arena is 7 p.m. ET on ESPN.

These teams have already played once. Detroit won 106-93 in Philadelphia on Oct. 25, the only game the 76ers have lost. Cade Cunningham scored 26 for the Pistons and Tyrese Maxey had 29 on 11-of-24 shooting. Philadelphia played that night without Joel Embiid and VJ Edgecombe, and it has won four straight since. Tonight is the second of three meetings this season.

Tale of the tape

1. Maxey on his birthday. Philadelphia's guard turns 26 today and is averaging 29.1 points on 50.3% shooting, second in the NBA in scoring. He has scored at least 26 in every game so far.
2. The best defense in the league. Detroit allows 100.3 points a game, the fewest in the NBA, and ranks first in defensive rating. Philadelphia is second in points allowed at 105.1 and in the top three in defensive rating. The first meeting produced 199 total points.
3. A full Philadelphia lineup. Embiid is available and averaging 9.2 rebounds, and the projected starting five is Maxey, Edgecombe, Jaylen Brown, LeBron James and Embiid. James, 42, is averaging 16 points, seven rebounds and a team-high 7.3 assists.
4. Cunningham's load. Detroit's star averages 23.7 points, 5.4 rebounds and 7.1 assists. Duncan Robinson adds 17.9 points a game and shoots 45.2% from 3.
5. Bodies in the middle. Pistons center Jalen Duren is out with a hamstring injury and guard Isaiah Joe is out with a hip injury. Paul Reed is the projected starter at center and averages 13.4 points and 6.7 rebounds. For Philadelphia, Dominick Barlow is out with a back injury and Ariel Hukporti is out for the season with an Achilles injury.
6. Form. Philadelphia beat Chicago 126-107 on Monday with all five starters in double figures: Maxey had 26 points and 11 assists, Brown 25, Edgecombe 21, and James and Embiid 15 each.

Venue spotlight: Little Caesars Arena

The Pistons went 60-22 last season and 32-9 at home. Tonight starts a five-game stretch for Detroit that brings the Lakers to town on Sunday. Detroit is a small home favorite.

Why it matters

It's early, but whoever wins sits alone in first place in the East tonight, and a Detroit win would give the Pistons both games against Philadelphia so far. The game turns on Maxey against the league's stingiest defense. If Detroit holds him under his scoring average and keeps Embiid in foul trouble, the Pistons can win a slow, low-scoring game again. If Philadelphia's starters all play like they did against Chicago, the 76ers have more scorers than Detroit has stoppers.