When I decided to start predicting the outcome of Pistons games, I never envisioned an 0-4 start. But I might as well embrace it. I’m predicting a Raptors victory Wednesday, if only because every time I pick the opponent, the Pistons pull it out. (So really, I can’t lose. Good news either way.) On with the report…

After opening the season with a surprising victory over Cleveland, the Raptors have dropped two straight, surrendering 115 points at Memphis and 125 to Orlando - coincidentally, the same two teams the Pistons held to 74 and 80 points for respective victories.

Another sign the Raptors defense has been slightly suspect in the early going: opponents are shooting 46 percent from 3-point range, fourth highest in the league, which is good news for Pistons guard Ben Gordon.

Gordon, who has made seven of Detroit’s 15 triples on the year, went without a 3-pointer for the first time this season Tuesday. (In fact, all the Pistons did, finishing 0-for-6.) He still scored 23 points, following up efforts of 26, 25 and 22. Rip Hamilton’s out again and the Raptors start 6-foot-7 rookie DeMar DeRozan at 2-guard. Translation: Gordon’s streak of 20-point games isn’t likely to end in Toronto.

(It’s unfortunate Hamilton’s right ankle sprain is keeping him out. In the Pistons’ most recent visit to Toronto, he had 24 points and a career-high 16 assists in a 99-95 victory.)

Raptor centerpiece Chris Bosh doesn’t have a nickname like “Superman” but he’s been putting up first-week numbers akin to Magic center Dwight Howard, who had just eight points and five rebounds against the Pistons Tuesday after going for at least 20 and 10 in Orlando’s first three games.

Howard’s woes should give Ben Wallace and Kwame Brown confidence going into Toronto, where Bosh is averaging 31.0 points and 14.7 rebounds. It’s early in the season and those numbers will naturally come down, but they’re not far off what he did against the Pistons at Air Canada Centre in 2008-09. Bosh had 26 points and 13 rebounds in the first meeting, followed by 27, 10 and five assists - but the Pistons won both contests.

Technically, former No. 1 pick Andrea Bargnani starts at center, but he’s not anchored to the paint (connecting on 8-of-13 from 3-point range). Wherever he is on the floor, Bargnani is getting the job done so far, averaging 22.0 points and shooting a scorching 59 percent from the field. Charlie Villanueva, another versatile big who can roam the floor, will likely take Bargnani to pit Wallace against Bosh in the trenches.

Raptors point guard Jose Calderon has had big games against the Pistons previously, but he’s stumbled a bit to start this season as the Toronto offense tries to integrate new pieces in DeRozan and Hedo Turkoglu (Key matchup), and an almost entirely new bench that includes former Piston Amir Johnson.

That should work to the Pistons advantage after they did a nice job Tuesday of containing Orlando’s playmaker, Jameer Nelson. Nelson, who had six turnovers in the first three games, had five turnovers at The Palace. He finished with seven points on 3-of-11 shooting, two nights after pouring in 30. More unwelcome news for Calderon, who’s just 1-for-7 from downtown.

Nonetheless, the Pistons have precious little depth right now with two of their biggest minute-eaters unavailable in Prince and Hamilton. They’re also traveling the night after a game to face a home team that has been resting comfortably for two days. The Pistons showed guts Tuesday, but they might run out of gas Wednesday. It will be close, but Toronto should have a little more in the tank down the stretch.

Pretzer’s Prediction: Raptors 89, Pistons 85
Records: Pistons 2-2, Ryan 0-4