<div align="center"> <span style="font-size:18pt;line-height:100%"><span style="color:#006BB7"><span style="font-family:Impact">Detroit</span> </span></span><span style="color:#006BB7">(3-0)</span> vs. <span style="color:#c8362d"><span style="font-size:18pt;line-height:100%"><span style="font-family:Impact">Toronto</span></span></span> <span style="color:#c8362d">(3-0)</span> </div> <div align="center"> When: Wednesday November 5th, 2008 @ 7:00PM EST Where: Air Canada Centre, Toronto, ON TV/Radio: The SCORE, FAN 590 </div> <span style="font-size:18pt;line-height:100%"><div align="center"> <span style="font-family:Impact"><u>THOUGHTS ON THE GAME</u></span></div></span> Talk about a shocker. Here we were feeling good about our 3-0 start and looking forward to showing our old foe Detroit that this year's squad is new and improved. And Joe Dumars decided to do a little retooling of his own. It's impossible to really predict how the new-look Pistons will come out Wednesday night, as there's just no precedent. Iverson's scoring ability will remain a constant regardless of where he's shipped to, but these Pistons have depended heavily on chemistry on cohesion over they years. Whether they can adjust and show us something radically different than we're used to or we'll see them go through some growing pains, is still up in the air. Nevertheless, we know that Detroit is still an elite team in the league. Like the Raptors, they've started the season 3-0 and provide a different sort of challenge for us. Whereas the last three opponents we faced were teams that we should have been able to beat to be considered serious playoff team, the Pistons are a team that we should be able to beat if we want to move into the top level of elite teams in the NBA. Notice the stark contrast in the reaction both cities have had to a 3-0 start. The Pistons expect this kind of success yearly. Beating them might signal that the Raptors are ready to be that type of team as well. <span style="font-size:18pt;line-height:100%"><div align="center"><span style="font-family:Impact"><u>STARTING LINEUPS</u></span></div></span> <div align="center"> <span style="color:#006BB7">Allen Iverson - Rip Hamilton - Tayshaun Prince - Amir Johnson - Rasheed Wallace</span> <span style="color:#c8362d">Jose Calderon - Anthony Parker - Jamario Moon - Chris Bosh - Jermaine O'Neal</span></div> <span style="font-family:Impact"><span style="font-size:18pt;line-height:100%"><div align="center"><u>KEY MATCHUP</u></div></span></span> <div align="center"> <span style="color:#006BB7">Rasheed Wallace</span> vs. <span style="color:#c8362d">Chris Bosh</span></div> There's no guarantee that Bosh will be guarding 'Sheed, but to be fair, its gotten past the point where teams have to worry about Wallace's offense beating them single-handedly. No, this matchup will be centered on the offensive side of the ball for Bosh. Despite the play of the role players lately, the Raptors still are riding the excellent play of Bosh. They will need him to produce. And to date, there's probably been no other player in the NBA who's handled Bosh better than Rasheed Wallace. He muscles him out of the paint and has the quickness to force him away from the bucket and into tough contested shots on his drives. I think Bosh would like to show that 'Sheed really benefited from the fact that the Raptors had no one to draw attention away from him. Both teams are radically different than we've been accustomed to seeing the past two years, so it'll be interesting to see if this matchup plays out any differently. <div align="center"><span style="font-size:18pt;line-height:100%"><span style="font-family:Impact"><u>LEO RAUTINS' INSIGHTFUL THOUGHT OF THE DAY</u></span></span></div>
that girl is fineeee, and i think the matchup should be between jose and allen plus bosh and sheed, should be a very interesting match
I picked Prince for my fantasy team because he was supposed to have a blowout scoring year. With AI around, I wonder if it'll be happen. First true test of the season for the Raps, who have responded well to the mini tests so far. This one is in Toronto, so hopefully, the crowd is into it and the team responds. It'd be real nice to steal a win from a Pistons team in transition early in the season. If we were ever going to catch them off guard, the first game after AI arrives would probably be it. Raps 100 - Pistons 92 edit, and Bas's ladies just keep getting hotter and hotter.
And just to point it out again, I really think these are the best GDT's on the net. Chut does a fantastic job and bas has picked some great ladies. I won't be around for the game (I'll be listening at work) but I look forward to reading the thread afterwards. Last time it really broke down the game nicely.
Good that this is a home game. The Pistons will be a bit discombobulated by having Iverson in the back court instead of Billups. Hopefully the extra energy the Pistons will have will work to our advantage as they scramble in late shot clock situations. The Raptors need to be patient and technical to win this game.
This time last year, who would have guessed that the key to beating the Pistons this season was going to be controlling the tempo and being tough defensively, not trying to run them off the floor? Times have changed and it's a good thing they have. You just can't go that far in the post season with a run and gun team.
I'm not sure whether Billups or Iverson will exploit Calderon's defense more. Billups used to just abuse Jose, using his size to just dominate him on that end. On the other hand, Iverson is one of the more explosive scoring guards in the league. We might have a slight advantage against Iverson because he doesn't play defense anywhere near as well as Billups did, which might allow Calderon to match most of his scoring on the other end. And damn on that girl Bas. Excellent choice.
someone feed that girl a sandwich or two.. look at her freaking arm. the thickest part on it is her wrist... that's not healthy looking at all.
This should be an entertaining game to watch. If you guys can contain AI or force him to force shots up while not getting his team involved, then you guys should be solid. Right now, the Pistons are thin up front without one big man in McDyess, so you gotta punish them down low.
It thinks its the angle of the picture, but i could be wrong. Plus the first thing I'm looking at isn't the arm
The strategy to the game is easy. Let AI score 50. Let him abuse Jose and grab boards. Keep the ball in AI's hands as much as possible. Will AI come off the bench? Usually, after a trade, the player starts off the bench. Even if he is a superstar. Wasn't AI off the bench when he was traded to Denver? I forgot...
Iverson did end up coming off the bench. I can see why Dumars was so confident while trading Billups. Rodney Stuckey looks legit. This game is a bit sloppy though. Jermaine O'Neal must have been responsible for at least 3 of our 6 turnovers. And Detroit looks like they're getting used to life without Chauncey.
I can see why Sam decided to go with Solomon off the bench first. Roko's still the better player IMO, but Solomon is a better defender. And with AI coming off the bench, perimeter D is going to be especially important.
