Preview<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>Tuesday, February 21, 2006Pistons vs. Hawks Preview: Game 52The Pistons will return from the All-Star break and a seven-day hiatus to face Joe Johnson, Al Harrington and the Atlanta Hawks on Tuesday, February 21st at 7:00 p.m. at the Palace of Auburn Hills. The Pistons (42-9) have split both games with the Hawks (16-34) in Atlanta so far this year. First, back on January 18th they won by a 117-89 margin. Pistons guard Chauncey Billups led all scorers with 23 points going four-for-seven from three-point range. Al Harrington led the Hawks with 21 points and 10 rebounds. Then, on February 7th, Detroit was upset by Atlanta losing on the road 98-99 with after Joe Johnson hit a running-jumper with 7.6 seconds left. Pistons swingman Tayshaun Prince and Hawks guard Johnson each racked up 29 points in the contest. The Hawks season before the All-Star break has only mildly improved compared to last year. Last season at this time, Atlanta had a mere 10 wins by mid-February. While they have notched more wins this season than they did all of last season, they still have only 16 wins and find themselves near the bottom of the Southeast Division. However, what looks promising is that the Hawks have notched some big wins against some big teams like San Antonio, Indiana, Cleveland, and most recently the Detroit Pistons. In addition, besides going 14-18 over their last 32 games after starting the season 2-16, Atlanta had won five of their last eight games heading into All-Star Weekend. Tuesday night?s game will be tough though, as a rested Pistons team will be looking for sweet revenge after letting Atlanta steal one from them in Georgia. In addition, the Pistons have proven tough at home having won 17 of the last 20 games in Detroit against the Hawks, who have racked up a measly 5-20 record on the road in this year?s campaign. Injury Report: Hawks guard Tyronn Lue will be sidelined for the Hawks due to a sprained Medial Collateral Ligament in his right knee.</div><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>John Hammond?s Three Keys to Success:Get the inside scoop from Pistons Vice President of Basketball Operations John Hammond. See what the Pistons need to do to be successful against the Atlanta Hawks. 1. Contain Joe Johnson.Hawks guard Joe Johnson does it all for Atlanta. With an average of 19.6 points, 4.1 rebounds, and 6.1 assists per game, it is obvious that Johnson can defend, rebound, handle the ball and score. In the Pistons 98-99 loss to the Hawks, Johnson scored 29 points on 12-17 shooting. Keeping the young guard in check is key to stopping Atlanta. 2. Match Atlanta?s energy.This team is young and inexperienced. In fact, Atlanta is the youngest team in the league with an average of 23.77 years of age between them and the third-least experienced with 2.615 years in the league. However, the Hawks play very hard and have plenty of energy to get up and down the court. The Pistons must get out ahead of them and put them away early in order to get their first victory after the All-Star break. 3. Beat them on the boards.The average height in the NBA is 6?7.18?. Atlanta has the fifth-shortest team at 6?6.69?. The Pistons must take advantage of the Hawks undersized lineup and dominate the boards. Detroit was out-rebounded by a 30-39 margin in their loss to the Hawks in Atlanta.</div>Well, we need to start off the second half of the season good, and giving the Hawks a little payback will sure be nice!should be an easy win. but dont over look these Hawks. they did beat us once before, but we did play lazy...we wont tonight simply because it is a home game...and that is no lie...PN13
Well we won thats 43-9 on the season. The final score is 87-97>Ben was one point off of a double-double. He did have 17 rebounds however. and 6 blocked shots. and 5 steals. a great game...>Tayshaun scored 14 points and got 2 blocks along with 5 boards>Rasheed had 21 points and 12 rebounds for the double double>Rip scored 24 points>Chauncey had a double-double with 19 points and 15 assists and 3 steals. Another MVP-type performance for Mr. Big Shot.Kelvin Cato did not play. We held Joe Johnson to only 3 points in the game. Al Harrington scored 20 and grabbed 10 rebounds and Josh Childress scored 18 for the Hawks.Pacers are next on thursday (trade deadline)...PN13
