<div align="center"> <span style="font-size:24pt;line-height:100%">@</span> November 17, 2006 - 8:00 pm ET<span style="color:#FF0000">Game aired on ESPN</span></div> <span style="color:#3333FF">Washington Wizards</span> <span style="color:#996633">(3-4)</span><span style="color:#996633">PG</span> <span style="color:#3333FF">Gilbert Arenas</span> <span style="color:#996633">SG</span> <span style="color:#3333FF">DeShawn Stevenson</span> <span style="color:#996633">SF</span> <span style="color:#3333FF">Caron Butler</span> <span style="color:#996633">PF</span> <span style="color:#3333FF">Antawn Jamison</span> <span style="color:#996633">C</span> <span style="color:#3333FF">Etan Thomas</span> <span style="color:#996633">Key Bench Players:</span> <span style="color:#3333FF">Antonio Daniels, Jarvis Hayes, Brendan Haywood, Michael Ruffin</span> <span style="color:#3333FF">Detroit Pistons</span> <span style="color:#FF0000">(3-5)</span><span style="color:#FF0000">PG</span> <span style="color:#3333FF">Chauncey Billups</span> <span style="color:#FF0000">SG</span> <span style="color:#3333FF">Rip Hamilton</span> <span style="color:#FF0000">SF</span> <span style="color:#3333FF">Tayshaun Prince</span> <span style="color:#FF0000">PF</span> <span style="color:#3333FF">Rasheed Wallace</span> <span style="color:#FF0000">C</span> <span style="color:#3333FF">Nazr Mohammed</span> <span style="color:#FF0000">Key Bench Players:</span> <span style="color:#3333FF">Antonio McDyess, Flip Murray, Jason Maxiell, Lindsey Hunter, Carlos Delfino</span> Injury Report<span style="color:#996633">WAS:</span> <span style="color:#3333FF">Darius Songala will not play (recovering from back surgery)</span> Who To Watch Out For<span style="color:#3333FF">Gilbert Arenas</span><span style="color:#996633">Season Stats: 27.3 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 6.9 apg, 2.0 spg</span><span style="color:#3333FF">Antawn Jamison</span><span style="color:#996633">Season Stats: 21.4 ppg, 7.7 rpg, 1.4 apg</span><span style="color:#3333FF">Caron Butler</span><span style="color:#996633">Season Stats: 17.1 ppg, 6.6 rpg, 3.3 apg, 2.7 spg</span><span style="color:#3333FF">Chauncey Billups</span><span style="color:#FF0000">Season Stats: 18.5 ppg, 2.8 rpg, 7.3 apg</span><span style="color:#3333FF">Rasheed Wallace</span><span style="color:#FF0000">Season Stats: 11.9 ppg, 9.5 rpg, 1.9 bpg</span><span style="color:#3333FF">Rip Hamilton</span><span style="color:#FF0000">Season Stats: 22.2 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 3.0 apg</span><span style="color:#3333FF">Tayshaun Prince</span><span style="color:#FF0000">Season Stats: 14.0 ppg, 6.1 rpg, 3.3 apg</span> Rookie WatchNone <span style="color:#3333FF">Washington's X-Factor</span><span style="color:#3333FF">Etan Thomas</span><span style="color:#996633">Season Stats: 7.4 ppg, 6.3 rpg, 2.1 bpg</span><span style="color:#3333FF">With Sheed and Nazr down low, Etan is going to have to bring his toughness to a whole n'other level and grab boards like a mad man.</span> <span style="color:#3333FF">Detroit's X-Factor</span><span style="color:#3333FF">Antonio McDyess</span><span style="color:#FF0000">Season Stats: 4.5 ppg, 6.5 rpg</span><span style="color:#3333FF">McDyess has been inconsistant and off lately. He needs to step in off the bench and provide some energy and scoring, and play confidently. His shot is not falling lately, he needs to start knocking them down to help get Detroit back on track with the wins.</span> Key Matchup vs. <span style="color:#3333FF">Gilbert Arenas</span> <span style="color:#000000">vs.</span> <span style="color:#3333FF">Chauncey Billups</span><span style="color:#000000">Two top 5 PG's in the NBA going at it. Arenas is coming off a bad game, and Chauncey is feeling pressure to get some wins. This should make for a good matchup.</span> CelticBalla's Extra Thoughts/NotesDetroit really needs to get it together. 3-5 is not going to win the division, and they need to pick it up so they can reclaim themselves as a top tier team in the Eastern Conference. They aren't getting the job done lately, and they need to pick it up. CelticBalla's PredictionI see Detroit winning this one. They have been struggling and they are playing at home tonight. I think they make the fans happy and come away with a nice win at home.
I think the Pistons are learning how to play without Ben Wallace in the middle game by game, and now I think they are to a point where they are ready to show how good of a team they are wtihout him. Watch Rasheed Wallace tonight, his fourth quarter play has been very solid all year for the Pistons.
Thanks for posting this. Great game preview. Anyways, I think this will be a fun game to watch. So many one-on-one battles to pay attention to: Arenas vs. Billups, Butler vs. Prince, and even Etan vs. Nazr. All of them cancel each other out. Even DeShawn attempting to stay with Rip a whole 48 minutes will be interesting to see. With no Big Ben in the middle, Arenas should attack the rim at will. His shot has been off lately in TWO straight games, which doesn't happen that often. He needs to take advantage of the Big Ben-less interior defense of the Pistons. Sheed cannot be underestimated this game. He'll kill you down the stretch with the 3 ball if you leave him open. He can take you outside or inside, and even if his game is declining, he's still a threat. I hope that go into Eddie Jordan's thick head. I really think this will be a great game to watch, both teams are struggling, and their star players, Arenas and Billups, will be put up to the task. I'm not predicting the score, but I do think we CAN win this game.
We played like horseshit tonight. Daniels and Butler are the only players on the team that have shown up in all of our past three losses. We're playing terrible basketball, everything is just terrible. Hunter looked like Ray Allen out there, and Eddie Jordan should seriously consider playing Haywood and Etan at the same time. We need to regroup quickly, or else we're in big trouble. The only thing I'm the least bit happy about is Miami losing tonight. It will help our division, even though Orlando is red hott. For the Heat, with Shaq out for 4-6 weeks, things could get ugly down in Miami. They got abused by the Knicks tonight.
