http://www.nba.com/media/act_rasheed_wallace.jpg"> [b]O 19.6 points, 11.30 rebounds, 3.15 blocks per game Wallace: 13.0 Points, 6.40 rebounds, 1.45 blocks per game Injury Lists Miami Heat Jerome Beasly Dorell Wright Detroit Pistons Horace Jenkins Ronald Dupree Carlos Delfino Ben Wallace (suspended by the league) Key's To The Game Game Notes Forward Antonio Mcdyess injured his knee on wednesday @ Cleveland with 6 minutes remaining in the 4th quarter and left the game. However according to Dice the injury was the first time he has banged his knee since surgery which was more scary than anything serious. They say all It the injury was is a bruise. He should be fine for friday night's game. <u>Miami Heat</u> <ul>Attack the rim and get Shaq going early on. Force Rasheed Wallace and Antonio Mcdyess into foul trouble. Don't slack off defensively, otherwise the Pistons guards will have a field day attacking the rim. Play for the full 48 minutes and don't let up. Offensively get everyone involved early, more so Eddie Jones. Miami have struggled when Jones has shot the ball badly from deep. When he comes to play, the Heat are very tough to beat but when he doesn't turn up Miami's options are very limited. The Heat's bench needs to come in and give energy, scoring and defense. Any extra points is very important. Players like Dooling, Jones and Doleac need to add something to the game[/list] <u>Detroit Pistons</u> <ul>get Rasheed Wallace going early in the post , feed him the ball as much as possible. He has struggled this year and needs to start performing like the big name player he is. Chauncey Billups will need to get involved offensively early on, by the time he got his offense going against Cleveland the Pistons were already well behind. attack the rim will give the Pistons more options for the Pistons big men Rasheed Wallace and Antonio Mcdyess inside. Bench points is very important, with Carlos Delfino missing and Antonio Mcdyess now being a starter with Ben Wallace suspended, guys like Campbell, Parker, Ham and Hunter will have to bring some kind of offensive boost. Don't let yet another 2nd year guard embarass you[/list] Game Thoughts The Pistons are not playing very good basketball right now, the defense has been nothing short of terrible so far. No one seems to be buying into the defensive system. Guys are allowed to attack the rim any time they please and teams are knocking down open shots with ease. Pistons are on a two game losing streak losing to teams they really should be beating. Rip Hamilton and Chauncey Billups are really the only consistant Pistons. Although without the defense the offense between these guards are a lost cause. Detroit were so good last year due to the defense along with the points from the backcourt, so far only 1 of the 2 are happening so far. Rasheed Wallace is not performing up to expections and therefore the frontcourt offense is not what It should be. Miami are 9-4 but have yet to beat an elite team, the Wade/Shaq duo is working very nicely with Wade putting up monster numbers while also embarassing plenty of players with his crossovers. Pistons let Lebron go off on wednesday night, they can't allow the same thing to happen this time with Wade. It's hard to tell what Pistons team will turn up or what kind of defensive effort they will put in but being back at the palace and the fact they should be motivated not to fall to 2 games under 500 I will give them the edge. But If they continue to play lazy on both ends of the floor then Wade and Shaq will make life even worse for Larry Brown's team.
Wade will have a good matchup agaisnt Billups, and I that should be the game's Marquee matchup. Billups has been playing very well, and he's a very good scorer, outside shooter, and also good at slashing and getting to the line. Wade will have to really get down on his man to man defense because if Billups can get in the lane it will allow him to open things up for Detroit by driving and dishing, and it can also get Shaq in foul trouble. Rip Hamilton is always a threat to explode, and EJ will have a tough matchup defending him and running around all day, we need to contain these guy, and keep the perimeter defense solid. The Pistons are still short inside, and though McDyess and Rasheed are no pushover's, they'll have a hard time with Shaq like everyone else. Haslem needs to be careful though, McDyess is now getting mroe touches, and he might not be the same MCDyes of old, but the man is capable of putting up big numbers offensively. I think if the Pistons can go to McDyess he can take Haslem all day, and that could be an interesting matchup for them. Miami wins this one 95 - 91. Shaq has 23 points, and 12 rebounds, and Wade has 26 points, 6 rebounds, 8 assists, 2 steals, and 1 block.
Good game. Rip Hamilton is a great player. He is clutch to. If only Wade was in for that final shot.......
Great game indeed to beat Miami without Ben is a good win. They still had problems scoring in that 4th quarter and basically gave the Heat the lead with some bad shots. At least we finally saw some of that Detroit defense which this team has been so well known for, holding Miami to just 37% shooting. About time I would say. When Butler hit that shot I truely thought It was over but as always, Rip saved the day. Although It's a win, only two guys in double fiqure scoring is bad and can't afford to happen again. Sheed needs to get his act togeather and fast, he is really hurting the team lately. Poor shooting, not many blocks, not as quick defending his man. I just hope he gets in better game shape soon. He is not playing on the same level of last year. When there was a basket needed, Sheed was nowhere to be found. Mcdyess did a soild job but he needed to add more to the team but hey they won the game and thats all that matters. However there are some plenty of parts of their game they need to work on. Miami are a good team but all they have proved this year is the fact they can beat up on non playoff teams but when they have to face an elite team, they lose.
How did the game end? I know it had to be a final game deciding posession because the score was 78-77.
lovely match, i was so haoppy when hamilton scored that last layup, only because shaq couldn't do anything bout it... keep going detroit, you still got ya fans (not my fave team but still like ya)
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting AllNet:</div><div class="quote_post">Sheed needs to get his act togeather and fast, he is really hurting the team lately. Poor shooting, not many blocks, not as quick defending his man. I just hope he gets in better game shape soon. He is not playing on the same level of last year. When there was a basket needed, Sheed was nowhere to be found. Mcdyess did a soild job but he needed to add more to the team but hey they won the game and thats all that matters. However there are some plenty of parts of their game they need to work on.</div> just got back from the game....what a great finish!! i could not agree with AllNet's statement anymore. Sheed isn't playing nearly as well as last year, and i sincerely hope it's just because he's out of shape. we need Sheed to play as effective as he was last season. Sheed playing at his best and we were nearly unbeatable. once Dice and Delfino are back to contributing off the bench, we'll be back in shape....so i'm not overly concerned. great win over Miami. i haven't seen Miami play much this season, but tonight, thye didn't give me much to worry about come playoff time.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting iamme:</div><div class="quote_post">btw, Darko's dunk was awesome </div> It was pretty funny. I saw the steal and the player running down the court and it took me a minute to recognize Darko. I think I was in shock.
