Bucks @ Pistons Preview Milwaukee Bucks(28-24) @ Detroit Pistons(33-22) Feb. 18, 7:30 pm Eastern The Palace of Auburn Hills TV: UPN-50 (Pistons), FSN (Bucks), NBALP Previous Game Magic 104 @ Bucks 127 Pistons 88 @ Knicks 92 Series: Detroit leads the series 2-1. Last Meeting: Pistons 99 @ Bucks 94 Streaks Bucks: Won 1 (5-5 in last ten) Pistons: Lost 6 (4-6 in last ten) Head Coaches vs. Terry Porter vs. Larry Brown Probable Starters PG: vs. TJ Ford vs. Chauncey Billups SG: vs. Michael Redd vs. Richard Hamilton SF: vs. Desmond Mason vs. Darvin Ham PF: vs. Joe Smith vs. Ben Wallace C: vs. Brian Skinner vs. Mehmet Okur 6th Men vs. Damon Jones vs. Corliss Williamson Players to Watch vs. Redd: 22 Points (.443 FG %, .372 3P%, .887 FT%), 2.2 Assists, 5.1 Rebounds, 1.04 Steals Hamilton: 17.9 Points (.435 FG %, .189 3P%, .870 FT%), 3.7 Assists, 3.7 Rebounds, 1.22 Steals After Hamilton went 3-20 from the field against the Knicks, he has to come back and match up to Redd, an all star. Hamilton will need to counter Redd on the offensive end and prevent him from getting open looks on the defensive end. This should be a good matchup to watch as long as Hamilton doesn't shoot .150 from the field. Injury Report Milwaukee Bucks Keith Van Horn is out Detroit Pistons Tremaine Fowlkes Lindsey Hunter Keys to the Game <u>Milwaukee Bucks:</u> <ul> [*]Get Redd and TJ Ford going early (These two players spark the Buck's offense. TJ had 12 assists in 25 minutes against the Magic and Milwaukee would like that type of production again. Redd is the Buck's main offensive threat and they would like for him to go for over 25 points tonight.) [*]Guard Billups (Billups was the guard that didn't go 3-20 against the Knicks. Billups had a respectable 26 points on 9-18 shooting in 28 minutes. He was the only Detroit player who decided to play. As always, he is the Pistons main offensive threat and he will need to be contained.) [*]Fast Break Points (The Knicks were able to build a lead early in the last game because they were able to abuse the Pistons on the fast break. Detroit could not get set in their transition defense and it cost them in the first half.) [*]Inside Presence (Milwaukee will want to establish an inside presence to get some easy points. Detroit allowed 44 points inside the paint to the Knicks, and that helped New York pull through. The Bucks will look for the same type of baskets. Also, if Okur is having a great game, the Bucks will need to be able to stop him. Mehmet is playing physical basketball recently and if he is not stopped, he can be damaging.) [/list] <u>Detroit Pistons:</u> <ul> [*]Play the passing lanes/Force turnovers/Stop Fast Break (Milwaukee is another team that is very good at spreading the ball around, especially when TJ Ford is on the court. Getting some turnovers will result in some easy baskets for Detroit, getting the crowd excited, and gaining some momentum. Also, the Pistons will need to stop the Bucks' fast break. Desmond Mason is a very good finisher on the fast break and the Pistons will need to contain him.) [*]Contain TJ Ford (Ford isn't the best shooting yet, but he is very good at spreading the ball. He is lightning fast and he can run around the court. It will be important for the Pistons to contain him and prevent him from penetrating and dishing.) [*]Get good production from Hamilton and Billups (Billups had a good game against the Knicks, Hamilton didn't. Both of these players need to have good games on the same night for the Pistons to have a good shot at winning. As always, the Pistons offense relies on them and Detroit will collapse if they have horrible time shooting the ball.) [*]Play the Piston's style of basketball/Get the crowd excited (The Pistons need to get back the basics of spreading the ball around and getting open shots. The Pistons also need some smart bench play and some excellent execution on the offensive end. The Pistons are on their home court and need to get the crowd excited. Get some good plays, make some key substitutions, and pump up the crowd.) [/list] Pistons' Schemes <u>Offense:</u> Detroit will need to penetrate and give the ball to players inside. The Bucks have no real shot blockers except Dan Gadzuric who is a bench player. Brian Skinner can block but he isn't a fully fledged shot blocker. The Bucks play a very good team defense and Detroit will need to find a way to exploit that. However, as long as Detroit rebounds and spreads the ball, they should win. <u>Defense:</u> The biggest challanges will be containing the fast break and TJ Ford. TJ Ford and Michael Redd will be the players that the Pistons defend the most. The Pistons will need to get good rotation on defense to prevent Redd from getting open looks and TJ from getting easy penetration. Pistons will need to be able to set up their transition defense very quickly because the Bucks are excellent at finishing transition oppurtunities with Desmond Mason. Detroit will also need to contain the Bucks' bench. PyroManiac's Prediction Should be another good game tonight. The Pistons will need to come out early and play good defense. They will also need to execute on offense. Hamilton's offensive production will need to be more efficient than against the Knicks. The Pistons should try to get the crowd excited using certain methods. I'm not going to mention anything because I'm jinxing EVERYTHING recently. This is a must win, even more so than the Knicks game. We are falling in the division and we have to start looking ahead toward the playoffs, especially if Dumars doesn't make a trade for another scorer. Keith Van Horn will be missing and the Pistons will need to capitalize on this. Pistons should be able to pull through in the end, as long as James Capers isn't a referee tonight. Pistons by 4.
Bucks by 2 in a close one. Pistons seem to have trouble with teams that can score and spread that defense out.
Thanks for not jinxing Darko this time, Pyro! The Pistons just need to shoot better, better than last night and better than the past few games. Rip needs to either get his shooting touch back or stop shooting. Also, get back to passing the ball, play Larry Brown's style that worked so well for a while. I don't blame the refs for last nights loss, when a game is that close that one call seems to control the outcome then it's really anyone's game. Still, I'd like to see those calls go the Pistons' way tonight. The most important thing is playing a full 4 quarters of basketball. This team is up to it. Pistons by 9.
I wonder if Brown will actually play Okur late in the 4th quarter like he should hmmm This should be a good game, a must win for the pistons no doubt Michael Redd, Desmond Mason and Texas's finest TJ Ford are all favourite players of mine so this game will be extra exciting for me. If Pistons aren't careful the Bucks could be set to overtake them soon in the standings. The losing streak has to stop for D to stop the Bucks from moving up.
I don't really blame the refs for the loss. It was just a bad call, it wasn't even right at the end, so the Pistons had time to win. The Pistons need to shoot better, but Larry Brown has a responsibility to the team. He needs to make the right substitutions. Against New York: Billups only played 28 minutes, while Hamilton played 40. Ham played for 20 minutes and did nothing. Okur didn't play in the fourth. Brown needs to manage the players on the court better.
What's Larry Brown's problem? I really think he hates Okur, which is pointless and only hurts the team. Memo tries hard, changes his game so Brown likes it, and he still rides the bench the whole fourth quarter. If I were him I'd rather sign with another team this summer and play than stay on Brown's team and get benched.
man....i was going to post that we won so many times in the last minute, but the door was never shut until the horn went off. we scraped, clawed, and finally got that win. whew. i've got to commend the Pistons for a consistent performance tonight. especially on defense. it wasn't a defensive lock-down, but it was solid D all night.
I wanted Ben to get that triple double with 2 more blocks. Great job by Hamilton, he had a great game and helped the Pistons win. I was starting to get worried at the end, but Detroit pulled through. Next home game, Minnesota! Also, Darko is never going to play. Never trust anything the Detroit News says from now on. That was a useless article. Just made the fans hope. Aw well, maybe in the playoffs. Box Score and Recap are coming up soon.
<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Richard Hamilton scored 23 points and Chauncey Billups added 20 as the Detroit Pistons ended a six-game losing streak with a 102-98 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks on Wednesday night. Corliss Williamson scored 15 points and Ben Wallace added 11 points, 15 rebounds and eight blocks as the Pistons won for the first time since Feb. 2. Milwaukee, still playing without new acquisition Keith Van Horn (family issues), lost its seventh in a row on the road. Michael Redd led the Bucks with 23 points and Desmond Mason added 20. The Pistons trailed by 13 at the end of the first quarter, but outscored Milwaukee 30-14 in the second to take a 50-47 halftime lead. Williamson scored nine points in the quarter to lead Detroit's rally. Detroit broke the game open with a 20-4 run to take a 76-61 lead after three quarters. Hamilton had 13 points during the streak. Detroit outscored Milwaukee 56-28 in the second and third quarters, and the Bucks never got closer than seven until the final minute.</div> Recap Box Score Ben Wallace was very impressive this game: 11 points, 15 boards, 8 blocks, 3 steals. He helped keep the Pistons together on the defensive end, especially during the 3rd quarter. Hamilton hardly played in the first half because of foul trouble but came back in the second and dragged the Pistons to a victory. Chucky had a pretty bad game, but had to stay out there because everybody was in foul trouble. Too many fouls, but it was fun to see Damon Jones get ejected. Anyways, I was spot on in my prediction. Pistons won by 4. Yay!
Really, the reason he Bucks lost was this. Ben Wallace, eight blocks. Mehmet Okur, five blocks. Tayshaun Prince, one block. They got swatted fourteen friggin times.
And Joe Smith went 0 for 11 from the field in 37 minutes... My man Dan went 3 for 4 in just 13 minutes... without seeing the game I think Dan should've had more minutes...
Yeah, Dan should have seen more minutes. I would have wanted Ben to get his triple double from blocks.
Seeing Joe Smith went 0 for 11 I think he was the one getting blocked by Wallace. Dan G. would've done better for sure
