Dallas Mavericks vs. Detroit Pistons preview 8 p.m. Wednesday (ESPN/FSNSW) By EDDIE SEFKO / The Dallas Morning News esefko@dallasnews.com Who's hot? Chauncey Billups After many predicted a tail-off for him this season, the tough-nosed, 31-year-old point guard has responded by averaging 17.3 points and 7.5 assists, both slightly up from last season. He's also already nailed 52 3-pointers this season. As a team, the Pistons have hit 202 3-pointers, just two fewer than the Dallas Mavericks. ... Antonio McDyess has found the fountain of youth apparently, averaging 10.4 points and 8.1 rebounds while playing 31 minutes per game at age 33. ... Eddie Jones is shooting 60 percent over the last four games (12-of-20). ... Devin Harris has scored at least 14 points in eight of the last 10 games. ... Dirk Nowitzki has led the Mavericks in scoring (or tied for the lead) in nine consecutive games. Who's not? Mavericks vs. the East After starting out 3-1, they have gone just 5-5 against Eastern Conference competition since Nov. 23. That's unacceptable, especially for a team that went 27-3 against the East last season. ... Brandon Bass has struggled from the field of late (6-of-19 in the last five) but has funneled his energy into other areas. He's averaging 6.5 rebounds in that stretch, nearly two more than his season average. ... Rasheed "Both teams played hard" Wallace is shooting just 42.9 percent for the season, which would be intolerable for a center except that he is hitting 38 percent from beyond the 3-point line, from where he has taken more than one-third of his shots. Injuries Mavericks: Jerry Stackhouse (right thumb) is probable; Erick Dampier (left knee) is day-to-day. Pistons: none
32-20 at the end of the first quarter. Dirk with 11/4/2 and Dallas is playing really well, everyone is going for offensive rebounds as opposed to just Dampier and it's really working
