Hawks @ Pistons Atlanta Hawks(19-38) @ Detroit Pistons(36-24) Feb. 27, 8:00 pm The Palace of Auburn Hills TV: Fox Sports Detroit, NBALP Previous Game Sixers 75 @ Hawks 86 Pistons 107 @ Bulls 88 Series: Detroit leads the series 2-1. Last Meeting: Hawks 91 @ Pistons 82 on January 25, 2004 Streaks Hawks: Won 1 (5-5 in last ten) Pistons: Won 2 (3-7 in last ten) Head Coaches vs. Terry Stotts vs. Larry Brown Probable Starters PG: vs. Jason Terry vs. Chauncey Billups SG: vs. Boris Diaw vs. Richard Hamilton SF: vs. Stephen Jackson vs. Tayshaun Prince PF: vs. Chris Crawford vs. Ben Wallace C: vs. Joel Przybilla vs. Rasheed Wallace 6th Men vs. Bob Sura vs. Mike James Players to Watch vs. Terry: 16.1 Points (.431 FG%, .819 FT%), 5.1 Assists, 4 Rebounds, 1.48 Steals Billups: 17.6 Points (.389 FG%, .888 FT%), 5.3 Assists, 3.6 Rebounds, 1.07 Steals Well, unless there is a serious collapse by the Pistons, Detroit should be able to win. The two best players on the Hawks are Terry and Stephen and it is more interesting to watch Billups over Prince. Injury Report Atlanta Hakws Obinna Ekezie Travis Hansen Alan Henderson Chris Mills Wesley Person Zeljko Rebraca Detroit Pistons Mehmet Okur Keys to the Game <u>Atlanta Hawks:</u> <ul> [*]Try not to get blown out (Lets be realistic. The Hawks should not be able to win this game. Detroit is a better team and will most likely win. Atlanta has been staying close in games. If they are able to keep the score close, then they might be able to make a run at the end.) [*]Get good shots (Atlanta won't be able to match the Pistons on defense, or offense. The Hawks need to get good shots and hit those shots to be able to stay in the game.) [*]Rebound (The Pistons have a huge frontcourt that can dominate the glass. The Hawks need to be able to grab offensive rebounds to prevent Detroit from getting extra possesions.) [*]Play with intensity (The Hawks were able to beat the Pistons in their last game, even though the Pistons were in the middle of a horrible playing streak. Atlanta can still keep up with some teams and they will need to play with intensity and emotion on every possesion.) [/list] <u>Detroit Pistons:</u> <ul> [*]Get a good rotation going (Okur is injured and there is no guarantee that Elden will be effective again tonight. He had a good game against the Bulls and he can still help us. However, if he isn't helping, another player needs to be brought in to the game. Also, Corliss should not be getting an extreme amount of minutes if his shots aren't falling. He provides almost nothing except a low post presense so Detroit should take him out of the game if he is 0-5.) [*]Run the fastbreak/Finish the team off (Detroit should look to try spreading the ball and running tonight. Atlanta is not a great team and Detroit should be able to get as many easy baskets as possible. Even if Detroit builds a lead, they need to keep playing so that Atlanta does not come back, finish them off.) [*]Take the ball inside (Larry Brown keeps trying to get the Pistons to take the ball inside more. Detroit needs to start doing this so that they can be better prepared for the playoffs. Get the ball to Rasheed, Ben, Corliss, and Elden and let them get some easy points. Also, Billups will need to penetrate and be able to generate fouls.) [*]Get good production from Hamilton and Billups (Even with Rasheed Wallace, most of the Pistons' offense relies on the guards. Billups and Hamilton still need to play well and with intensity. They cannot relax and take breaks during the game.) [*]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] PyroManiac's Prediction I'm sorry, I'm not taking this game seriously. Atlanta isn't as bad as the preview makes them out to be, the players are still in the NBA and they can still play. The Hawks have been able to stay close with some good teams (Rockets) and beat another team. (Sixers) Still, the Pistons are a better team and should win this game. A healthy winning streak needs to be created to get into a rhythm heading into the playoffs. There is no reason why the Pistons should lose this game, that would be unacceptable. Pistons win by 18.
Great preview Pyro. The Hawks are going to have a difficult game to play against Detriot. Detriot is going to make them work hard so they won't ghet blown out. Pistons by 15.
Should be a blowout win for the Pistons The Hawks will only be dressing 8 players Only two names people will know Jason Terry and Stephen Jackson.
Good preview, I'm really excited for this game. Forgot to change Drew Gooden to Bobby Sura, though. I wish Memo could play, but since he can't I expect a bigger game from Campbell. He's a good pro, he's usually ready when the team needs him. Not that they'll need him so much, this game shouldn't be close. I'd like to see Darko in there right away, and playing a lot so he'll feel like he contributed. Keys to the game: don't lose focus and play the Pistons' hard working style that has payed off so well. Shouldn't be a problem, but then again, that's what I thought about Orlando. Pistons by 17.
Hope to see: 1. Solid 48 minutes of effort 2. Good ball movement 3. Plenty of Rasheed 4. Darko time! Never underestimate a team, though.
Pistons up 66-38 at the half. Funny thing, before the game I was talking on AIM and said this: [03:54] BuRn0902: i was making fun of the hawks [03:54] BuRn0902: i wanted to put in the key [03:54] TimFlem15: lol [03:54] BuRn0902: "dont get blown out by 90, try to keep it to under 50" [03:54] TimFlem15: lMAO Now, it might be interesting to see if the Hawks can keep it under 50. Watch Larry Brown still not play Darko until the last 5 minutes of the fourth. That would be very annoying. As for the game: All of our starters except for Rasheed Wallace have double digits in points. We have 21 assists on the half. Ben Wallace has a double double in the first half. We are shooting .605 as a team. All that needs to happen now, is for Darko to play 15+ minutes.
Pistons get the win 105-83 Darko 5 fouls in 13 minutes lol 4 rebounds and 2 points, as you know he still needs work Got to Love Mike James, 13 points, 7 assists, 3 steals in 25 minutes Sheed struggled with his shot, but he didn't have to do much. Wasn't needed in the 2nd half 3 game winning streak and boy did we need it Next game is @ Clippers on sunday, the start of our west coast trip. I feel confident we can get at least 4 of 5 the games are Clippers Utah Denver Portland Seattle Now the Portland one will be interesting and you know why
<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">You know it's an easy night for the Detroit Pistons when Darko Milicic plays. Richard Hamilton and Chauncey Billups each scored 20 points and Milicic played a season-high 13 minutes as the Pistons cruised to a 105-83 rout of the Atlanta Hawks. Just 2-5 at home since a 91-82 loss to the Hawks on January, the Pistons left little doubt about the outcome of this one as they led by double digits for all but 5:59 of the contest. Hamilton and Billups led the way, helping the Pistons to a 30-4 advantage in fast-break points. The Pistons had 25 points from their backcourt in the first quarter, when they raced to a 38-21 lead. With the game in hand, Milicic - the second pick in April's draft who rarely plays - was on the court in the third quarter. The Serbian teenager scored two points and committed five fouls.</div> Recap Box Score Darko played for a career high in minutes! 2 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist in 13 minutes. 0-3 though, he needed to go lower in the post. Detroit didn't really try to get him the ball too much either. He looked better on defense, and he was able to cover Bob Sura a lot. He needs work on the offensive end, it looks like he almost took a step back from that Houston game so long ago. Anyways, good win. Nothing wrong with an easy game against a bad team. We are playing the Clippers on Sunday which will be more interesting, it is the start of our West Coast Trip.
the first half was certainly impressive. they were playing defense with lots of pressure and forcing turnovers. lots of fastbreak points and easy buckets. nice to see Rasheed with some great outlet passes and looks up the floor.
