Pistons @ Sixers Preview Detroit Pistons(34-24) @ Philadelphia Sixers(23-33) Series: The Sixers lead the series 2-0 Last Meeting: Sixers 78 @ Pistons 76 on December 9, 2003 Previous Game Magic 87 @ Pistons 86 Sixers 88 @ Lakers 116 Streaks Pistons: Lost 2 (2-8 in last ten) Sixers: Lost 1 (4-6 in last ten) Head Coaches vs. Brown vs. Ford Probable Starters PG: vs. Billups vs. Snow SG: vs. Hamilton vs. Iverson SF: vs. Prince vs. Robinson PF: vs. Wallace vs. Thomas C: vs. Wallace vs. Dalembert 6th Men vs. Okur vs. McKie Players to Watch vs. Hamilton: 18.2 Points (.440 FG%, .872 FT%), 3.8 Assists, 3.7 Rebounds, 1.21 Steals Iverson: 27.4 Points (.392 FG %, .754 FT%), 6.6 Assists, 3.8 Rebounds, 2.48 Steals Injury Lists Detroit Pistons Philadelphia Sixers Derrick Coleman Marc Jackson Todd MacCulloch Keys to the Game <u>Detroit Pistons:</u> <ul> [*]Prevent penetration by Iverson (The Pistons did an excellent job on McGrady for most of the game yesterday. Tonight, it will be important for them to force Iverson into ill advised shots, and prevent penetration. Iverson is very agile and if he can get into the lane he will be able to hurt the Pistons.) [*]Dominate the boards (Detroit now has the frontcourt to destroy other teams on the glass. The Pistons were able to get offensive rebounds almost at will against the Magic and it should continue tonight. The Pistons should be able to beat the Sixers on the glass by at least 5.) [*]Guard the forwards (The Sixers have fairly good forwards with Glenn Robinson and Kenny Thomas. They are both able to score inside and can cause trouble for the Pistons. The Wallaces will need to guard the paint well to prevent any easy baskets.) [*]Get good bench production (Mike James was mostly impressive in his debut. (A few too many threes though, but Rasheed had a poor shooting night too.) I'm getting annoyed by some stretches of offense when we give the ball to Corliss on 3 possesions in a row and he turns it over each time. The bench needs to play well and convert any oppurtunities that arise.) [*]Play Larry Brown's style of basketball/Spread the ball around (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] <u>Philadelphia Sixers:</u> <ul> [*]Guard Rasheed Wallace (Rasheed had a pretty good debut except that it was a slightly poor shooting night. He will come out and try to have a big game tonight. The Sixers will need to keep him on the outside and prevent him from getting low post position. However, if he hangs around the 3-point line, the Sixers still need to guard him because he can nail the shot.) [*]Get some rebounds (Detroit will look to take advantage with their frontcourt. Sixers will need to get some defensive rebounds to prevent extra possesions for the Pistons. Some extra offensive rebounds wouldn't hurt either.) [*]Have a good game from Iverson (Detroit will not allow another night where the other team's franchise player has a horrible game yet their team still wins. Iverson will need to play smart and not force any shots. The Pistons have some players that can guard him but he is more agile than T-Mac and will need to try to penetrate.) [*]Get the crowd into it (Philadelphia's crowd is always nasty. Expect them to scream at Larry Brown again. Sixers will want to try to feed off of any energy that the crowd gives off. If the Sixers make a big run early, though should be able to get the momentum and keep the fans excited.) [/list] PyroManiac's Prediction Pistons will play better tonight. I have a good feeling about this game. Detroit will come in wanting to prove something and to prevent the Sixers from winning the series. Detroit needs this win and they will get it. The Sixers haven't been playing overly well recently and neither has Detroit. It should be a pretty low scoring game, Detroit should play some good defense again tonight. Pistons by 7.
No way Prince should start this game, not after the way he played last night. Every time he touched the ball he shot it, it was ridiculous. Anyway, the Pistons really need this win, and I'm tired of seeing the same players come out and make mistakes. Something needs to change, so I think Darko should play! Then again, I always think that... Sixers by 1.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting AllNet:</div><div class="quote_post">Iverson is doubtful for tonight, but likely will play</div> I meant to mention that in the preview, you always seem to find what I forget/miss. I think Iverson will start, he won't miss a game unless he seriously can't play. BigMemo, I completely agree, Prince needs to be shot. Corliss and Prince are always pissing me off with how they play. They seem selfish especially on the stretches were they get 4 possesions in a row, are doubled and force a shot!!!! We all want Darko to play and we are all sure that he can do better than Prince, however Brown is never going to play him! The Pistons have the talent to kill the Sixers, I'm going on optimism that we play properly today, that is why the score seems so wrong.
When did the Sixers acquire Penny? I'll say Sixers will win this one if AI scores 30+ but if he's too banged up with that shoulder injury,we will lose.
Nice Preview Pyro. After that Tragic lost to Orlando the Pistons are looking for someone to take their frustrations out. The Sixers are going to feel some anger tonight. Pistins by 9.
<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post"> Richard Hamilton scored 15 points and Tayshaun Prince added 14, leading the Detroit Pistons to a 76-66 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers on Monday night. Ben Wallace had 12 points, 13 rebounds and six blocks, and Rasheed Wallace added 10 points and 11 rebounds for the Pistons, who had lost eight of nine and four straight on the road. Kenny Thomas had 10 points and 18 rebounds, and Eric Snow added 12 points for Philadelphia, which was without Allen Iverson because of a shoulder injury. Iverson, tied for the NBA's scoring lead, was replaced by Aaron McKie, who had two points. Pistons coach Larry Brown again was booed in his second return to Philadelphia since leaving the Sixers to coach Detroit last spring. The Hall of Fame coach spent six often-turbulent seasons in Philadelphia, helping rebuild a struggling franchise and often clashing with Iverson. In his second full game with the Pistons since a three-team trade brought him to Detroit last week, Rasheed Wallace was called for a technical foul in the third quarter, and his constant complaints to officials drew jeers from the crowd. A Philadelphia native, he joked with some fans as he walked off the court following a timeout in the third.</div> Recap Box Score This is one of those wins where you are left dissapointed. The Sixers were without there best player and the Pistons almost choked. Detroit gave away 18 point leads, unacceptable. Darko should not have played at the end, but at the end of the first half he could have played. Those minutes were open, nothing was happening and we were still losing our lead. I expected a 30 point blowout when we got a 16 point lead, Detroit needs to be able to finish off team early. Two times in the past two games the Pistons have let a team hang around, costing us a win against the Magic! Detroit needs to get better and fast!
<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">"I got mad at him tonight because he passed up about 10 chances where he could have shot the ball," Brown said of Prince. "Mehmet (Okur) was pouting tonight, and he was pouting against Orlando. He has to grow up. We need him. Tayshaun never pouts, and he's going to get better." </div> Free Press Article Every time Brown talks he just makes me angry. Honestly, what is his problem? Does he realize that Tayshaun shooting all the time is what hurts the team in a lot of games? I can't stand how he plays favorites like that.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting BigMemo:</div><div class="quote_post"> Every time Brown talks he just makes me angry. Honestly, what is his problem? Does he realize that Tayshaun shooting all the time is what hurts the team in a lot of games? I can't stand how he plays favorites like that.</div> That's the reason I don't really like him too. But think of it this way, sometimes Okur plays get out of hand, he'll try and do things on the inside he's incapable of. Hopefully he won't hurt on him or any of the players who didn't really do anything to harm the team in the first place. Such low scoring, I hadn't watched or read about it, must've been some hell of a defense or a severe lack of offense. Just glad to see Detroit continuing to win, too bad they didn't pull a Knicks or Nets themselves.
I'm starting to hate Brown. I'm starting to hate Prince. I'm hating Corliss even more now. I'm starting to like Okur. Brown: His substitutions piss me off. His horrible quotes piss me off. Okur is a fairly good player and he deserves to play. Okur got kicked to the bench, even though he is better than Prince inside and that is still what the Pistons need. His system is starting to look worse now. The Pistons have the talent to rival the West but either we are in a horrendous streak or Brown's system isn't taking place. Prince: He takes some horrible shots. Some games he just doesn't pass. Also don't like the way he looks on the court, he freaks me out. We seem to have stretches where he gets the ball on 3 consecutive possesions and either turns the ball over each time or has a horrible shot. Nothing more annoying than that. Corliss: Whenever he is on the court the Pistons seem to try to get him the ball. This usually happens on five possesions. Now, every few games the shots go in but usually the Pistons go scoreless. He turns the ball over on three of the possesions and misses the other two shots. He doesn't play defense, in fact he doesn't do anything! Okur: I remember when we first saw him last year and he kept bricking all those threes. Well, my friends started screaming "Don't shoot Okur" whenever he got the ball. We were pissed off. In the playoffs, he become good and we started screaming "GIVE THE BALL TO OKUR!" Then, it seemed that he got cocky. At points he must have thought he had become MJ because nobody could make some of the shots he took. Now, this season he still takes a few of those shots but he has been improving recently. I want him to play more, but Brown never plays him, especially not in the 4th quarter! Now he gets benched instead of Prince, another stupid choice by Brown. Sure Okur hasn't been playing with heart or intensity recently, but neither have any of the Pistons, certainly not Prince. Okur needs to toughen up and stop acting immature but he has every right to be pissed. I don't know, maybe I'm just overeacting at this streak of horrible play. I probably shouldn't be this dissapointed when we win but some of the things with this team have been very annoying. Anyways, have a good day guys.
