Pistons @ Knicks Preview Detroit Pistons(33-21) @ New York Knicks(25-29) Series: The Pistons lead the series 2-0 Last Meeting: Pistons 78 @ Knicks 78 on December 1, 2003 Previous Game Kings 96 @ Pistons 94 Knicks 98 @ Hornets 106 Streaks Pistons: Lost 5 (4-6 in last ten) Knicks: Lost 2 (6-4 in last ten) Head Coaches vs. Probable Starters PG: vs. Billups vs. Marbury SG: vs. Hamilton vs. Anderson SF: vs. Prince vs. Thomas PF: vs. Wallace vs. Thomas C: vs. Okur vs. Mutombo 6th Men vs. Milicic vs. Hardaway Players to Watch vs. Billups: 17.6 Points (.383 FG %), 5.1 Assists, 3.4 Rebounds, 1.06 Steals Marbury (With Knicks): 20.4 Points (.469 FG %), 9.6 Assists, 2.9 Rebounds, 1.32 Steals Injury Lists Detroit Pistons Tremaine Fowlkes Lindsey Hunter Zeljko Rebraca is suspended New York Knicks Cezary Trybanski Allan Houston Keys to the Game <u>Detroit Pistons:</u> <ul> [*]Play Piston Basketball (The Pistons have not been themselves lately. They have not played with extreme intensity, they have not hustled on every play, and they have not played excellent defense. To win the Pistons need to regain their selfless, efficient offense and impenetrable defense. Building some momentum and playing hard will be the Pistons' top priorities.) [*]Prevent penetration by Marbury (The Knicks best player will have to be stopped. New York's offense is run through him and without him as a catalyst, they will fall apart. He is averaging nearly 10 assists per game as a Knick and he will tear Detroit's defense apart if he allowed to run the floor and play his game.) [*]Dominate the boards (Detroit has to start winning the board war again. They have not been the same since the long winning streak that seemed to happen so long ago. Now that Okur, the Pistons' second best rebounder, is back, Detroit will need to have a edge in the rebound tally against New York. Mutombo can hurt Detroit with his rebounding and he will need to be boxed out.) [*]Offensive production of the starters (Recently, the starters have been inconsistent. None of the players have had efficient nights on the offensive end. After the break, the starters need to regain their efficient and non-selfish play. Prince needs to play with consistently, he can shoot as he demonstrated in the Rookie-Sophomore game. Billups cannot have another sub 5 point game as the Pistons depend on him for their offensive production.) [*]Get good bench production (Rebraca has been suspended, and Darko is supposed to be playing around 10 minutes a game now! Detroit is a deeper team than New York and the Pistons need to take advantage of that fact. If the starters, happen to have horrible production tonight, the bench will be required to keep the game in reach.) [*]Play Larry Brown's style of basketball/Spread the ball around (This is the 3rd key that means almost the same thing. It is important and the Pistons must do it! There are 28 games left to become consistent going into the playoffs. That is plenty of time but it is better to start earlier than later. Looking inside before taking perimeter shots and making the extra pass will be two of Detroit's priorities.) [/list] <u>New York Knicks:</u> <ul> [*]Guard Hamilton and Billups (Detroit's record speaks for itself when Billups and Hamilton both reach 20. It is very hard to win when this happens. The guards will come in with some excitement and intensity after the all star break and New York will need to contain that rage! The Knicks cannot allow Billups to disect the defense nor Hamilton to run around on the offensive end getting easy shots.) [*]Get some rebounds (Detroit will be looking to snatch every rebound up in the air and New York cannot allow that. The Knicks will need to prevent Detroit from getting offensive rebounds and get some offensive rebounds for themselves.) [*]Have a good game from Marbury (Marbury will need to be able to penetrate, dish, and shoot tonight. Detroit's main defensive efforts will concentrate on Stephon and he will need to be able to beat them. Marbury has made the Knicks an instant contender and he will need to prove that tonight when they face Detroit.) [*]Get the crowd into it (Detroit will rely on momentum and streaks to get the game going, including Darko. New York will need to counter and get the crowd cheering for them. Get the home crowd into the game and prevent Detroit from feeding off of any great plays by Darko and other Pistons.) [*]Try to keep Ben's production to a minimum (Ben Wallace is a beast. New York will need to stop the beast! If Ben Wallace goes for 20 rebounds, it will be hard for the Knicks to keep the game close. Also, Ben Wallace cannot be allowed to run around the paint as he can get some easy points for the Pistons.) [/list] PyroManiac's Prediction A must win for the Pistons. Detroit cannot extend this losing streak any further. The road to the playoffs is starting and it will be important to gain some momentum, consistency, and confidence. The Pistons will want to start another winning streak. Expect every player to come out and play hard, except the Pistons will play harder. New York will miss Allan Houston in this game. Darko should get at least 10 minutes tonight, hopefully more because Zelly is out for hitting Brad Miller. It will be interesting to see if he can produce. In the end, New York will try but they will not be able to contend with Detroit. Pistons by 5.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting PyroManiac:</div><div class="quote_post">6th Men vs. Milicic vs. Hardaway</div> Isn't that a bit of wishful thinking? On the other hand, it will certainly be interesting to see if Milicic gets any meaningful minutes tonight, even if it's five or six in the second quarter. Let him get a bit of a rythym, get into the flow, get some of that intangible "game experience" and see how he does. And if Rasheed Wallace is on our bench tonight, I'll be stunned. And a bit disappointed.
It may be a little bit of wishful thinking, but I have to put Darko's picture somewhere. If Rasheed Wallace is on our bench, well, I won't be DISSAPOINTED to say, but suprised. AllNet, my bad. I took the "Probable Starters" from the Pistons website. And I wasn't sure about these two so I decided to go by height. Ah well, I can be wrong. It's fixed now, so thanks.
I expect Darko to get at least 10-15 minutes tonight, with Rebraca suspended, Okur still seems to be injured, Campbell too old to play consitant minutes. Brown has no choice.
The Knicks will be pumped up IMO. Especially Tim Thomas. Darko as a sixth man is funny, but I do expect him to get around 20 minutes tonight. Pistons by 6 in a low scoring one.
i'll miss this game because of an exam tonight Isaiah has certainly done a good job shaking things up in NY. The Knicks are a dangerous team now. Once Allan Houston comes back their offense will be in high gear. I think we can get a victory tonight.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting franchise3:</div><div class="quote_post">The Knicks will be pumped up IMO. Especially Tim Thomas. Darko as a sixth man is funny, but I do expect him to get around 20 minutes tonight. Pistons by 6 in a low scoring one.</div>the only way Darko will get 20 minutes tonight is if they allow him to wear an oxygen mask on the court. once he gets into game shape and is able to contribute 20 good minutes, I really think the "we should have drafted Carmelo" people will be silenced.
We don't know if he's in game shape yet. This is exactly what we will see tonight, along with whether he can contribute to the team. Maybe not 20 minutes but he should get a career high in minutes tonight!
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting PyroManiac:</div><div class="quote_post">We don't know if he's in game shape yet. This is exactly what we will see tonight, along with whether he can contribute to the team. Maybe not 20 minutes but he should get a career high in minutes tonight!</div> i really believe that his physical conditioning and strength are the only things holding him back from being a very solid contributor. rather than having him run on a treadmill, it'll be far more beneficial for him to run his ass up and down the court. when i see Darko shoot his outside shot and fight for position, i know he's mobile enough to be an agile center. i remember when Shawn Bradley came into the league, you just had to watch him for a few minutes to know he wasn't agile enough to be really good. i'm not an NBA analyst or expert, but i think his shooting touch and agility will help him become a pretty good player. just wanted to get that off my chest, after hearing so many whining "we should have drafted Carmelo" calls on sports radio this morning
Very nice preview. This Knicks team is revamped (obviously) and they have been consistently competitive and motivated. They aren't one of the worst in the East anymore, and I expect a good game tonight. The Pistons need to play four quarters of hard-working basketball, and they need to stay tough throughout the game if they're going to win. They have a habit of third and fourth quarter let-downs, and I'm just tired of it. I'm excited about seeing Darko, I hope you all are right about him playing tonight. I'll be disappointed if he doesn't.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting BigMemo:</div><div class="quote_post">I'm excited about seeing Darko, I hope you all are right about him playing tonight. I'll be disappointed if he doesn't.</div> I know what you mean. I'm having this feeling that after all this anticipation he won't play. That would be a let down. Let's hope that it doesn't happen though. iamme, I agree. Darko needs to gain some more stamina and he will be much more effective just with that. He has the skills and not he just needs conditioning and a mold for his raw talent.
<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post"> Tim Thomas was a non-factor and Nazr Mohammed didn't play. Stephon Marbury made sure that didn't matter. Marbury made a clutch 3-pointer with 40 seconds left and the Knicks -- revamped again following the trade of Keith Van Horn and Michael Doleac -- sent Detroit to its sixth consecutive loss, 92-88 Tuesday night. Marbury finished with 28 points, nine assists and five steals, Penny Hardaway scored 17 and the Knicks outscored the Pistons 15-6 in the final 2:21 to snap a two-game losing streak. New York was again without Allan Houston, whose sore knee kept him on the injured list. He was expected to return after the All-Star break. Billups had 26 points for the Pistons, who will try to avoid their first seven-game losing streak since last season when they open a three-game homestand Wednesday night against Milwaukee. Thomas, acquired from the Bucks on Sunday in a five-player, three-team trade, played just nine minutes and sat out the entire second half. He had two points, four rebounds and two turnovers. Kurt Thomas and Othella Harrington added 14 points each for New York. With 3 seconds on the shot clock and 1:08 remaining, Billups was called for fouling Marbury on a 3-point attempt -- a call by referee James Capers that was vehemently disputed by Billups and coach Larry Brown. Marbury made all three shots to put New York ahead 85-82. </div> Recap Box Score Well, I have a few issues with this game. First, lets start off with the common excuse, a horrible call by the ref. Well, to start the argument off, we say hello to our little friend James Capers, who the Piston fans may remember as the ref that cost us the game against Minnesota. Well, he's back! Making another horrible call, he has a serious grudge against the Pistons. I have no idea what he is smoking! On a serious note, you can't say that the call cost us the game because there was time left. Still good to blame James Capers. I'm removing the other names from my sig because they have nothing to do with this moron. Now, as for an actual recap. Hamilton may be a "pure shooter" who needs only "1 shot to get hot" but at some point you just have to realize that it's not your night! Going 3-20 from the field does not help the Pistons win! No Darko either, seems like I jinxed it. Maybe tomorrow. Horrible game for the Pistons down the stretch. We have streaks of no scoring where we just fall apart. It always happens at the end now.
Pistons so badly need to make a trade for a scorer, Dumars needs to get the Rasheed Wallace deal done.
During halftime he said that the deal is dead for now. I have a feeling that Joe will get it down anyways. If Atlanta doesn't budge to take on Corliss or Atkins, Dumars will call them up and say "We changed out minds, the players we discussed before and a first round pick for Rasheed." That will be the end of it and the Pistons will be the Eastern favorites.
Also, Darvin Ham. He played for 20 minutes and was useless. No points, 2 rebounds, 2 fouls, and a turnover. Take him out of the game and put in Darko! That is who we want to see! It's not like the Pistons would miss Ham's defense, they were still scoring at will.
man, that foul sucked i'm not one to blame the refs, but that's too many times this year...i've never seen Chauncey chew out a ref like that before. he was pissed. the ref could have easily given him a tech. i think the ref knew he was wrong. anyways, props to NY for playing a good game. Stephon is a phenomenal acquisition for NY. NY's going to be dangerous in the playoffs. in regards to the Pistons, we could really use a Rasheed-type scorer. Either we trade, go through free agency, or work hard to develop Darko (probably last option).
