Detroit (14-6) at Houston (11-7) 8:30 pm EST <u>Pistons</u> PPG: 91.9 Opp PPG: 86.8 FG%: .426 Opp FG%: .424 RPG: 44.2 Opp RPG: 41.1 <u>Rockets</u> PPG: 88.1 Opp PPG: 84.7 FG%: .425 Opp FG%: .389 RPG: 42.4 Opp RPG: 39.7 Probable Starters vs. Jim Jackson/Tayshaun Prince vs. Kevlin Cato/Ben Wallace vs. Yao Ming/Elden Campbell vs. Steve Francis/Chauncey Billups vs. Cuttino Mobley/Richard Hamilton Game Outlook - Pistons The Pistons need to do a great job on the boards tonight. Yao Ming and Kelvin Cato are big bodies so they must box them out and limit the Rockets second chances on offense. On defense they must stop the low post game of the Rockets and force Francis and Mobley to shoot those 17 footers which they love to shoot. Playing a zone tonight might be a very good idea. As of late, the Rockets permiter players have not been doing a great job of shooting the ball so forcing outside jump shots is the best way to go. On offense, Rip Hamilton and Chauncey Billups must move around and get Francis and Mobley tired. This team loves to move on offense. This will cause defensive problems for the Rockets as it spaces out the floor. This allows Detroit's perimeter players to attack the lane and hopefully get Yao Ming in foul trouble. Game Outlook - Rockets The keys to the game for the Rockets are pretty much the same tonight as they always are. They need to get Yao Ming the ball early and often tonight. Granted Detroit has the best defensive player in the league, however to be succesful they need to establish the lost post game with Yao. The Rockets will have to do an excellent job on the boards tonight. Ben Wallace and Mehmet Okur are rebound machines. Limiting the Pistons to one shot will be critical tonight if the Rockets want a victory. Another point of emphasis on defense has to be contaning Rip Hamilton. He loves to shoot coming off screens so the Rockets defenders will have to fight through the screens and the big man must get a hand in Rip's face when the screen is set, so the guard has time to get back in defensive postion. Key Match-Up The key match-up tonight will be none other than Yao Ming going against Ben Wallace. Ben Wallace is the best defensive big man in the game so Yao will have to be very crafty tonight on offense. Yao will have to do an excellent job on the defensive boards tonight, as Wallace will go for the offensive board every time down the court. The key is not to jump with Ben but rather to box him out then get the ball. Wallace has a very limited offensive game, so Yao should not have a problem on defense. Game Prediction This game will be a test of heart. Both teams play excellent defense so tonight it will come down to how they both execute on the offensive end. If the Rockets guards can contain the perimeter play of Billups and Hamilton I think they have a shot at winning this game. Rebounding and shooting will be essential tonight for both teams. I think Houston will win this game do to the our big men. Yao. Cato and the much improved Taylor are playing good basketball right now. This game should be very close and very good. I think the Rockets will win this game by 5.
So many good match-ups in this game.Chauncey Billups v Francis,Rip v Mobley and even though they play different spots.yao v big Ben...BW has gotten the best of Ming on the last few times they have faced.Should be a good game
The Rockets win by 6(I was only one point off ) with the final score being 86-80. The Rockets are on a three game winning streak after a playing pretty bad for much of the road trip. Yao Ming completely overpowered the Pistons all throughout the game. He had 22 points and a career high 20 rebounds, while adding 4 blocks. The Rockets won the X-Factor tonight, rebounding. They out rebounded the Pistons 47-32 and held Ben Wallace to only 7 points, and 10 rebounds. Mehmet Okur led the Pistons with 21 points. Rip Hamilton and Chauncey Billups added 17 and 11, respectively. Steve Francis was held to only 9 points however much more importantly he had 11 assists. Cuttino Mobley and Maurice Taylor both added 14 points. The Rockets played a great game. If Yao can continue to dominate on the boards as well as be a force on offense and Francis can keep up the assist numbers, then you will see the Rockets do a lot better then they have in the past. This was Yao's first 20-20 game, and I hope to see a lot more of these in the future. The next game for the Rockets is Tuesday, against the Trail Blazers.
When Billups and Rip both don't turn up Pistons don't win games...Not against pretty good teams of course
