Who: New Orleans Hornets and Detroit Pistons Where: The Palace at Auburn Hills, Auburn Hills Michigan When: Monday, December 29th Time: 7:30 pm TV: NBATV Records: Hornets(19-11, 2nd in Central Division) Pistons(17-13, 3rd in Central Division) Streaks: Hornets(won 1), Pistons(won 1) Last 10: Hornets(6-4), Pistons(3-7) Probable Starters: <u>New Orleans</u> PG - Baron Davis SG - David Wesley SF - George Lynch PF - P.J. Brown C - Jamaal Magloire <u>Detroit</u> PG - Chauncey Billups SG - Rip Hamilton SF - Tayshaun Prince PF - Ben Wallace C - Mehmet Okur Key Matchups <u>Point Guard</u> As Baron goes, so go the Hornets. Larry Brown knows this, so look for him to use Chauncey Billups as a defensive stopper against Baron. If he can limit Baron to less than 16 points and 6 assists, another Hornet will have to step up, which is what Detroit wants. <u>Small Forward</u> Tayshaun could be the key to a Detroit victory, but not if the physical play of George Lynch throws off his game. If Lynch is successful, Tim Floyd could have the win tonight, but if Lynch gets in foul trouble due to Prince's quickness and length, its gonna be a long night at the Palace. <u>Center</u> Both Magloire and Okur are young, promising centers who love to bang for boards and have decent offensive games. Whichever team wins this matchup will go a long way to winning the game. Injured List New Orleans: James Lang, Courtney Alexander, Jamal Mashburn Detroit: Hubert Davis, Darvin Ham, Lindsey Hunter Last Games <u>New Orleans:</u> The Hornets blew out the Hawks 109-79, with David Wesley scoring a season-high 32 points and Baron Davis adding 21 points and 8 assists. The Hornets held all Atlanta starters under double-digit scoring. <u>Detroit:</u> The Pistons won a close one 87-84 over the Hawks behind Rip Hamilton's 28 points. Keys to the Game New Orleans: - Play team defense. PJ Brown will have to come off Ben Wallace to help out on Mehmet Okur and to block Rip Hamilton's drives. Wallace shoots horribly, so making him beat the Hornets is a good tactic. - Tire out the Detroit backcourt on offense. Make Chauncey Billups and Rip Hamilton chase Baron, David and Darrell. This will make them less active when Detroit has the ball. - Play big. Tim Floyd needs to go with big lineups instead of small ones, which Detroit has success against. Don't play Baron, David and Darrell at the same time. Instead, pound it in with Traylor and West off the bench, and utilize Stacey Augmon on Prince if he gets hot. Detroit: - Help Big Ben on the defensive glass. Wallace can sometimes do it alone on the boards against smaller teams like Toronto, but he can't against such a big team like New Orleans. Mehmet and Corliss Williamson need to give him serious help on the glass to keep New Orleans from getting second and third chances. - Shut down Baron. This is very hard to do, but if they can the game is practically theirs. The best way to try is to contest Davis' outside shots(he's leading the league in 3 pt'rs), and on drives funnel him to shot blockers like Prince, Wallace and Okur. - Don't match a second string pg against Darrell Armstrong. He is not a 2nd string point guard, he's starting caliber. He will eat Chucky Atkins alive. This is a game where Chauncey needs to play 42+ minutes. Team Leaders <u>New Orleans</u> Scoring: Baron Davis(23.6), David Wesley(16.6) Rebounds: Jamaal Magloire(9.4), P.J. Brown(9.2) Assists: Baron Davis(8.4), Darrell Armstrong(3.4) Steals: Baron Dais(2.73), Darrell Armstrong(1.87) Blocks: Jamaal Magloire(.83), PJ Brown(.53) <u>Detroit</u> Scoring: Chauncey Billups(18.6), Rip Hamilton(18.4) Rebounds: Ben Wallace(12.9), Mehmet Okur(7.2) Assists: Chauncey Billups(5.2), Rip Hamilton(3.3) Steals: Ben Wallace(1.83), Chauncey Billups(1.23) Blocks: Ben Wallace(3.28), Elden Campbell(1.26) Starman's Prediction The Pistons basically have less firepower on the floor, and face a team even more gritty and blue-collar than themselves. The game will be close, but neither Billups nor Atkins is at Baron Davis' level, and neither will be able to contain him. Look for Davis to get a 20-10 game in points and assists, and look for the Hornets to win. Hornets 94, Pistons 86
