I have done a early preview for the season opener, thought might do It now considering I'm not sure how much time I will have this weekend. Houston Rockets (0-0) @ Detroit Pistons (0-0) Tuesday 2nd November 8.00 ET (TNT) The Palace Head Coaches vs. Probable Starters vs. Charlie Ward/Chauncey Billups vs. Tracy Mcgrady/Richard Hamilton vs. Jim Jackson/Tayshaun Prince vs. Maurice Taylor/ Rasheed Wallace vs. Yao Ming vs. Ben Wallace 6th Men vs. Juwan Howard /Antonio Mcdyess Players to Watch Tracy Mcgrady/Richard Hamilton Injury Report Houston Rockets Bob Sura Detroit Pistons None to report Keys To The Game <u>Houston Rockets</u> <ul>[*]Get the ball to Yao and attack the Pistons big frontline by get them in foul trouble. The Rockets frontline could be in a for a long night If they allow the Pistons starters to have their way offensively and defensively [*]Houston must find a way to give Tracy Mcgrady room to get open shots otherwise Tayshaun Prince will make life very tough for the two time scoring champion. [*]Guarding Rip Hamilton and chasing him around screens is a must for the Rockets. Thr real question Houston needs to ask themselves, who can chase Rip around the screens? It would not be to wise giving T-mac that job due to him needing to save his energy for his much needed offense. Jim Jackson may be in a for a long night.[*]don't settle for outside shots, Detroit are very good at defending the three and with the Rockets not having many shooters to begin with It would not be a good game plan to play into the Pistons hands[/list] <u>Detroit Pistons:</u> <ul>[*]Get the post game set up by getting the ball into Rasheed Wallace. He will be defended by a very weak post defender in Juwan Howard. Rasheed on his game is very tough for anyone but when being matched up with Howard, he shouldn't have many problems.[*]The Pistons backcourt needs to get involved early. Chauncey Billups not only needs to score but look for the inside game first, the finals MVP will be looking to take advantage of the huge mis-match of quailty at the point guard spot when he will have to go against Charlie Ward and Tyron Lue.[*]Rip Hamilton needs to play his normal game, getting open by using the screens that have become so effective. Attack the basket and good things will also happen.[*]Bench play will also be very important, what the 2nd unit brings to the game will be key. Antonio Mcdyess and Carlos Delfino will be depended on to do the major scoring off the bench. Getting everyone involved as always is the key to the Pistons, Larry Brown wouldn't have It any other way[/list] AllNet's Prediction The new NBA season starts up with Detroit's first defense of their NBA championship. The starting 5 from last year are all back with Antonio Mcdyess added to give them another post player off the bench while also bringing over olympic gold medalist Carlos Delfino. A few guys have departed but the Pistons still look strong as ever. This should be a very good game to start off TNT's double header. Houston have 3 new guys added in their starting line-up while Pistons have the team chemistry. With the game being in Detroit where the players will get their rings It certainly will be an entertaining game for the home fans. I fully expect the Pistons to get off to a 1-0 start and not dissapoint the home crowd. Houston I feel will still need to fiqure out each player's role on the team before they can win these type of games. Pistons by 8
Excellent preview. Don't worry about it being early, you need some time to discuss a game that should be as entertaining as this one. I fully believe and expect the Pistons to start the season off very well and beat the Rockets. Rockets will be a great team but at the start of the season I expect them to have some chemistry problems from the new players. Pistons won't have that problem. I believe that bench play will be very important this game. The Pistons supposedly have one of the deepest benches in the NBA but that remains to be seen since Antonio McDyess and Carlos Delfino are new to the team. Pistons by 11, 95-84.
Nice preview AllNet. Couldn't have done it better myself. This will be a great game for a season opener. Even though the Pistons own the championship last season, the Rockets were great at getting McGrady this offseason and I would love to see the matchup between T-Mac and Hamilton. I'm going to have to go with the Pistons on this one. Same starting lineup as the champions were and are now more exprienced being teammates with one another. <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Houston must find a way to give Tracy Mcgrady room to get open shots otherwise Tayshaun Prince will make life very tough for the two time scoring champion.</div>This is 100 percent true. They must give the scoring champion some open shots, but I think Prince and Hamilton will make it very tough for him. <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Get the post game set up by getting the ball into Rasheed Wallace. He will be defended by a very weak post defender in Juwan Howard.</div>I would do that if I were the Pistons, as Juan Howard's old self can't seem to handle great post players such as the tough Rasheed Wallace. My prediction: Pistons win by 6.
Great preview,I cant wait till opening night in the NBA and this is a good game to start off the season. The Rockets are a new team who might ned time to develop full chemistry.I expect The Palace,and the Pistons to be really hyped with the Championship ceremony. I think the Pistons can easily beat the Rockets once you do the lineups,they can contain Yao with Wallace X 2,and be able to cause Mcgrady some problems with Tayshaun Prince. The Rockets may have sucess by dumping the ball low into Yao,then Yao dishing to Mcgrady on the perimeter,if the Rockets can get Yao and Tracy meshing in this game,they have a chance. My Prediction:Detroit by 9
Great preview, but because this is the Pistons forum after all, I wouldn't argue over the fact whether the Rockets will lose by such a margin, as all you guys are predicting. I agree, the Rockets will have a tough task at hand in having to try and beat the reigning champions in their first regular season game after a huge roster overhaul in the offseason. However, Yao has traditionally had great games against the Pistons, even having his only 20-20 game against Detroit, which does provide reason for optimism on the Rockets' point of view. I also expect McGrady to try and do his best to prove himself worthy of all the support is getting. Things will get nasty though, if McGrady tries to do it all. If McGrady and Yao just show up and score 18+ each, and Juwan Howard and Jim Jackson stay reliable as our third and fourth options, I see the Rockets taking this one in an upset. Rockets by 5.
This is just as a joke of course, but saying Yao has his best game against the Pistons doesn't mean much. Darko went for 6 in the fourth quarter in a blowout against the Rockets, doesn't mean that if he plays he'll go for a 100 this time. McGrady has never been in a situation where he doesn't have to do everything. It will be interesting to see how he reacts and how he fits into the system. I think that with constant pressure through the whole game and the Pistons' entire bench, the Rockets will eventually collapse and let through a big run for the Pistons which will allow Detroit to win.
You say that the Pistons have bench depth, but it's not like the Rockets have no reserves to use if one of the starters don't perform up to par. Clarence Weatherspoon and Maurice Taylor, both valuable veterans, can come in for Howard if he is not on. Scott Padgett, Bostjan Nachbar and Ryan Bowen can all come in for Jackson. Mutombo can come in for Yao and grab rebounds and block a couple shots. Lue and Ward, IMO, will do a pretty good job running the point. Thus, I don't think that it's right in saying that the Pistons will use their depth to overcome the Rockets. In fact, I think the two teams are pretty even in terms of bench strength.
talent wise Houston aren't really even at all, Mcdyess is better than any Houston bench player and by some distance. Houston have Deke, Lue and Taylor as their major players who can come in and help. The rest don't really need to be mentioned, Pistons are much better quailty wise..point guard position is real the only weak spot from the Pistons bench.
Well, saying that nobody on the Houston bench is better than McDyess is arguable. Actually, McDyess didn't really do well last season with the Suns as a starter, and besides the preseason, we can't really tell how much more healthy and better he is than a season ago. Delfino is a rookie, who like McDyess, has only proved himself in the offseason. Meanwhile, Taylor, Weatherspoon, Deke and Lue all did great last year off the bench or starting, so I wouldn't hesitate to say that they are "proven" and will be sure to contribute come gametime.
Mcdyess at about 75% put up 7 and 6 in limited time with Phoenix, he looks 100% now which should mean better numbers. He is still a very talented player who can produce, could easily be a 6th man of the year contender.
great preview. man, o man, i am JACKED for the season to start! any word on Delfino's injury status? i know that Dyess will be a very vital guy off the bench with his low post game and his rebounding.....but for some reason i think Delfino is going to be a difference maker this season. i can see Delfino scoring in spurts and playing with high energy, much like Bobby Jackson does in Sacramento. during the preseason, it looked like Delfino was just taking things easy and still making some great passes and making timely steals. can't wait!!!!!
Delfino is listed as day to day, I would imagine he will play in the season opener. His injury isn't that serious.
man, i have to listen to the ceremony and game on the radio i've been listening to sports radio all day
The game will be starting in a few minutes. It seems that Maurice Taylor will be starting at power forward. I'd imagine the Pistons throwing it down to Sheed every time at the start of the game. Taylor can't defend for beans and the Pistons are sure to take advantage. If the Pistons get into an early lead of 15 or more, the Rockets can say goodbye to the win. They seem to find it hard to cut leads short.
great game tonight. i could only watch the last 5 minutes on TV, but i listened to the rest on the radio. great way to celebrate a championship ceremony.
nice prediciton allnet... Detriot wins 87 - 79... wins by 8. I was dissapointed in my team losing, but there's no shame in losing to the first NBA Champs from the east since Jordan and the Bulls. But next time, watchout Pistons. Hopefully the next time we see you is with Sura back, and with a team which has found its chemistry.
That was nice prediction AllNet... I didn't really follow the play-by-play and I didn't really watch the game but Ben Wallace definitely looked like he still carried that scoring spree since the NBA Finals with 15 pts on a nice shooting also (6-8). What didn't make sense to me is why the Pistons still had the championship logo on their uniform in this game? I mean I know they're champions but hey get over it will ya And did you guys see the championship belt? What all of this joke? NBA is turning into boxing real fast and that big ring is ugly. :thumbsdow
OK , i watched the whole game, and there were a few suprises. firstly, big ben now has a nifty jumper and looks a lot more polished on the offensive end. 2nd, tmac and yao had dismal shooting percentages. they only combined for around 32 points. rasheed was the player of the game with 26 points. he displayed an intelligent offensive game and was effective on both ends. and well chauncey was chauncey. AND mcdyess was sent off for kicking the ball into the stands...but he was good at cleaning the glass though
