San Antonio Spurs(26-14) @ Detroit Pistons(28-13) Previous Game Spurs 109 @ Celtics 92 Pistons 99 @ Bucks 94 Streaks Spurs: Won 1 (6-4 in last ten) Pistons: Won 12 (10-0 in last ten) Head Coaches vs. Probable Starters PG: vs. Tony Parker vs. Chauncey Billups SG: vs. Hidayet Turkoglu vs. Richard Hamilton SF: vs. Bruce Bowen vs. Tayshaun Prince PF: vs. Tim Duncan vs. Ben Wallace C: vs. Radoslav Nesterovic vs. Mehmet Okur 6th Men vs. Emanuel Ginobili vs. Corliss Williamson Players to Watch vs. Duncan: 22.4 Points (.495 FG %), 3.2 Assists, 12.3 Rebounds, 2.52 Blocks Wallace: 9.8 Points (.419 FG %), 2 Assists, 13 Rebounds, 1.73 Steals, 3.08 Blocks Injury Report San Antonio SPurs Jason Hart Alex Garcia Anthony Carter Sean Marks Detroit Pistons Hubert Davis Tremaine Fowlkes Lindsey Hunter Keys to the Game <u>San Antonio Spurs by Crossover:</u> <ul> [*]Keep Ben Wallace and Memo Okur off the glass [*]Don't let Tayshaun Prince get going early [*]Force Billups and Hamilton into tough contested shots [*]Make Ben Wallace put the ball on the floor and shoot [*]Swarm Darko [/list] <u>Detroit Pistons by PyroManiac:</u> <ul> [*]Crash the boards (Both teams are excellent on defense and the team that has more rebounds will have a good chance of winning) [*]Guard Duncan (Even though he has not been himself lately we will need to guard him. Ben Wallace needs needs to have a great night on the defensive end) [*]Keep the Spurs out of the paint/Keep Parker and Ginobili from penetrating (The less points that the Spurs can manage in the paint and the less penetration they have, the least likely that they will win) [*]Guard the perimeter (Against the Celtics, the Spurs had some players knock down a lot of threes. They have some people that are excellent shooters and we need to make sure that they don't have any open looks) [*]Play the Piston's style of basketball (Spread the ball around and get everybody going on the offensive end) [*]Make open shots (When the Pistons play their style of basketball, they get a lot of open shots and need to make those like they have been the last few games) [/list] Crossover's Prediction The key to this game will really be the Duncan/Wallace matchup. Duncan and Nesterovic will both have to work hard to stop Wallace and Okur from getting onto the offensive boards. Also, making their first shots will be critical, because with those two, there will probably not be any second chance points. Also, play close defense on Richard Hamilton. Billups is a momentum player, but Hamilton will score no matter what. Limit him to jumpshots, so he won't be fouled and get the chance to torch the Spurs from the line, and make sure to play Spurs style basketball. Spurs by 3. PyroManiac's Prediction This is an important game for the Pistons. This is the first time in the streak that we are playing an elite team from the West, currently the #1 team on the Power Rankings. The Pistons will need to stop Tim Duncan who has been on a little bit of a cold streak lately. This game will be between two defensive teams and will be low scoring. The Pistons will need to take advantage of any turnovers and offensive rebounds. They will also need to limit both. Billups and Hamilton will need to have a good night shooting the ball. Okur cannot have a game like he did against the Bucks, we need his inside presense. The Pistons will need to get the crowd into the game so that they can feed off of the crowd's energy. Pistons by 4 in a hard fought game. Thanks to Crossover for providing a look at the game from the Spurs point of view.
Hehe. Teamwork on the preview. Anyway, like I said, I'll be taking the Spurs by 3. It's gonna be a hard fought game, considering these are two of the great defenses in the league, and who knows? Best possible situation is these two in the NBA Finals. Outside of what I said, Nesterovic will be a key factor in this game, as well. He's a confidence type player, and he's gonna have plenty of it, seeing as he had 23 and 13 in the game against Boston earlier today. He's also a really good shotblocker, too. Bruce Bowen could also become a threat for Detroit in this game. The double teams inside on Duncan and keeping Ginobili and Parker from penetrating could leave him wide open for threes, which he led the league in in percentage (44 percent) last season. And finally, Tim Duncan. He may not have had the best of his games today, but he didn't play the amount of minutes he usually does. Also, when he goes into slumps like this, he tends to go one up, one down, one up, et cetera. Loss to Indiana was one down, Minnesoa was up, Boston was down... he's past due for a good game. Beware.
I don't know Crossover. Billups and Hamilton can keep Parker/Ginobili in check and anytime one of the Spurs penetrates the Pistons will answer back with their own penetration. A big key for the Pistons will be their bench which has been excellent recently. Atkins will be able to come in and match Bowen's three point shooting, especially while Bowen rests. The rest of the bench will be able to provide a nice spark. Corliss and Sura will need to be able to come onto the court and lift the whole team up and allow us to go on runs. Finally, the Pistons don't double anybody. We didn't double Shaq, and we won't double Duncan. (In fact, we let damn Corliss guard Shaq!) Ben Wallace will be guarding Duncan and the only thing is that we will collapse on him whenever he gets the ball in the paint. As for his slumps, he may have a one up, one down style but against the Pistons it is always going to be a down game!
Who's Shaq? You may not double anybody, but Duncan must still be contained, and they'll do anything in their power to keep him from having a field day. Duncan will have an easier time on the defensive end than will Wallace, because he doesn't have to worry about Wallace taking any shots that are dunks or final second shots. And the Spurs bench ain't too shabby, either. Ginobili, obviously, is our high energy man, and he's a lefty, too... Charlie Ward provides a good backup to Tony Parker and he's got a good outside shot on him. Brown (second year player, don't know his first name) is a decent midrange shooter and even at 6'5" is a great rebounder. And we all know the story on Malik Rose - he's our best free throw shooter (86 percent) and a strong guy who, ay 6'8" (I think), can easily play backup Center against anyone. A good rebounder, strong guy, and a decent midrange jumper. Give him an easy bucket and he'll probably miss, but give him a hard one and he'll drill it. As for Kevin Willis, he's "old, but tasty" as they've said on ESPN so many times now.
Well, you haven't seen too many Piston games this year so you wouldn't know about Ben. He has really improved his footwork and he can now move around the paint and get some dunks. Don't worry about us having to contain Duncan, we will. Ben Wallace has been having his best games against the hardest opposition. The game is at 3:00 PM so only 14 hours until the game starts! It won't be long until I can laugh at you when the Pistons win!
Pistons by 4. I'm tellin you, I'm going to this game tomorrow, and us fans are going to be CRUNKED. We know how important this game is, we should play a big part in the teams win. Tim Duncan is in a slump, he's playing bad. Manu is still recovering from his injury, he just recently got off the IL, and they just played earlier today. I expect the Pistons to win.
The Pistons are going to be all over Tim Duncan. They'll suffocate him. In return, the Spurs will be all over Rip Hamilton. It'll be all about defense because both teams will think that is how to beat the other. The Pistons will need to focus, no more rushed shots and sloppy play. They'll have to protect the ball because the Spurs have a lot of guys who will take advantage of it if they can't. Chauncey needs to keep drawing fouls, and the whole team will have to control the tempo. The Spurs win when they can get the game moving at their pace, just like yesterday at the Celtics, and the Pistons will have to keep that from happening. It'll be close the whole time, and Darko won't see the floor. Pistons by 1.
At least the Piston fans still pick us to win. BigMemo didn't even have one of his "bad feelings" about the game today! I look at the prediction as more of a way to show support for your team than actually choosing who will win. Oh, and BigMemo you can update your signature now, Pats already won... Only 4 hours until the start of the game, Crossover has informed me that he won't be able to watch the game because the network won't show it over there. Well, that sucks for him! Also, I forget to mention it in my preview, thanks to BigMemo for putting it. It will be very important for the Pistons to control the pace. Not only will this keep the Spurs from becoming comfortable but it will pump up the crowd.
*cries* Stop making fun of me! I can "watch" it. And why do I have the feeling this will be a low scoring game?
I'm sorry Crossover, I shouldn't disrespect you after you helped me with the preview. Enjoy watching this very important and intresting game on NBA Flash! While we are going to be watching Ben Wallace go crazy and have dunks on Duncan the whole game all you will get is a nice message: "Ben Wallace dunk shot made" Enjoy! This is fun, having somebody from the other team show their face in our preview. It is almost like they are at the stadium and we are throwing things at them!
This should be a great game. Bowen should do a good job defensively against Rip. Today should be a low scoring slugfest. Whoever can put together some scoring runs will win. If the Pistons can get a few fast break/easy buckets, we'll be in good shape. I predict the Pistons will win, thanks to homecourt advantage. Pistons by 6. Crossover's key to winning: "Swarm Darko" - hey, stop teasing Darko!
Those cans of soda and lollipops hurt, too. And iamme, it's a key to winning. ;D When Darko gets on the floor, the crowd goes wild and provides the Pistons with an energetic uprising to boost them into a momentus mood. He's the key to their success. xD
Two key factors in this game Coaching Bench play Thats what I feel It will come down to.Should a very defensive minded game.Two very good friends in Pop and Brown go head to head.Whoever out-coaches the other will have a huge advantage. I expect this thread to get the most replies seen in this forum for quite a while
Halftime: Pistons lead 38-36! As predicted, this is a defensive and a low scoring matchup. The Pistons have been playing excellent defense on Duncan but have commited too many turnovers. For the Pistons Hamilton has 11 points, 2 rebounds and 3 assists. Okur has 9 points, 1 rebound, and 3 blocks. Duncan only has 8 rebounds, 6 points, and 2 assists. Great game so far although it seems like the Pistons should be winning by more than 2. Hamilton was a bit jumpy in the first half and had 3 turnovers. Also, we have had some questionable calls, but that always happens. There was a 3 point shot that should have been counted as a 2, lets hope that Pistons don't lose by 1. The refs are calling a tight game and the Pistons are just having bad breaks. This has been the Piston's viewpoint on the first half of the game.
Chauncey Billups showed why I have nicknamed him Clutchy to claim Pistons 13th straight win. Spurs up two at 77-75,Billups hits a three-pointer,Wallace blocked Duncan's shot,Billups came down and got the and1, which basically sealed the W for D As expected this was a very defensive minded game for the most part.The sudden rush of scoring came in the final two minutes Pistons 85 Spurs 77 the final Pistons next game @ Pacers tomorrow in what will be a HUGE game for for teams
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting King James:</div><div class="quote_post">Spurs take this by a nickle.</div> <div class="quote_poster">Quoting TimFlem:</div><div class="quote_post">Spus by 8</div> <div class="quote_poster">Quoting Crossover:</div><div class="quote_post">Spurs by 3.</div> OH?! What now? 13 games and counting! We just keep on rolling! Pistons win 85-77! Never go against the Pistons! That was the Billups that I remember from last season. He had a bad start, 1-8 shooting then went on fire in the 4th. After Chucky brought us back into the game when we were down 5, Billups destroyed them and helped us win by 8! Ben Wallace played amazing defense down the stretch and had an important block on Duncan. The crowd went crazy when Atkins/Billups started hitting threes! The crowd helped us win that game! :mrgreen: Replay and Box Score are coming up! Next up: Pacers!
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting iamme:</div><div class="quote_post">This should be a great game. Bowen should do a good job defensively against Rip. Today should be a low scoring slugfest. Whoever can put together some scoring runs will win. If the Pistons can get a few fast break/easy buckets, we'll be in good shape. I predict the Pistons will win, thanks to homecourt advantage. Pistons by 6. Crossover's key to winning: "Swarm Darko" - hey, stop teasing Darko! </div> ah, when the score was 83-77, i thought i hit my prediction right on the mark again! great game! defensive struggle throughout. Chauncey was unreal at the end!!
<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Chauncey Billups started making shots just in time to lead the Detroit Pistons to their franchise record-tying 13th straight win. Billups scored only four points through three-plus quarters, but finished with 18 to lift Detroit to an 85-77 win over the reigning NBA champion San Antonio Spurs on Monday. The last time Detroit won 13 straight was 1989-90, the season it won its second straight NBA title. Pistons coach Larry Brown had not won 13 straight in his Hall of Fame career until Monday. Detroit matched the league's best winning streak, which was set by the Spurs in December. The Pistons have not lost since New Jersey beat them at home on Dec. 26. After the Spurs enjoyed slim leads in the final quarter, Billups tied it at 72 with a 3-pointer with a few minutes left. Billups made a go-ahead 3-pointer with 1:28 left, and his three-point play put the Pistons up 81-77 with 48.6 seconds to go. He then made all four of his free throw attempts to seal the win.</div> Recap Box Score The Recap just tells us how amazing Billups was at the end of the game.
