The Pistons take on the 60-13 Cavaliers tonight in Cleveland. The Cavaliers are two games head of the Los Angeles Lakers for the NBA’s best overall record, are 35-1 at home this season and have won a franchise-record 12 straight. And don’t forget they dismantled the Pistons in their last meeting.

The Pistons should have Rasheed Wallace back tonight after missing the last 11 games with a strained left calf.

Ben Wallace, who broke his leg remains out, but the Cavs should get him back in time for the postseason.

We know every game counts and a win against Cleveland is a tall as the Pistons remain two games ahead of Chicago in the loss column and three ahead of Charlotte in the chase for the final two playoff spots though the Bulls have played two more games than either team.

Tip off is at 7:00 PM and will be locally broadcast on FSN Detroit and on NBA.TV. If you can’t catch the broadcast you can listen live on WDFN 1130 AM or follow the game over at NBA.com.

The Pistons start off their brutal road trip in Cleveland tonight to face LeBron James and his 42-11 Cavs.

“We lost again,” guard Rodney Stuckey said. “I don’t know. I really can’t explain anything anymore. We just keep losing, and now we’ve got some great teams to play.” Via NBA.com

Stuckey has averaged 8.2 points during the Pistons current skid, and has totaled five points in his last two games.

Now they want to be on the road?

“I never say it’s a relief to go on the road,” Pistons coach Michael Curry said. But Curry admits, “this group of guys have had tendencies to not play as well at home, for whatever reasons.” Via MLive

Rip is awe, like the rest of us.

“It’s crazy,” said Detroit’s Richard Hamilton. “If you look at our record, that’s kind of insane to me. “The season is far from over. We have a tough schedule coming. We have to take it one game at a time, and hopefully get a win.” Via MLive

Remember my whole blind date analogy? Well the way Detroit is playing of late a win on the road against the Cavaliers is like a guy waiting for his fix up and Giselle Bundchen walks in hopped up on roofies, picks up the tab and insists on taking you home with her. I know…I’m horrible.

The Good/Bad/and More

• No More ‘FRO, you will see a new look Ben Wallace tonight.
• The Cavaliers, who own the NBA’s best home record at 24-1, have lost four of five to Detroit at Quicken Loans Arena.
• Detroit hasn’t lost six straight since Feb. 3-17, 2004.
• Delante West is back for The Cavs.
• Detroit is one game over 500, a loss tonight gives them a 27-27 record while fighting for the 6th seed with with Sixers.
• Michael Curry may decide to stick with his 7 man rotation since the starters got all that rest because of the TNT timeouts.

Tip off is at 8:00 PM and will be Nationally televised on ESPN and locally broadcast on FSN.  If you can’t catch the game on TV, or are gearing up for the Oscars, you can listen locally at WDFN 1130 AM or follow/listen to the game at NBA.com.

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The Cavaliers came into the Palace with an eight game winning streak and left the building needing to start a new one. The first half was all Cavs, Mo Williams was knocking down shots, LeBron was driving the lane and Cleveland was getting to the line. Things changed in the second half when Detroit’s defense locked down and fueled the Pistons’ comeback 96-89 win.

Key Points:

• Big crowd at the Palace but no matter how many people are sitting in the seats, they still aren’t really into the game like they used to be. I don’t think it’s as daunting a building for opposing players as it once was. You have to pull teeth to get a DEFENSE chant going in that place.
• Hard to see the shell that is Ben Wallace in a Cavs uniform. I still appreciate the man and what he did for the franchise. It may be me, but he just doesn’t look like he’s having a good time on court anymore.
• Each team’s biggest lead was 13.
• Best stat of the night, Detroit held Cleveland to just 22 points in the paint. Not only good in general, but to do that to a team that has LeBron on it….fantastic.
• “That was our emphasis,” coach Michael Curry said. “We want to keep them out of the paint and make sure we rebound. We fought and we scrambled and we finally found a lineup in the fourth quarter that enabled us to finish the game.” Via The Detroit News
• Arron Afflalo was a game changer, as he has been recently. He popped in the game off the bench and hit a HUGE shot seconds after stepping on the court for the first time. He was out there at the end of the game when the game was on the line while Rip sat and really did well defending LeBron. He finished with 5 points in 13 minutes and assisted on this play that brought the Palace to their feet.

Video Courtesy of The NBA, The Detroit Pistons and FSN

• This was the play of the game, here is the full clip of the Afflalo to Maxiell Alley Oop.
• More minutes for Maxiell, who played 19. He put up 6 with 3 boards.
• Rip Hamilton, who really did keep Detroit going early in the game, didn’t play the fourth quarter. He was 6-for-11 for 15 points, 5 assists and a steal. Rip is getting used to the new looks he’s getting now and seems to be adjusting better.
• I’m a kindhearted person, or at least I think I am.  I saw a family of LeBrons walking out of the Palace with their heads held low. While walking to their car the father (in his LeBron jersey and Cavalier jacket) slipped on a patch of ice and wiped out. It left me laughing and smiling the whole ride home, does that make me evil or just a Pistons fan? Just remember before you judge me that they are smug bastards when they win.
• Did I mention Afflalo got 2 huge stops on LeBron as the Pistons went on a 13 to 2 run in the fourth quarter?
• Allen Iverson led Detroit with 23 in 43 minutes. When Detroit needs scoring they know where to go. It’s really like a highlight reel every game. We are not used to that here, but I think the fans are getting acclimated just fine.

Photo/Getty

• Is this a new Rasheed Wallace? It sure seems like his game turned right around since the trade. Another double-double for Sheed who scored 21 on 8-for-12 shooting with 15 boards and 3 three pointers that essentially sealed the deal for Detroit. Sheed is on his game and loving it.
• Season high 15 sheedbounds for Ra.
• Sheedtasic Highlights of The Game.
• Pow!

Video Courtesy of The NBA, The Detroit Pistons and FSN

• NBA.com highlights of the game.
• It was the fourth quarter lineup of Iverson, Stuckey, Afflalo, Wallace and Maxiell that really did the Cavs in. Tayshaun played just a few late fourth quarter minutes.
• “I was going to bring Rip back in and eventually use Tay at the four (power forward),” Curry said. “But that group got to rolling.” Via The Detroit News
• The Pistons did a nice job on LeBron who scored 25 by putting up 21 shots.
• Stuckey played 23 impressive minutes, putting up 9 points. He is impressing me with his shot selection and guts. Seven of his nine points came in the fourth quarter.
• No Herrmann, minimal Bynum.
• Amirzing.

Video Courtesy of The NBA, The Detroit Pistons and FSN

• Board war lost 38-35.
• Detroit shot 50% on the night.
• Detroit barley made it to the free throw line in the first half. Different story in the second.
• 44 points in the paint for Detroit. When that number is in the 40’s it’s usually a W.
• Rasheed plays better after his first Tech and didn’t know it. Via DBB and Alana
• Impressive victories over LA and now the Cavs, can they get one in Boston tonight?
• “We are just playing,” Wallace said of the wins over the Cavs and Lakers. “We don’t care if they’re the best team in the NBA. We are just trying to make ourselves better.” Via The Detroit Free Press
• This win was so refreshing I watched it in full when I got back from the Palace.

Now that the Pistons are on their way to the Eastern Conference Finals Bennie and Jeff talk about Tayshaun Prince’s performance in the playoffs as well as posing the question “Boston or Cleveland?”

Don’t forget you can e-mail Bennie and Jeff at gameday@woodradio.com or as always you can leave them your thoughts in the comments.
Team Need4Sheed Podcast #17

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The Pistons got their payback after last week’s loss in Cleveland, beating up on the Cavaliers from the opening tip. Richard Hamilton, and the rest of Detroits’ defensive efforts held LeBron James to his worst night of the entire season. James scored just 13 on a 4-for-17 shooting night. The 71-85 score indicates a closer game than it actually was.

Key Points:

• The Pistons were ready for this one and it showed. Though the crowd essentially knew this game meant nothing, they were ready for some Ohio punishment.
• After watching the broadcast I loved Special K’s comment that The Pistons were “Ready” Detroit is like “Joe Frazier.”
• After wondering which Pistons team would show up before the game, it was clear after a minute had been played.
• Detroit held the Cavaliers to 18 in the First, 15 points in the Second, 17 in the Third and 21 Fourth quarter points.
• There isn’t one player on the Cavs that stood out other than Devon Brown. Does that tells the whole story?
• Mr. Maxiell had another great night. Every time Maxiell went to the hole it was with so much force he could have powered a small village. Jason finished with 13 points, a blocked shot and 3 boards in 22 minutes.

• Theo did a heck of a job on the defensive end all night. I know we all want to see Amir get more minutes, but having a guy like Ratliff, who defends the basket so well, is such a great thing to have. Theo blocked 2 shots, scored 2 points and grabbed 2 boards in 19 minutes.
  
• Tayshaun had a few really nice drives to the basket. His putback on a Chauncey layup was especially nice. He spoke of Trader Jack giving The Pistons a pep talk before the game and wished our friend Mr. Blaha a Happy Birthday in his post game interview. Tay finished the night with 12 points, 7 boards, 4 assists and 2 takeaways.
• Rebound war won 43-37.
• NBA.com Highlights of the Game.
• Ben Wallace went down in the third quarter after hurting his back on the offensive end of the floor. What you didn’t see on the broadcast was after he fouled Rip to stop the action he collapsed to the ground and then had to be carried off to the locker room by his teammates. I hate to see anyone go down, but what has been happening to Ben since he left the “D” is quite sad.

• Sheed scored the Pistons only three pointer of the night. Sheed blocked 3 shots on the night and finished the game with 9 points and 7 boards. He also caused Mike Brown and LeBron James to each pick up a technical foul after (for once in his career) James didn’t get a call on Sheed’s block. The Palace crowd went wild.
• I was listening to the post game show on 1130 AM on the drive home and Matt Dery said that LeBron was so frustrated during the game that he kicked a water bottle, it flew over the bench and hit someone. If that was Sheed……10 game suspension.
• Nice Amir….Get that *&^@ out of here.

• You could actually see LeBron give up early in the third quarter when Detroit was up by more than 20.
• The Jack McCloskey ceremony was quite touching.
• Happy Birthday Mr. Blaha.
• Detroit shot 45% on the night to Cleveland’s 36.
  
• Chauncey had quite a night making sure he controlled the game flow. Mr. Big Shot finished with 13 points and four assists with a couple of pretty nice plays.

• Antonio McDyess was the player of the game. Dyess had another double-double with 12 points, 10 boards and 2 assists. Dyess has his shot back and he’s been playing lights out lately. Credit Billups for making sure he gets Dyess the ball when he’s open and in his spot.
• The Cavs never led, and Detroit’s biggest lead was 25.
• Statistically it meant nothing, but boy was it nice to get the beat down.
• Rip played through the cobwebs, going just 3-for-12, but leading the Pistons with 14 points. It was nice to see him back on the floor but he said he’s in a lot of pain during a post game interview.
• Even when he’s wide open it’s impressive.

• Does this mean Detroit knows how to beat the Cavs?
• Cleveland has lost six straight and eight of nine on the road.
• When Trader Jack started his speech off by saying..”we sure are giving those Cavaliers a beating”, I smiled and was concerned all at the same time. Why wake sleeping dogs, right?
• Afflalo did well defensively and Stuckey knocked down a great shot off the glass as the shot clock buzzer expired.
• I’m going to have a happy Sunday, I hope you do too. Next game on Tuesday at Minnesota.
  

The Cleveland Cavaliers will be at The Palace tonight that essentially means nothing for Detroit on paper. There is a matter of pride involved, especially after their lackluster performance in Cleveland a week ago. If anything, I think this should addressed by The Pistons and the fans at The Palace.

The Cavaliers will try to avoid losing their third straight. The Cavs have dropped two straight and five of its last eight games. Daniel Gibson is probable , while guard Delonte West and center Ben Wallace(back)are listed as questionable for tonight. No official word yet on Richard Hamilton, but if I had money on it, I would expect him back in the starting lineup.

Sheed will probably agree that this will be the only King at The Palace tonight.

But there will be a Clown.

Tip off is at 7:30 PM and will be locally broadcast on WDIV and Nationally on NBATV. If you can’t catch it on TV you can always tune in to 1130 AM WDFN The Fan or stream it live through your computer at NBA.com. You can also chat live during the game with The Pistons Dave Wieme.

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Game Day Live’s Bennie Covington and Jeff Daum must have been really frustrated with The Pistons loss in Cleveland on Wednesday. That’s why Jeff gives us the Top 5 reasons why he hates the Cleveland Cavaliers. This one is sure to crack a smile, enjoy.

Team Need4Sheed Podcast #10

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E-mail Bennie and Jeff with all your questions, comments or suggestions at gameday@woodradio.com

The Pistons dropped their first game this season to the Cavs Wednesday night in a 73-89 loss in Cleveland. Detroit looked almost as good as they did in their win against Denver when the game in Cleveland started, but right before the half things started to drop off. It didn’t take long for Cleveland to take over when The Pistons shooting percentage took a nose dive in the second half. The season series is now tied at one all, with two more games against Cleveland to be played in this last stretch of the regular season.

Key Points:

• The game looked promising from the start, but things started to break down in the second quarter when Detroit scored just 13 points and let the Cavs go on a run to take the lead into halftime.
• Is it just me or do you think that the NBA wanted Detroit and Cleveland to duke it out in the last few games of the season? They played them 3 times in the last 15 games. Something to think about.
• It was pretty simple, The Pistons stopped moving the ball and hitting their shots.
• Settling for the jumpshot again. The Pistons went to the free throw line just 7 times.
• LeBron was impressive with 30, but he didn’t do it alone as he had help from Ilgauskas who scored 20.
• Rasheed led the Pistons with 16 points on 6-for-17 shooting. Ben gave him trouble down low when he wasn’t putting up the 8 3-pointers he attempted. He grabbed 6 boards with 3 blocked shots with no assists.

• From 42 assists one night to 17 the next.
• Look, I don’t dislike many people. In fact I consider myself to be a pleasant person but I can’t stand Anderson Varejao. He could could be the nicest person in the world, donate all his time to charity, help orphans, give me a kidney to save my life and I would still want to punch him right in the face. Everything about him annoys me, from his hair, to his flopping and his facial expressions. Oh, and I hate when coach Brown calls him Andy.
• Perfect way to describe the Pistons second half. Flat.
• Rebound war lost 36-49.
• 16 points from the Pistons bench who did a decent job when they were out there.
• The Cavs clearly had the game at this point I will give them credit, but this was just pathetic.
• I showed that clip to Steve (Team Need4Sheed Captain) because he didn’t get a chance to catch the game and this is what he had to say. “That announcer makes me want to send flaming shards of something straight to the Q or whatever the %^&* they call it now.”
• The few moments Theo was in the game he blocked a shot and hustled down the other end of the floor for this jam.

• Tayshaun Prince shot 5-for-14 for 11 points, 4 boards, 3 steals and a blocked shot.
• Taysahun posterization of Ben and a nice fast break and dish from Chauncey to Tayshaun.
• Chauncey was just 4-for-12 for just 10 points and 4 assists.
• The Pistons biggest lead in the game was 5 points. The Cavs was 16.
• The Cavs got 15 points on the Pistons 11 turnovers.
• “We started out good, but then we bogged down, they locked in (defensively), and we didn’t get the ball to the weak side,” Saunders said. “We had (Antonio) McDyess open, but we didn’t pass him the ball. We didn’t hit the open people.” Via The Detroit News
• Saunders looked and sounded extremely annoyed in the post game press conference.
• When Rip scores just 14 and has more assists(7) than Chauncey Billups, it’s usually not a good thing.

• Sheed feels the same way I do about Varejoke. “We didn’t go at it,” Wallace said. “I know the kid’s a flopper. But if I am going to foul him, I am going to beat him up.” Via The Detroit News.
• Pistons Forum uploaded Sheed’s appearance March 13th on Sirius radio in 2 Parts on YouTube. Part One – Part Two.
• Maybe this will make you smile. Highlight of the night.

• DetroitBadBoys get together at The Palace in the Pistons.com suite.
• Do you have your tickets to Blogfest yet?
• Don’t forget you have to have an account to comment now and I would love to hear your thoughts about this one.

The Pistons take on The Cavaliers tonight for the second time this season. The Pistons took the first game 109-74, you remember that game that LeBron injured his pinkie and was on the DL for more than a week. The Cavaliers will be looking to put a beat down on The Pistons, and that other Wallace always seems to do well against his former team.

The Pistons are coming off three impressive wins and Cleveland lost their last game to The Magic. This should be a good one.

Tip off is at 8:00 PM and will be locally broadcast on myTV20 and Nationally on ESPN. If you can’t catch it on TV you can always tune in to 1130 AM WDFN The Fan or stream it live through your computer at NBA.com.

That other Wallace, so called royalty and the same old hatred. “We still hate Cleveland,” Lindsey Hunter said, with no trace of a smile. “We didn’t like Chicago (when Wallace was there), either. That’s just the way it is.” Via The Detroit News

Let’s get down to business. Leave ‘em in the comments…and remember you must have have an account to do it. Don’t worry you may have one already and if not, it’s free.