Key Points:

• Detroit started the game off solid hitting their first seven shots.
• Sheed was knocking down three’s from the start and finished with 15 points, 4 boards, an assist and two blocked shots.  Sheed sat out the fourth quarter. We even saw a patented throw down dunk from Ra.
• 46 points from the Pistons bench, who surprisingly finished the game up. With just a 6 point lead and plenty of time for the Nets to come back, Curry left Will, Kwame and Maxiell on the floor.
• Defense looked great.
• The Nets Chris Douglas-Roberts was making circus shots and Ryan Anderson went 5-for-8 from downtown and was mostly responsible for the Nets comeback.  Impressed with rookie Brook Lopez, but why the sour face all the time?
• The key to this one, Detroit stopped Devin Harris. He was held to just one points and 2 assists on the night in 20 minutes.  He left the game early in the third and didn’t return due to shoulder soreness.  Defensive shutdown was nice to see after Devin had his way with Detroit this season, especially AI.
• “You know me and Stuck (Rodney Stuckey) put it on ourselves because it has been killing us and we just wanted to go out there and try to be as aggressive as possible on him (Devin Harris) on the defensive end and put more pressure on him on the offensive end.” Will Bynum via Pistons.com
• Another great game from Will Bynum, who led the Pistons with 20 points on 8-for-16 shooting with 4 assists and a board in 27 minutes.  As far as the Palace crowd goes….he’s the new Herrmann.

Photo/Getty Images

• Rob, Pistons fan from Australia and fellow blogger, was at the Palace for the first time ever last night. This is what being a Pistons fan is all about.
• With the season winding down, Curry may be resting the starters a bit more. “If everything is secure (with the playoff seed), maybe we won’t play Dyess in Miami on Wednesday,” Curry said. “The practice (Tuesday) will be aimed more toward the playoffs than just that Miami game.” Via The Detroit News
• Solid Kwame again with 7 points and 7 boards in 18 minutes.  Is there something in the water over there at the Palace? Kwame is tearing things up (in Kwame terms), Will is Bynumite, Dyess is playing like a teenager and Herrmann’s hair is shinier than ever.
• Detroit shot 53% from the floor and outrebounded the Nets 41-31.
• Jason Maxiell always seems to be in the right place at the right time and this putback jam that he took out of Anderson’s hands may be one of his most impressive. Maxiell finished with 11 points, 6 boards, a steal and a blocked shot in 23 minutes.

• Detroit has made the playoffs for eight consecutive years, and 32 times in franchise history.
• Six Pistons in double figures.
• Walter scored just 2, (with 6 boards) but he was out on the floor when the Pistons pulled away in the second.
• 10 for Stuckey, 10 for Rip, 8 for Tay and 11 for McDyess.
• Wondering how Curry will deal with the rotation come playoff time, well there is this from Joanne C. Gerstner of The Detroit News

“Most coaches like to shorten their playoffs rotations, often going to as few as one or two key reserves.

Curry is taking a different tack, planning on using as many as nine players in the postseason.

His logic is simple. He likes having two big men, center Kwame Brown and power forward Jason Maxiell , play. Bynum is the main reserve at point guard.

And depending on the team and game situation, he’d like to give forward Walter Herrmann and guard Arron Afflalo some time, too.

“It’s almost like we said coming out of training camp,” Curry said Friday. “We definitely expect to play nine guys every night.”

• NBA Highlights of the Game

• “Just because the Pistons now know there’s life after 82, they can’t pause to catch their breath just yet. So far all they’ve locked up is finishing no worse than eighth in the East, but if the cards fall their way, they can still climb a few rungs in the standings.” Matt Watson Fanhouse
• A win tonight in Indiana would be great, especially with the Bulls coming to town on Monday.

Detroit will again be without Allen Iverson, who wall called out on Tuesday during the TNT telecast about the validity of  his injury by Reggie Miller. Whatever the the reason Allen Iverson is not with this team right now I always had the same feeling about Allen Iverson that Reggie Miller does.

I was never a huge AI fan, but the one thing I always thought about him, besides his great game, was the fact that he played no matter what.  When he got here I specifically said that anything short of a bullet wound, Iverson would play.

Do you remember this?

Rasheed Wallace and Richard Hamilton will not play in tonight’s game against the Lakers.

Something special about tonight’s FOX Sports broadcast of the game:

“For the first time, FOX Sports Detroit’s collection of channels will present simultaneous telecasts of the same game, but from two different perspectives, when the Pistons take on the Los Angeles Lakers at the Palace on Thursday, March 26.

The traditional game coverage will appear on FOX Sports Detroit and in high-definition on FOX Sports Detroit HD.

Meanwhile, FOX Sports Detroit PLUS presents a “Match-up Cam” telecast, with a devoted camera isolating on key battles throughout the game among the many stars on each team.”

Now that sound great, hopefully this becomes a regular feature for FOX.

Tip off is at 7:30 PM and will be locally broadcast on FSN. If you can’t catch the broadcast, listen locally on WDFN 1130 AM or trough your computer at NBA.com

Leave your thoughts in the comments and feel free to be as descriptive as can be while I’m on the disabled list, your comments will help keep me in the loop. I thought I would be up an running a bit quicker, but I had a little setback the last couple of days. And if you need a doctors note I can give you one. My injury actually shows up on an MRI, so there should be no questioning my condition. Thanks for being patient.

It usually doesn’t turn out well for the Pistons or their fans on Monday mornings when Detroit plays on Sunday. Detroit added to their Sunday loss total last night after their 107-97 loss to the Suns at The Palace, despite great play by Allen Iverson and Rip Hamilton, who have been the talk of the team since Rip took on his new role as sixth man.

Key Points:

• Steve Nash had more assists (21) than the Detroit Pistons had as a team (19).
• Seems as though plenty of Pistons fans were vocal at the Palace last night.  They made sure they let Amare know they wanted to see him in a Pistons uniform.
• Amare on possibly playing in Detroit: “It would be phenomenal. I think the fans here have been probably the top fans in the world since I’ve been in the NBA. They’re always cheering their team on and every time we come here, their always loud and rowdy, so it would be fun to play here.” Via MLive
• Don Shane talks to Amare (Video)
• This team has become a turnover machine.  Remember when Chauncey was in charge?  The Pistons had 14 turnovers last night, with most leading to easy Phoenix buckets.
• Kwame Brown started the game to take some heat off Rasheed by guarding Shaq.  He even had a sweet putback dunk in the opening minute. Eight boards and 4 points in 18 minutes isn’t bad but the 3 turnovers killed his stat line.
• AI scored 25 in 41 minutes on the floor going 8-for-22.  That’s the AI of old, he scores a ton but usually needs a lot of shots to do it in. I’m fine with it as long as the Pistons win. He added 7 assists, 4 steals and 3 boards. And a pretty sweet floater over Shaq.

Photo/Getty Images

• Rodney Stuckey seems out of place since Rip started to heat up. He played 29 minutes and scored 8 with an assist, 3 boards and a blocked shot.
• This is NOT a typo……The Suns scored 66 points in the Paint! I will say no more. Oh I lied, one more thing… 31 fast break points!!
• NBA.com Highlights of the Game.
• Now I thought it was just me who noticed the bias during the ESPN broadcast, but it seems I’m not the only one who took note of it. This little snippet from the ESPN crew took shots at the Pistons players, the fans (spoiled), the city and then had the nerve throw the Lions in there. Kick a city when they’re down why don’t you?

• Oh and every shot the Pistons missed was wayyyyyyyyyy off, as explained to us by the ESPN crew after every Piston miss.
• Double-double for Rasheed Wallace with 16 points and 10 boards, who added 4 steals and a blocked shot.  He’s looking good lately, but how long he will be able to keep this up with the time he’s getting on court is another thing.
• Antonio McDyess is the hardest working Piston period. Double digit rebounds night in and night out. Ice 4 Dyess is truly an understatement.
• This is one of the most ridiculous assists I have seen in a long time.  Allen Iverson cross court bounce pass through the legs of Grant Hill to Rip for the layup.

Video Courtesy of The NBA, The Detroit Pistons and ESPN

• The Pistons went on a 21-9 run and were within four, 76-72. The wheels fell off the bus soon after. It seems like it happens all too often anymore. Detroit has a chance to win and then they crumble. The game was tied 9 times and the lead changed hands 13 times.
• The Pistons are now 1-9 on Sundays.
• Quiet night for Tayshaun who scored 11 points with 4 assists and just one board.
• Herrmann sighting…he played 24 seconds late in the game for his three point shooting.
• Richard Hamilton led the Pistons off the bench with 27 points in 31 minutes on the floor. Rip looks comfortable and seems to be playing his best basketball alongside Allen Iverson.

Photo/Getty Images

• Amir and Maxiell didn’t see much time during Sunday’s loss.
• Board war won 45-41.
• Arron Afflalo 0-for-6.
• I know many of you are frustrated right now but they really have a chance to pull things together. It’s not like they don’t have the talent to do it.
• Adding to the Trade Rumors – Tayshaun in Phoenix? “The fast-sinking Raptors are looking to shake things up and have talked to the Suns about trading Amare Stoudemire. But unless they decide to part with Chris Bosh, chances are slim that Raptors president Bryan Colangelo will get the All-Star power forward he drafted out of high school in 2002 when he was Phoenix’s top basketball executive. Bosh has missed the last two games with a sprained knee and his future in Toronto, beyond 2010 – when he becomes a free agent – is up in the air. So Toronto might be forced to get something for him. Detroit has been linked to Bosh in 2010, so it’s entirely possible that the Pistons will try to make it a three-way deal. Detroit’s Tayshaun Prince is being mentioned as one of the primary players who would end up with the Suns.” Via New York Daily News
• Back to back games on Tuesday and Wednesday before the All Star break with Chicago and Atlanta.
• Mocking Anderson Varejao is just what we need today.

The Pistons are not in an ideal situation today.  No NBA player likes to play the second day of a back-to-back, but the fact that Detroit played a hard-fought overtime game against the Bucks that ended just before midnight and then they had to travel back to Detroit in the early morning hours to play tonight’s game against the Suns at The Palace.  Oh yeah….and it’s Sunday.

With the rumors surrounding Detroit and Phoenix in the Amare sweepstakes, the Pistons have to be all business to pull out a win against The Suns.

Each team currently has the same 27-21 record going into tonight’s game.

Good News/Bad News/and More

• Look for Shaq to take a cheap hard foul on one of The Pistons’ smaller players.  He’s good at that. He took out Rodney Stuckey with a hard foul that got him ejected in the Suns last meeting with the Pistons and leveled Amir Johnson last season.
• Detroit is seeking a third straight victory for the first time since its season-high seven-game winning streak from Dec. 23-Jan. 4.
• Again, it’s Sunday.
• The Pistons had lost 10 of their previous 14 games before winning their last two.
• Amare has pledged to elevate his game.

Tip off is at 8:00 P.M. and will be Nationally televised on ESPN. If you can’t watch the broadcast, tune into 1130 AM WDFN The Fan.  Can’t do either? Follow the game on NBA.com.

Comments and  Chat.

Forget the longest home losing streak since Detroit was wearing Teal horses. The Pistons need to a win tonight against the Miami Heat not only for the morale of the players and fans, but for the simple fact that the Pistons at 25-21 are a half-game behind the Heat, in the No. 6 playoff spot. Yes the Pistons are #6 in the standings.

Not only will Rodney Stuckey get a chance to play against his favorite player for the first time in his career, he’s going to have the defend him too.

“It’s another game,” Stuckey said Tuesday after practice. “Like I said, Dwyane Wade is one of the best players in the league. It’s going to be a tough night for all of us trying to defend him.”

“I just watched him play throughout his college career and then obviously when he came to the NBA,” Stuckey said. “He’s always been one of my favorite players to watch.” Via The Detroit Free Press

Good News/Bad News

• Miami has lost five straight against the Pistons and 16 of the last 19.
• The Heat have dropped five in a row in Detroit and are 1-10 in its last 11 at The Palace.
• Rodney Stuckey may be bothered by the bruised thigh that he received during Sunday’s game with Cleveland.

Tip off is at 7:30 P.M. and will be locally televised on FSN. If you can’t watch the broadcast, tune into 1130 AM WDFN The Fan.  Can’t do either? Follow the game on NBA.com.

I will be enjoying the game with the winners of The Need4Sheed Suite Night courtesy of The Detroit Pistons.

Comments and  Chat.