The 22-29 #Pistons will host the 19-33 Cleveland Cavaliers Wednesday night at the Palace of Auburn Hills. Both teams come into the game on a three-game winning streak. Detroit would love to get to number four to tie their longest winning streak of the season. The Cavs on the other hand haven’t won four in a row since LeBron James and his talent were playing in Cleveland.
The good: Detroit are playing with a boost of everyone and have dominated the Cavs of late winning their last seven match-ups. A good thing for me is that I won’t have to see Anderson Varejao and his floppy hair on the Palace floor.
The bad: Cleveland is also playing good basketball and is averaging 106 points in the past five games.
The unknown: Will Detroit get a strong collective showing like they did against the Spurts? Can the Pistons go into the All-Star Break on a four game winning streak. If they can it will also give them the longest home-game win streak since a seven-game run March 14-April 4, 2008.
Injuries:
Pistons: Josh Harrellson (knee) out.
Cavaliers: Carrick Felix and Anderson Varejoa are out.
C.J. Miles– Questionable
Stat: Andre Drummond has an Eastern Conference leading 37 double-doubles.
Stat: Josh Smith scored 25 points to lead the Pistons in their 115-92 win over the Cavaliers on 12/23.
Stat: Kyrie Irving led Cleveland with 21 points in the loss on 12/23.
Tip off is at 7:30 pm and will be broadcast on Fox Sports Detroit . If you can’t catch the game on TV, catch it on the radio over at 97.1 The Ticket.
I’d be pretty upset if they find a way to blow this one.
The Cavs aren’t much worse than we are so far, just 3.5 games back. They might have actually managed to out-underachieve us, but the Pistons lost the season series to the Magic (2nd worst in the league) and got beat by the Bucks (1st worst) the last time they played. On paper this should be a win, but stranger things have happened.
horrible. We have so much talent but such a messed up roster. We don’t have anybody that reliably hit a shot outside 15 feet. For a while we had so many shooting guards, rip, AI, stuckey, then we had so many small forwards, prince, singler, daye, middleton. Now we have the all bigs, monroe, drummond, jorts, josh.
What good does it do to have the best bigs in the NBA when the everyone else on the entire team can just camp out in the paint daring us to hoist?
Defense was nice to see. Or it could be the cavs are just awful shots too. Not sure.
I’d like to get two decent jump shooters before the trade deadline, at the 2 and 3. I know how likely that is to happen.
Josh Smith made me ill at the end of this game.
edt, this is basically my entire premise: You can’t win like this, and you’re not going to fix the perimeter by holding onto all the players you like and praying that shooters magically fall in your lap. There is no chance you can add even one shooter by the deadline without giving up an asset, and we don’t really have any assets aside from Monroe and Stuckey. And furthermore, you won’t be able to add the pieces we need with a sliver of cap space.
Heck, I never thought I’d say this, but what would the season look like without Stuckey? And we’re going to lose him for nothing in free agency for what? To pretend we have anything left to prove this season? It’s insanely irresponsible. Please read my article. I think it will open your eyes at least a little.
Josh played fine. much as I dislike his low IQ basketball can’t really complain to much for this game.
Otis I hate Josh Smith and want him gone from this team. it is that simple. I love the moose. try to change my mind? Ha!
would you really say “No” to this trade, Otis?
“For Detroit this trade makes a lot of sense. Josh Smith has not worked out as a small forward and the Pistons would trade his remaining 3 years, $40 million for only $25 million worth of contracts and a possible better fit at small forward in Jeff Green. Josh Smith has his issues, but he’s a defensive force and would be able to play power forward for the Celtics and be rejoined with his friend, Rajon Rondo. Acquiring Smith would also still allow the talent-poor Celtics to stay on track to add a top 5 pick in the 2014 draft. Smith wouldn’t be in the way of any of the top picks other than perhaps Julius Randle. If the Celtics were able to add either Andrew Wiggins or Joel Embiid, either would fit really nicely next to Smith and the Celtics would have pieces to return to defensive prominence. And using the stretch provision on Gerald Wallace this offseason would still maintain enough cap space for the Celts to pursue a second-tier free agent. This trade helps both teams in the short and the long run.”
Clark Schmutz, SLC Dunk
leftywamu put together a great graphic that explains everything you need to know about josh smith
http://f.cl.ly/items/0P1O0N3d2F0g3f1D3H2h/J-Smoove2.jpg
Hearding and reading all these rumors and then hearing JOE D would give Monroe ” slow lazy turn over machine with no defense and can’t shoot for SH**!” max money just made me barfff and im sick of Joe and digging this organization to the ground. Bill Davidson is rolling in his grave watching what is happening, Trade monroe and Fire Joe D = THE END !
Hearing* ” sorry i was pissed when typing lol”
I would do Smith-for-Green in an instant, but the trade makes NO sense at all for the Celtics. They would never do it. You’ll never find a trade for Smith that brings the Pistons a real asset, and the proof will be in the pudding because you’ll watch it not happen. Ever. Nobody wants Josh Smith. And besides, you’d still be left with the inescapable fact that Monroe and Drummond are two centers who only get in each other’s way and will never thrive together.
any contract can be traded the fact is you straight up think Josh Smith is a decent player sure you think his contract is too big, but if it were 2 or 3 million less you would be delighted to have him on a pistons team.
I think josh smith makes teams worse. The best way to win with a team that has josh smith on it is to play him on the bench. We would win more games with Jennings, KCP, Singler, Monroe & Drummond and josh smith at 0 minutes than we would with playing him.
That’s what I think of Josh smith. As for greg & drummond can’t play together, well, since we have played the “jumbo” lineup 1000 or so minutes and that hasn’t worked, how about Greg + drummond and no josh smith, well we have exactly 29 minutes and 3 seconds of the jennings KCP Singler, monroe drummond lineup.
That’s how much we have seen this “fact” that “two centers can’t work together” because we have tried it for half of a basketball game and that was because Josh Smith got benched for missing his flight.
We also have about 35 minutes of Josh + Drummond and if we are going to trade away Greg monroe sure as heck I want more minutes with that lineup. Maybe I’m all wrong, maybe you’re right and this is the lineup of the future. I sure wish we would see more of that line up if that’s what is going to happen.
I guess we will find out what happens after either Greg or Josh gets traded which because Joe D is a lame duck wont happen until this summer or next year’s trade deadline.
I believe in the moose. But I sure do want to see Josh + Drummond on the court in the last stretch of the season if that is our future.
It is appalling by the way that three of the worst contracts in the last 5 years in the NBA involve piston’s players, Ben Gordon, Charlie V and Josh Smith.
I think we are going to make the playoffs, and after such a long drought my expectations are different. I used to think NBA finals or bust. Now I think, sure would be nice to kick back on a playoff weekend and watch my piston’s play hard and lose to the heat or indiana for a quick exit. That wouldn’t be so bad. Maybe we can get 6 games out of it. So despite everything I am looking forward to the end of this season. I just want less “jumbo” and more just “2 bigs” any two bigs it doesn’t matter.