The first 10,000 fans at the Palace tonight will win a free Star Wars movie poster. Oh the irony. Additionally, there will be 30 Star Wars characters around the Palace, in costume, to greet fans. Sadly, Char Char Binks will not be in attendance, he's still out with a sore ankle.

Game Tips at 7:30 P.M. EST

New Jersey Nets: 8 - 19 (5 - 10 road)

Detroit Pistons: 7 - 20 (5 - 8 home)

The Situation:

The pride of the hopeful Russian emperor attempts to strike back tonight, having been defeated by the forceful play of Greg Monroe on Wednesday (get it? forceful?. It was the last the Pistons would ever see of the Nets in New Jersey, but they are taking the fight to our own, wintry turf tonight (spoiler alert: the Nets will ultimately reveal an armed and fully operational battle station in Brooklyn next season). Yeah, I could keep the Star Wars references up throughout this whole preview, I'm just that nerdy. But I won't put you all through that.

We've played the Nets twice already this month, and I'm giving up so much material though. Old Ben? Jodda the Hut? The aforementioned Char Char Binks, who single-handedly ruined Episode 1? So much material. I could write a paragraph about how Tayshaun Prince reminds me of C-3PO, a whiny, a stiff robot. I could write another paragraph about whether Jonas Jerebko is Luke Skywalker, a bright and annoyingly pure jedi, or Han Solo, a dashing rogue who totally just Greedo'd Jason Smith the other night. I'm gonna go with the latter. JoHan JerebSolo.

Okay fine, I'll give it a rest.

Keys to the Game:

Feed the Wookie: Let him have it. It's not wise to upset a wookie. Sure, you could let C-3PO attempt another isolation play, but droids don't pull people's arms out of their socket when they lose. Wookiees are known to do that.

Jump to Light Speed - We're not going to outrun imperial cruisers at this pace, so get R2 (Larry Frank. Larry Frank is clearly R2D2) to fix the hyperspeed thingy and push the pace a bit.

Defend Echo Base - They have the firepower to penetrate the seat of the rebel alliance, so prevent them even getting there in the first place.

Question of the Game:

Is Anthony Davis the prophesied one who will bring balance to the force? Does Mike Payne live in his mom's basement?

Two of the five worst teams in the NBA face off tonight as the Detroit Pistons play the New Jersey Nets in the first game of a home-and-home. While the Pistons are waiting out the onerous contracts of Ben Gordon and Charlie Villanueva as they chart a path to respectability, the Nets are playing a waiting game of their own -- the Dwight Howard Waiting Game.

If New Jersey can swing a trade for the big man, the odds of being able to re-sign point guard Deron Williams greatly increase, which would give the Nets two great building blocks as they move into new digs in Brooklyn. If they don't land Howard, Williams might leave in free agency or be traded for pennies on the dollar, leaving the Nets with about $40 million in cap space and nobody to spend it on.

In the meantime, these two bottom feeders will battle for pride on the court while their respective fanbases root for lottery balls off the court. Not to say that I don't want the Pistons to win while I'm watching them, but once it's over and i accept the inevitable defeat, I click on over to watch Kentucky, Kansas, UConn and North Carolina. And dream. Just sayin'.

Game Tips at 7:30 P.M. EST

Detroit Pistons: 6 - 20 (1 - 12 road)

New Jersey Nets: 8 - 18 (3 - 8 home)

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If the Pistons are looking to add another notch to the win column, tonight will be a nice opportunity to do so. The New Orleans Hornets are roughly as bad (and hobbled) as Detroit, but the Pistons have home court advantage and the taste of blood in their mouths from last night's win. The game certainly could go either way, but this one is the Pistons' to lose.

Game Tips at 7:30 P.M. EST

New Orleans Hornets: 4 - 19 (2 - 8 road)

Detroit Pistons: 5 - 20 (4 - 8 home)

The Situation:

The Hornets have been without Eric Gordon, the centerpiece of the Chris Paul trade, for sixteen games and counting. On Thursday night, they started without the other half of their backcourt, Jarrett Jack (who is having a career-best season). With those two out, the Hornets will have to rely on Marco Belinelli and the equally fun-to-say General Greivis Vasquez. In their last two games, however, the Hornets have decided to bench Belinelli to start another shooting guard...

DAJUAN SUMMERS.

That's how bad things are in New Orleans.

Don't feel bad for the Hornets, though-- they're in a better position to rebuild than the Pistons are. They've got two lottery picks this season, one likely a top three pick, and they've got a clean salary profile with a lot of trade assets. The lone brain fart NOLA is still dealing with is Trevor Ariza, who is about as overpriced and untradeable as Ben Gordon. That aside, they're actually poised for plenty of growth in terms of talent.

I'm not sure what it is about New Orleans, but damn they have a way with finding stud point guards. In the last two seasons, they've traded away Darren Collison and Chris Paul, only to wind up starting one of the more underrated point guards in the league in Jarrett Jack. [read BRGulker's write-up on Jarrett Jack as part of DBB's exploration of the point guard market two years back] Now that Jack is out with a sore knee, General Greivis Vasquez has started in his place. In the last two games, Vasquez is averaging 18 points, 9 assists and 5 rebounds on 58% shooting. Since New Orleans has a bad habit of trading away good point guards, the Pistons should have their number on speed dial.

Then there's the logjam at centre. Seriously, how the hell does a team have a logjam at center? The Hornets start the league's most ho-hum-but-effective center in Emeka Okafor, they've got a good-for-fantasy/bad-for-reality Chris Kaman behind him and the center steal of free agency, Gustavo Ayon. I've mentioned this before, but you know what New Orleans calls Ayon? Goose. Goose, meet Moose. Moose, Goose. Awesome.

Keys of the Game:

Get Everyone Involved in Rebounding - It worked last night. In fact, it's been a common element for most of Detroit's five wins this season. The other 20 games are proof that being the league's worst rebounding team is bad for basketball.

Clog the Paint, Defend Driving Lanes - As if they heard us asking, the Pistons stood up and defended the perimeter last night, holding a team that shot 58% against them from three to only 18%. By contrast, the Hornets attempt and make the second fewest 3-pointers in the game. It might be safe to sag off the perimeter a bit tonight, because NOLA does most of its work in the mid-range and the painted area.

Feed the Moose - 14 attempts last night, that's a step in the right direction. The Pistons can do better, as Tayshaun Prince is still ahead of Monroe in shot attempts (15 last night, only 6 connected). Tayshaun needs to be a fourth option again, and Monroe should be second or better.

Question of the Game:

Like last night's game, this one is winnable. Would you rather see back-to-back wins or a better shot at the second pick in the draft? It's a tough call, but if it means Brandon Knight showing that he can run the point once again, it's hard to want to lose.

Is it just me, or does it feel like the Detroit Pistons play the Milwaukee Bucks once a week? In an abbreviated season of suck, you could at least hope for some variety...

Game Tips at 7:30 P.M. EST

Milwaukee Bucks: 10 - 11 (3 - 9 road)

Detroit Pistons: 4 - 20 (3 - 8 home)

The Situation:

If the Bucks win tonight, they're a .500 team. They've won three-in-a-row without Andrew Bogut, including an 8-point win over the Miami Heat on Wednesday night. Brandon Jennings has returned to rookie form, averaging over 20 points per game and getting his teammates involved. Drew Gooden is actually earning his contract. Rookie Jon Leuer is looking like a steal. Ersan Ilyasova is stretching defenses and rebounding. Lastly, Shaun Livingston is looking healthy, shooting well and helping distribute as a starter in Milwaukee's backcourt.

If the Bucks can hold on to the 8th seed and continue playing like they are now, they'll be the last team anyone wants to meet in the first round of the playoffs.

In the first two games, what has Detroit done well against Milwaukee? That story begins and ends with Greg Monroe and Rodney Stuckey. The Moose is shooting 71% against the Bucks, while the rest of the team is hitting only 35%. Combined, Monroe is averaging 24 points, 13 rebounds and 2 assists against Milwaukee but still managing a lower usage rate than Tayshaun Prince. Stuckey may not be shooting well against the Bucks, but the whistles have helped-- Stuckey is 7-7 on free throws in both games against Milwaukee this season.

On offense, feeding the Moose and letting Rodney drive are the two things that are working. Everything else... not so much.

On the other end of the court, Milwaukee's wings have had their way with Detroit like we're a drunk prom date. Brandon Jennings is matching Monroe's 24-point average while Stephen Jackson, Mike Dunleavy and Ersan Ilyasova are driving Detroit mad from outside. As a team, Milwaukee is scoring 54% on perimeter shots against Detroit. They're connecting just about everywhere on the court, but the 3-point shooting is what has kept Detroit from being competitive in either game this season. Without further adieu, let's turn this data into strategy, yeah?

Keys of the Game:

FEED THE DAMNED MOOSE - Milwaukee has had no defense against Greg Monroe this season. If Detroit doesn't feed Monroe the ball and do it often, why even suit up to play? This is not rocket science. Larry Frank, I implore you to use your best offensive weapon tonight. I don't want to start dusting off that AFI title, Mr. 4-36. I'm watching you, lil Red.

Defend the perimeter at all costs - This might be a game to try and switch things up, starting with Stuckey, Daye and Jerebko on the wing. That advantage in size and length could cause the Bucks fits at the 3-point line. Defending 3-point shots is half of the battle, however, as dribble penetration has been another Pistons weakness vs. Milwaukee.

Memoirs of a Geishaun - Sit that fast-break-killing, never-passing, always-complaining, poor-shooting, never-gets-whistles clown. Detroit is better when he's not on the court, and they appear to have more fun without him too.

Question of the Game:

This is another winnable game across a stretch of six games to start February. After tonight, Detroit plays New Orleans, New Jersey twice and then Washington. What's your record prediction across that stretch? I'm not gonna shave my brow until it's over...

Tonight, the Pistons will conclude a back-to-back-to-back, courtesy of the generous NBA owners. Cramming 66 games into an abbreviated schedule was genius enough, but forcing teams to play on the road for three consecutive nights? Brilliant. Oh yeah, the Nets also played on the road last night in Indiana, where the Pacers had their way during the second half.

Two bad teams on tired legs. What more could a fan ask for? Quantity over quality is always the best way to please your consumer base.

But I digress.

Game Tips at 7:30pm EST

Detroit Pistons: 4 - 19 (1 - 11 road *shudder*)

New Jersey Nets: 7 - 15 (2 - 6 home)

The Situation:

Both of these teams suck. Both teams lost on the road last night, and this game is even more likely to be ugly as a result. Additionally, both teams are depleted by injury. The Nets have been without their starting centre, Brook Lopez, all season and recently lost promising rookie MarShon Brooks to a foot injury. Former Piston Mehmet Okur is a shadow of who he was while wearing the Red, White, and Piston Blue, but he's also out with a bad back. The Pistons remain without the services of Will Bynum, Ben Gordon, and Charlie Villanueva.

However, the Nets are playing at home - the Pistons have only won one game on the road - and they have Deron Williams. That may be enough to tip the scale in their favor.

By the advanced metrics, Deron Williams is having a bit of a down year, due largely to a decline in offensive efficiency (i.e., shooting efficiency and turnovers). However, he's still as dangerous as they come, as he demonstrated last night in Indiana where he dropped 34 points (on 20 shots) and dished out 7 assists. Knight, Stuckey, and Russell will all get a chance to try slowing Williams down, and they'll certainly have their hands full. Pick and roll fer days, if I'm Avery Johnson.

Williams is the obvious focal point of the Nets' offense, and he's equally dangerous creating for himself or others, but he's not the only threat the Pistons will need to keep in check.

Many believed Kris Humphries was a one-hit wonder. On the basketball court, at least, this doesn't appear to be the case. He's following up last year's career season by averaging a double double this year -- scoring just under 13 points and grabbing just under 11 boards per contest. Say what you will about his antics off the court, Kris Humphries is the type of bruising, blue-collar big man I'd welcome as a Pistons every day of the week. The Pistons have had a habit of making guys like him look like All Stars over the past couple seasons. Box him out, please.

The Nets also have weapons from behind the arc, which will keep the Pistons perimeter defenders from helping on Williams' penetration. Sharp-shooting Anthony Morrow is coming off an excellent shooting performance in Indiana, scoring 28 points on 17 shots, including 5-8 from behind the long line. Jordan Farmar is having a quietly good season, shooting a blistering 46% from deep. With the injury to Brooks, Farmar should see time at both guard spots off the bench. The Pistons can't afford to leave a hand down on these two, because we all know what happens after hand down...

Keys to the Game:

Contain dribble penetration: This, of course, is easier said than done, and of course, should be at the very top of the Pistons' scouting report. This Nets team isn't going to win many games if Deron Williams isn't playing well. The more the Pistons can do to make his life difficult, the better.

Pick up the pace: Please? Pretty please? Pretty, pretty please? The Pistons continue to play at the slowest pace in the league. Honestly, I have no idea if playing any faster will increase the chances of winning; bad basketball is bad basketball in slow motion or fast forward. But, I'd much rather watch this team get out on the break and attack quickly regardless of outcome than I would watch almost everything we've seen up to this point.

Move the ball: In the most ironic comment of the year (decade?), Tayshaun Prince is on to something. And while we're since we're talking about moving the ball, Tayshaun...

Feed the Moose: Kris Humphries, Shelden Williams, and Johan Petro. These three players are likely to play the majority of the Nets' frontcourt minutes. The implication is obvious, no? If I have to watch one more game where Tayshaun Prince shoots the ball more than Greg Monroe, I will whine, gripe, and RPBAR this game thread. This is not an empty threat. No one wants that. No. One.

Question of the Game:

There are six players on the Nets' roster that I had to look up, because I didn't have any idea who they were when I looked at their names. How many for you?

It is absolutely hilarious to me that the Knicks spent all those years sucking and clearing their cap to build this team-- a team that has won three more games than the Detroit Pistons this season. For every Miami Heat, there's going to be a New York Knicks, a team that loses out on superstar talent and instead signs fool's gold. This should set an example for big market teams who want to slash-and-sign, and it should also set an example for whiny "superstars" who demand trades. Two thumbs up, New York.

Game Tips at 7:30P.M. EST

Detroit Pistons: 4 - 18 (1 - 10 road)

New York Knicks: 7 - 13 (3 - 6 home)

The Situation:

If the Knicks stick with a core of Stoudemire, Anthony and Chandler, it's not likely that they'll be much more than a .500 team. In 2014/15, the combined salaries of these three players alone will exceed the current cap by nearly $3 million. They don't have the pieces to trade for anything of value, they're unlikely to draft anyone of merit and they can only rely on exceptions to sign free agents. It's going to take a big trade (where the Knicks ship out one of their big three) or a hell of a lot of luck for this team to field a roster that is capable of a playoff run beyond the first round.

It doesn't help New York that Amar'e and Carmelo are having the worst seasons of their respective careers. Stoudemire is shooting 43% from the field and only pulling five whistles a contest, the latter of which used to be his only semi-superstar skill. Carmelo Anthony is shooting 39% on 20 attempts per game. The two are combining for 41 points on 35 attempts with 6 turnovers per game. On offense, they are effectively playing their team out of the game.

Tyson Chandler, however, is still in offensive beast mode. He picked up where he left off last year and continues to lead the league in true shooting percentage and offensive rating, making him the most effective offensive option in the NBA. But since he attempts less than 5 shots per game, that efficiency isn't putting NYK over the top even against middle-of-the-road competition. Over the last ten games, the Knicks have won only one-- against the worst team in the league, the Charlotte Bobcats.

Injury update- Carmelo Anthony has missed the last two games and is a game-time decision tonight, although it is looking likely that he will return. Ben Gordon, Will Bynum and Charlie Villanueva all remain day-to-day. If only Prince was on the bench with them...

Keys to the Game:

Defend the Paint - the Knicks attempt the third most perimeter shots in the game, but they only connect on 31%. Their saving grace is their performance on isolation and post-up plays closer to the basket. If the Knicks aren't connected on perimeter shots tonight, it might make sense to sag off of the perimeter a bit to defend dribble penetration and post-up attempts. Greg Monroe and Jonas Jerebko have been far above average when defending individual post plays this season, so they're going to be effective tonight against Stoudemire and Anthony should he return.

Run some damned pick and rolls - Both Monroe and Jerebko have been wildly efficient on pick-and-roll plays this season. Synergy has recorded 71 combined pick-and-roll attempts for Monroe and Jerebko, and their performance has them ranked 13th and 16th in the league regardless of position. Larry Frank, these two players could pick-and-roll a team like New York to death in a heartbeat.

Feed the Moose - Beyond the aforementioned pick-and-rolls, let's get Monroe some more quality shots and let him do a bit of distribution in the high post. It's downright sinful that Tayshaun Prince should take more shots than Moose, especially when Monroe's attempt average is inflated by put-backs. Then there's the whole Prince-is-shooting-only-41% thing.

Question of the Game:

Unrelated question - do you think the Pistons will make a trade prior to the deadline? If so, who do you think will be dealt?

Ah, remember the Bucks? While to the average fan the Detroit Pistons' previous contest against fellow Central division also-ran Jan. 12 was just one of Detroit's 17 losses. But I remember it as Greg Monroe's coming out party (you better believe I'll celebrate the Moose-iversary next year). 32 points on 12-of-16 shooting and 16 rebounds against a respectable big man like Andrew Bogut. Performances like that from your franchise cornerstone make losing a lot easier to swallow. Can Monroe repeat the dominance? If he does, it won't be against Bogut, who is out with a fractured ankle (just like Charlie V.?). The Pistons are also without Ben Gordon, Will Bynum and maybe Austin Daye.

Game Tips at 8:00 P.M. EST

Milwaukee Bucks: 8 - 11 (5 - 2 home)

Detroit Pistons: 4 - 17 (1 - 9 road)

The Situation:

Tonight's contest will be the first in a back-to-back-to-back road trip that will take the Pistons to Milwaukee, New York and New Jersey. All three are winnable games but the Pistons won't and shouldn't be favored in any. The Bucks are a cautionary tale, or should have been any way, in that they built their team up just well enough to be mediocre and don't have the flexibility to do anything but shuffle around the margins of their roster. Basically, they are the Pistons best-case scenario, which is frightening. As horrible as being an underachieving team is, it is better for the future be in a position to draft players such as Greg Monroe and Brandon Knight than it is to draft players such as Larry Sanders and Jimmer Fredette (pick traded to Kings).

While head coach Scott Skiles is a defensive-minded taskmaster, this year the Bucks have really struggled at that end of the court. After a couple years as a top-five defensive squad, Milwaukee ranks 19th in defensive efficiency and are just starting to adjust to the absence of their best defender in Bogut, who will be out for around three months.

Keys to the Game:

Watch out for Drew Gooden - Greg Monroe has been up and down on defense all season, and if he's not careful Drew Gooden could do some damage. Gooden isn't the most intuitive NBA player, but he is blessed with some innate talents that allow him to be deathly effective when put in the right situations. Playing for the injured Bogut the past two games, Gooden put up 23 points and 15 rebounds against the Chicago Bulls and 23 points and 8 rebounds against the Los Angeles Lakers.

Watch out for Greg Monroe - On the other hand, physically, Gooden is the type of player Monroe should be effective against. He's not terribly strong or quick and doesn't block shots. If Monroe brings his A game, he could approach or even eclipse the career night he put up against Milwaukee in their first go-round. Monroe must protect the ball and avoid coughing it up when he enters the paint (watch out when Carlos Delfino and/or Brandon Jennings collapse on Monroe).

Brandon Jennings must be contained -- With Bogut out, everything in Milwaukee runs through Jennings. That means Brandon Knight can't get lost on defense and must fight through screens to keep from teammates needing to switch. When Detroit is able to stay mostly man-to-man, they've had solid stretches on D, when they are forced to switch, things break down very fast and they give up wide open jump shots or looks under the basket. As for offense, in his last seven games Knight has had roughly a 2:1 assist to turnover ratio. That level isn't great, but it's where he needs to be to show he's making progress.

Keep Jon Leuer on the bench -- One of the more pleasant surprises of the rookie class this year is University of Wisconsin alum Jon Leuer. Drafted 40th overall, the 6-foot-10 forward is shooting 56 percent from the floor, largely on jump shots, and takes care of the basketball. That is why, if I'm a Bucks fan, I'm wondering why he only plays 16 minutes per game. I'm asking why he can go 9-for-11 for 19 points in 19 minutes against Chicago and then only play five minutes the next game against the Lakers. I'm just assuming that this is coach Skiles not trusting the rookie on the defensive end. While the Bucks obviously are a better team with him on the floor, It's not my problem if Skiles doesn't realize it. tHE Pistons need to go at Leuer as soon as he enters the game and see if they can staple his butt to the bench for the remainder.

Questions of the Game:

Brandon Knight -- more turnovers or more 3-pointers made? Stephen Jackson -- He's been awful this year save for a couple of games, including one against Detroit. Does he hurt the Pistons again? Who would you rather have as a GM going forward, Joe Dumars or John Hammond?

When you're having a bad day, when you're feeling down about the Detroit Pistons completely brain dead salary situation, just take a look at the Hawks. Atlanta owes Joe Johnson $107,333,589. Joe Johnson, who is not even Atlanta's second best player. Joe Johnson, who is due to be paid $25M for the 2015/16 season alone. To put that in perspective, that is the next presidential election season (Cuomo v. Rubio). I'm honestly kind of surprised that Atlanta didn't file amnesty paperwork the moment the lockout was lifted.

Game Tips at 7:30 P.M. EST

Atlanta Hawks: 13 - 6 (5 - 5 road)

Detroit Pistons: 4 - 15 (3 - 7 home)

The Situation:

What's more, Joe Johnson is already 30 years old. He's averaging 19, 4 and 4, but shooting less than 43% from the field. Is that kind of production worth another $107M? Of course not. But for some reason, Atlanta decided to wait another year to kill that horrible contract. While Atlanta currently owns a winning record and should be a second round playoff team, if I'm the Hawks GM, I blow it up and I do so before the deadline.

Let's explore that in detail. Let's assume that we'll use the amnesty clause to end Joe Johnson's contract. Johnson isn't the type of amnesty case that will clear waivers, he'll likely be bid upon by a handful of teams (like Cleveland and Minnesota, both of which could certainly use a vet wing like Johnson on the cheap). This will ensure that the salary figure Atlanta still owes is manageable. If they wait another year or two, this will not be the case.

Job one will be replacing Johnson's production. It won't be difficult. Take Ben Gordon for example-- he'd give Atlanta 80% of Johnson's production at only 33% of the price. Atlanta could bring in Gordon or another similar shooting guard by providing the salary relief of Kirk Hinrich's $8.1M expiring. I'd love to ship out Ben Gordon for Hinrich's expiring, but I'd imagine Atlanta would want a taller SG that would properly match Jeff Teague in the backcourt.

Step two: trade Josh Smith on or before draft day. Smith's contract expires next season, and no one should be shocked if he decides to bolt. He is Atlanta's best trade asset-- he's only 26 years old and he has a rare set of physical gifts. The goal should be to move Smith for a top 5 pick in the 2012 NBA draft. That means that Detroit, Washington, Charlotte, New Orleans, Sacramento, New Jersey and Toronto should be in play. Of those teams, Detroit, New Jersey and Sacramento are those that should seriously listen to Atlanta's offer. If Davis, Sullinger and Gilchrist are off the board, these three teams may want to consider this kind of trade. Atlanta should seek the draft rights to Andre Drummond from whichever team can grab him. (alternatively, Sacramento could draft Drummond for themselves and ship out Cousins and Garcia for Smith)

If Atlanta plays their cards right, they could start the 2012-13 NBA season with a starting lineup of Jeff Teague, Ben Gordon, Marvin Williams and Al Horford with either Andre Drummond or DeMarcus Cousins in the middle. I'd prefer a taller, younger shooting guard to replace Johnson, but their offensive production is roundly the same. Al Horford prefers power forward, and moving Josh Smith in a realistic trade that nets them Drummond could make this happen. It'd give them a cheaper, younger core with flexibility to make tertiary moves to keep them in the playoff hunt or better.

It wasn't my intention to write a wall-o-text on the Hawks situation here, but I did it anyway. Due to Johnson's age/contract and Josh Smith's soon-to-be-ending run in Atlanta, I'd be ready to squeeze the trigger by March 15th if I was GM in Atlanta.

Keys to the Game:

Start a Monroe/Jerebko frontcourt - With Monroe on Horford, it might be a bad idea to start Wallace on Smith. Jonas Jerebko can at least match Smith's energy and Wallace can be rotated in as Smith tires. The Monroe/Jerebko duo has had performances that suggest they could handle or best a frontcourt assignment like this one.

Stay in front of your man - Atlanta has one of the best isolation games in the league. They're also really good on post-up plays, but Monroe has been far above average on post-up defense this season. The problem will be those iso plays, where Johnson and Teague work to find some separation and toss up shots. It could be a great game for the long arms of Austin Daye...

Feed the Moose - well it's not like you weren't expecting this. Atlanta plays at a slow pace too, so let's see some half-court play with Greg Monroe in the high post.

Question of the Game:

Can Detroit string together a streak of moral victories?

Eddy Curry and the Miami Heat visit the Pistons tonight for a half-time T-Pain concert. There might also be some basketball before and after the show, although calling it "basketball" is kind of a stretch. Stay auto-tuned, Pistons fans, tonight's gonna be awesome!!

Game Tips at 7:30 P.M. EST

Miami Heat: 12 - 5 (5 - 3 road)

Detroit Pistons: 4 - 14 (3 - 6 home)

The Situation:

The Miami Heat are still not playing like a championship team. Nearly a season-and-a-half into the South Beach Talents experiment, the Heat are still facing the same old problems. Beyond Lebron, Dwyane and Chris, who is going to stand up for this team in the frontcourt? The Heat are getting good production out of Mario Chalmers and Norris Cole at the point, and Udonis Haslem is a solid backup behind Bosh. But the Heat are relying on Joel Anthony (who is receiving a lot more All Star votes than Greg Monroe!!) and Eddy Curry to hold down the pivot. On the wings, Shane Battier, Mike Miller and James Jones are just not producing, despite rotating to fill in for the missing Dwyane Wade. In total, it's a three man show in Miami, and beyond some decent options at the point, they've got a gaping hole at center and a bench that isn't getting the job done.

Oh, but they'll still steamroll the hell out of the Pistons tonight. Not sure if there is even a point in discussing that part. I'd much rather talk about the fun part here-- that Miami does not appear to have a championship recipe despite having some of the league's most talented players and Bosh. What's more, the only real way to build a sure-thing contender out of this crew is to trade one of the big three. Who knows, they might win a championship as is, but they've got some gaping holes that a great roster and a smart coach can exploit. Fortunately for the Heat, the Pistons possess none of those things tonight.

Keys to the Game:

How Moosey Got his Groove Back - seriously, for the start of the season, Greg looked like the hottest Monroe since Marilyn. Over the last five games, his offense has fallen through the floor. He turns the ball over more than he passes, he's not hitting jumpers or layups, and the only thing that appears to be working are the rebounds and free throws. I don't know what it's going to take, but Monroe needs to get ahold of the style he started this season with. If he can do that, he has the potential to own the frontcourt matchup tonight.

Dribble penetration - I usually hate this style of play, but since Detroit has plenty of it, it could come in handy tonight. Miami has Chris Bosh and no one else in their frontcourt, so driving for layups will bring whistles and force Miami to play the zero cards it has up front.

Be just as careful about dribble penetration - Detroit also has a terribly shallow frontcourt, so foul trouble for Moose could make this game even harder to watch than it already will be. LeBron lives at the foul line, or at least rents a condo there, so be extra careful tonight.

Question of the Game:

Greg Monroe is shooting 33% over the last five games. He started the season white hot. Is this an aberration that will soon be forgotten, or this level of usage too much for Moose? This is a rhetorical question. This is an aberration. I demand it to be so.

The Oklahoma City Thunder, one of the NBA's elite teams, will host the Detroit Pistons who are ... not one of the NBA's elite teams. It is a classic David vs. Goliath story, only I think the Thunder are both David and Goliath and the Pistons are more like one of David's irrelevant, unused stones. Is there any good news? For reason we'll discuss below, not really. However, the Pistons are coming off of a hard-fought win against the Portland Trailblazers while the Thunder previously lost to the NBA's worst team, the Washington Wizards, just five days ago.

Game Tips at 8: P.M. EST

Detroit Pistons: 4 - 13 (1 - 7 road)

Oklahoma City Thunder: 13 - 3 (6 - 1 home)

The Situation:

The two teams are like polar opposites. The Thunder, after moving to Oklahoma City from Seattle following the 2007-08 season have had a coherent plan to slowly build a championship contender with superstar Kevin Durant as the lynch pin. The Pistons, after seven straight seasons of at least reaching the Eastern Conference Finals in 2007-08, had absolutely no plan on how to retool and slowly chipped away at a championship contender. Now the Thunder are one of the five best teams in the NBA and the Pistons one of the five worst.

The Thunder have a great, efficient, versatile offense, and the Pistons have a horrible, discombobulated offense. The Thunder have a athletic, hard-nosed, hustling defenders and the Pistons can't communicate with each other and don't seem to know what their doing or where they should be most of the time. The Thunder have a passionate, committed fanbase and the Pistons are last in league attendance. The Thunder have one the game's premier GMs in Sam Presti while the Pistons have Joe Dumars. And I, an unabashed Dumars apologist, for the first time am wondering if Joe is going to be around to see this rebuilding process through.

Keys to the Game:

Run, Run, Run - OKC is one of the best, most efficient teams on the fast break, so conventional wisdom would say that the ideal plan would be to slow the game down and don't play into your opponents strength. Don't believe it. The Thunder use their quickness, length and smarts to force low-percentage jump shots and Detroit has shown all too happy to oblige in taking those kinds of shots against much worse opponents. With Ben Gordon questionable with a shoulder injury, the Pistons need to allow Brandon Knight and Rodney Stuckey to push the ball. The Pistons offense is not greater than the defense of Russell Westbrook, Serge Ibaka and Thabo Sefolosha, so the Pistons need to force some transition opportunities and not let the Thunder get set on D.

In his excellent recap, Packey highlighted the biggest key to Detroit's win over Portland -- scoring outside of traditional offensive sets. While only shooting 7-for-20 on spot-up shots, the Pistons were 13-for-19 in transition plays, off of basket cuts, and after offensive rebounds. More of this, please.

Work the half-court offense through Monroe - The Thunder perimeter players are bound to give Detroit wings fits. If the Pistons have to run their half-court offense, they need to set up Greg Monroe in the high post and let him go to work. Monroe can be effective against starters Kendrick Perkins and Nick Collison if he is able to face up and have more options at his disposal. Often when he attempts to back down his defender, Monroe leaves the ball vulnerable to the steal, and the Pistons can't afford to give the Thunder any easy transition hoops. And the best way to combat the Thunder's speed and length on defense is to suck the defense into the paint and kick the ball out to an open teammate or find teammates on cuts to the basket.

Let Walker Russell lead the bench unit - I'm as excited about the chance for Brandon Knight to learn and grow as anyone, but one thing he has shown is that he needs to have the Pistons most effective players around him in order to succeed. When Jason Maxiell, Damien Wilkins and Jonas Jerebko come into the game with Knight manning the point, the offense self destructs almost instantly. Knight isn't at a point where he can run the offense and put sub-par offensive players in the best position for them to be effective. He is still mistake prone and when things start breaking down he tries to do too much by himself.

Russell is not a great NBA player but against Portland he showed that he can run an offense and play largely mistake free. Knight is averaging more than 36 minutes per game since Jan. 6. BK should sit more, especially when the second unit is on the floor.

Rodney Stuckey, 3-point sniper - Rodney Stuckey has largely struggled this season, at least until Saturday's breakout 28-point, five rebound, four assist performance against Portland that included going 4-for-5 from downtown. Was the 3-point shooting in that game an aberration or a sign of growth in Stuckey's game? For the season, Stuckey is shooting 42 percent on 3s, and even before the Portland game was at a respectable 34 percent on the season. Before this year, Stuckey's three-point percentages looked like this: 18.8, 29.5, 22.8, 28.9. In other words, horrible. He's far eclipsed his career numbers and is on pace to triple the amount of 3-pointers made in any season of his career.

Stuckey has always been a terrifically strong, quick guard without a reliable jumper. If he can stretch his range out to 3-point territory, he will find it much easier to find open lanes to the basket and will probably even see a sizable bump in his efficiency at the rim. For a player that has flashed a number of great kills, Stuck has always been a low-efficiency player. If he can hit 3s and improve his conversion rate at the rim he could be an extremely valuable commodity.

Question of the Game:

Will the Pistons be down by more than 14 points at halftime?