Rodney Stuckey's groin will keep him out tonight in Chicago, so 20-year-old Brandon Knight will get his third career start. The Pistons have lost three in a row, playing their worst basketball in 32 years since somehow managing to beat the Pacers and Magic. They've lost their last 12 to the Bulls.
Game Tips at 8:00 P.M. EST
Chicago Bulls: 7 - 2 (2 - 0 home)
Detroit Pistons: 2 - 6 (0 - 3 away)
The Situation:
At 2-3, the Pistons were actually inspiring some hope in its fanbase. They had just won their second straight and outrebounded an opponent for the third straight game. Then the Pistons played the Bulls in front of 173 people at The Palace and the proverbial wheels flew off and the rims have been getting completely ruined ever since. No, really, the rims are getting trashed -- the team is shooting 38-percent in its last three games, a pretty big reason why they've lost those games by a combined 62 points (20.666 repeating, of course, per game).
The Pistons are 28th in rebounding (with two players in the Top 35 in rebounding) and 30th in scoring, only ranking above the winless Wizards in offensive efficiency. Thank Mooseness for Greg Monroe, who is embracing the added minutes, shooting at a higher clip than his rookie season even with a higher usage percentage.
As for the Bulls, they're undefeated at home but coming off their second loss of the season, a poor 109-94 showing in Atlanta against the Hawks, who have also beaten the Heat. The Bulls will likely be without former Piston Richard Hamilton tonight, who played through his own little groin problem last week in his return to the Palace because he "wasn't gonna miss it." Well, it flared up and he's missed each game since. Ronnie Brewer will start in his place.
The Bulls are 5th in rebounding and 10th in the league in scoring, so that poses a little bit of a problem for our mirroring team. That, and someone named Rose. Yeah, yeah, but who is she?
Keys to the Game:
Rebound that basketball - A major reason the Pistons stuck with the Bulls in the second half last week was because they outrebounded Chicago in the final 24 minutes. (Oh, and they hit their shots, which brings me to the next key...)
Hit the open shots - Make shots, score points, sounds easy enough. But the Bulls allowed a lot of open looks last week and the Pistons simply didn't hit them. In fact, they were a season-worst 7-for-28 from beyond 15 feet.
Feed the Moose - I'm going to Steve this key from Mike's preview.
Question(s) of the Game:
Will Greg Monroe's 20+ points and 15+ rebounds tonight help the Pistons snap their 12-game losing streak to the Bulls? Will Ben Gordon keep his turnovers under 10? Will Brandon Knight ever cometh again?