Game tips off at 7:05 p.m. EST
Situation
For the second time in less than a week, the Pistons play the Orlando Magic, this time in their building. For the second time in less than a week, Dwight Howard will not play.
Orlando Pinstriped Post has the injury update:
Howard joins Hedo Turkoglu (facial fractures) among Magic starters out against Detroit. Power forward Ryan Anderson, who has missed the Magic's last three games due to a sprained right ankle, is expected to return to the starting five Monday. Glen Davis will start in Howard's place. In his last four games, all starts for either Anderson or Howard, Davis has averaged 21.8 points and 11.3 rebounds on 47.8 percent shooting.
Reserve small forward Quentin Richardson, who has also battled back pain in recent days, is also expected to be available against Detroit.
The Pistons beat the Magic at home on April 3, 102-95, thanks to 22 and 11 from Greg Monroe, who could use a bounce back game, and Ben Gordon's bizarre 18 points, six rebounds, and seven assists. Glen Davis, who gets the start for Howard tonight, had a career high 31 points for the Magic in their loss.
Orlando is fighting to keep pace in the Eastern standings despite all the Dwight-SVG drama. They currently sit at the No. 6 seed, but are only a game from moving all the way back up to the No. 3 spot. Howard out will be the true test, seeing as he just grabbed 22 rebounds in their win on Saturday to stop some bleeding.
Keys to the game:
Question of the game:
Will we see any DBB'ers on TV?