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Game tips at 7:30 p.m. EST
Detroit Pistons: 12-22 (9-8 home)
Atlanta Hawks: 20-10 (9-5 road)
Detroit Pistons tickets
Down 22 in the fourth quarter, the Pistons looked like the team that had just lost six straight and that their two blowout wins against the Wizards said more about the Wiz than the Pistons.
But then came the bench, led by Will Bynum and Charlie Villanueva. Bynum went from out of the rotation to MFWB form as they closed the gap, even taking the lead with 4 seconds left on a clutch three from Austin Daye. Frank stuck with the bench through the two overtimes, and they ran out of gas in the second.
Since then the Pistons haven't lost, picking up their next three that included an impressive win against the Heat. The Hawks have played some fine ball as well. In fact, both teams have won five of their last six.
Good news for the Pistons is that Rodney Stuckey is expected to return tonight for the first game since he was injured in meeting with the Hawks.
Also, it's Star Wars night at the Palace. Run with it. H/t Kriz for tipping off to this awesome video:
Keys to the Game:
Defense: Lost in the MFWB chatter coming out of last week's game was that they were tough to handle offensively. They shot 47% from the field (with 56% TS), including 31 points out of Josh Smith and four other players over 16 points.
Bebounds: As electric as the bench's offensive display was, it was the team's work on the glass that kept the Pistons in it. They out-rebounded the Hawks 62-47.
Minutes for the Bull: Coming off a few days off and with only one other game in the next week, this could be a good time to get Drummond some extended run. As brgulker wrote earlier today, fatigue has partly held Drummond's minutes back early on. Hopefully the spread out schedule can lead to some fresher legs for him.
Question of the Game:
If Stuckey plays, should he start?
Singler's rut is getting quite prolonged. Since he's moved to the starting role, he's shooting 40%, down from 50% from coming off the bench. Or maybe the real question: is our starting shooting guard spot cursed?