Detroit Pistons vs Miami Heat
October 22nd, 2005 ~ 7:30pm
The Palace of Auburn Hills, Auburn Hills, MI
TV: WB20 Radio: WDFN



Detroit Pistons vs. Miami HEAT (preview from NBA.com)
Preseason Preview: Game 6

The Pistons will face the Miami Heat on Saturday, October 22nd at 7:30 p.m. in a rematch of the 2005 Eastern Conference Finals. Saturday night’s game will be the last Pistons preseason game at the Palace of Auburn Hills before the 2005-06 regular season begins on November 2nd.

After coming up a game short of reaching the NBA Finals for the first time in franchise history at the hands of the Detroit Pistons, the Miami Heat made quite a few off-season moves. The Heat acquired swingman James Posey and point guard Jason Williams from Memphis, as well as forward Antoine Walker from Boston in a blockbuster five-team trade that sent Rasual Butler to the New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets and Eddie Jones to the Memphis Grizzlies. The team also signed free agent point guard Gary Payton from the Celtics and forward Jason Kapono from the Bobcats and lost point guard Damon Jones to Cleveland via free agency.

The newcomers are expected to be just the support staff that Miami is looking for to make it to the Finals in 2006. The Heat, who led the East with a 59-23 record last season, will still look to their core duo – breakout star Dwyane Wade and All-Star center Shaquille O’Neal – to lead the team to success. In Shaq’s inaugural season with the team, he averaged a double-double (22.9 points per game and 10.4 rebounds per game) for an NBA-record 13th consecutive season. Wade, who had a tremendous sophomore season, averaged 24.1 points, 6.8 assists, and 5.2 rebounds per game.

Even with great talent, the question still remains if this fresh-looking Miami Heat team will be able to develop the team chemistry that will allow them to play as well on the court as they look on paper. Judge for yourself on Saturday, as the Pistons look to make a comeback after two straight preseason losses on Tuesday and Wednesday night.