Detroit At NewJersey - 7:30PM

TV: FSN
Radio: WDFN

Notes: 1st meeting of the season for the 2 teams. Detroit had the advantage last season 2-1 in the 3 games played.

Records:
Nets 7-7 ( 4-2 at home ) won last 2 games
Pistons 10-2 ( 6-1 on Road ) Won last game

Starters:
Nets - Jason Kidd, Vince Carter, Richard Jefferson, Jason Collins, Nenad Krstic
Pistons - Billups, Rip, Prince, R.Wallace, B.Wallace

Team Leaders:
Nets: Carter 20.4 PPG, R.Jefferson 8.9 RPG, Kidd 6.8 APG
Pistons: Rip 20.5 PPG, B.Wallace 12.4 RPG, Billups 8.2 APG

Team Stats:
Nets: Points 95.9/96.5 Rebs 42.7/40.5 Assists 21.1/20.2 TO 14.9/13.0
Pistons: Points 99.3/91.7 Rebs 43.1/42.0 Assists 23.6/18.8 TO 11.8/14.5

Injuries: Nets - none, Pistons - Hunter

Latest ESPN Powerranking: Pistons #1, Nets #20

Pistons 93 Nets 83

BoxScoreAndPlaybyPlay - From nba.com

I think this is going to be a tough game for us. Jefferson and Carter have always given Tay problems because of their strength, and now Rip will have to guard one of them as well. We may see Mo Evans get a bit more run tonite, as he may be more effective on one or both of them.

Our biggest advantage is at the 4/5. We have to control the interior to offset their perimeter game.

Should be interesting to say the least. So, who is going to get dunked on first and the most?

i've got to say ben will keep jamming on krstic along with rasheed. ben wallace will win this one for us 89-85.

Well said Tbird, I too am not very comfortable with this match up.... Particularly Rip having to defend vince or rj since he is not only slim but doesn't have the ridiculous reach that Tay has to hender shots. His only defense will be to make his opponent work defensively and perhapse keep rj shooting jumpers. Carter can kill you inside and out so I don't like our chances with Rip attempting to check vc, we'd better let Tay try his luck vs him.
Kidd still is a premier pg in the league, but I think the fact that Chauncey is always an offensive threat gives us a bit of an advantage in that department (call me a homer but C-note is damn good ya'll)! Besides that we know we've got it on lock in the frontcourt, but young kristic should NOT be underestimated. The kid is fundamentally sound and offensively aggressive, if sheed takes him for granted he'll have #36 in foul trouble before he knows it. If Detroit can control the glass and limit their fast breaks we should be in good shape, with the finishers they have letting them run too much is a HUGE no no!
By the way it would be very cool and interesting to see what young DMC can do against kristic and collins.... GO PISTONS!

don't doubt rip man. he is not a defensive reliability, hell he is actually a reliable defender now.

Jefferson is having an all-star type of season. A near 20/10 guy avg around 19 PPG and 9.3 RPG.

The Tay/Jefferson matchup will be one of the keys to this game.

The other one is taking advantage of our size ( make them pay for Krystic ) and hoping Arroyo is not burned too bad by Kidd when that matchup happends. This would have been a great game for Hunter.

Have to slow this game down and not try to out-break them.

Good test to see if our D is in fact still in charge over trying to out-score the other team.

It seems like only yesterday that NJ was the elite of the East and Detroit was trying to break in. Interesting that it seemed to be Detroit's triumph over them in the EC finals two years ago that broke their backs (along with aging bones). Tonight should be an interesting game even if only from a historical perspective. (of course there are also other reasons that make this a compelling matchup)

i'm sorry, we're outshooting them 60 % to 38 % and we're only up 5?!

what's up with that?