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Isn't this a little premature?
Dallas (54-16) at Detroit (55-14)
Preview - Box Score - Recap
Game Info: 7:30 pm EST Tue Mar 28, 2006
TV: NBATV Add to Calendar
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While the Detroit Pistons are almost certain to finish with the best record in the Eastern Conference, the Dallas Mavericks are in quite a race for the top spot in the West.
A pair of the league's top teams face off when Dallas visits Detroit.
The Pistons have the best record in the NBA, while the Mavs are tied with San Antonio for the top mark in the West. Both the Spurs and Dallas trail Detroit by 1 1/2 games in the race for home-court advantage throughout the playoffs.
Dallas has won five of the last seven meetings with Detroit, including a 119-82 rout on Nov. 19 that handed the Pistons their first loss of the season after an 8-0 start.
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Detroit is coming off a rare defeat at home, 79-74 to Atlantic Division-leading New Jersey on Sunday. The loss snapped the Pistons' 16-game winning streak at The Palace of Auburn Hills and was their first in regulation there this season.
Detroit shot a season-low 34.1 percent from the floor and was just 3-for-17 from 3-point range.
"This is a game we had chances to win," said Chauncey Billups, who had only eight points. "I thought our defense was really good tonight. When the defense is bad, I'm concerned. When our offense just isn't making shots -- that happens."
Detroit averages 45.2 percent shooting from the field, but has shot below 39 percent in the last three games. Billups has struggled in the last two contests, scoring a combined 17 points and shooting 25.0 percent.
On Sunday, he didn't score in the first 43 minutes and missed a possible game-tying shot with five seconds left.
"It felt good -- it was halfway down and it came out," Billups said. "That's to be expected when the night is going like that."
Detroit has started the same five players in all 69 games this season, while Dallas has been forced to shuffle its lineup the last few months because of injuries.
After losing two of three, the Mavs rebounded to easily defeat Atlanta 98-83 on Saturday. Dallas took a 16-point lead into halftime en route to winning the opener of its four-game road trip.
Dirk Nowitzki had 27 points and 13 rebounds while Jason Terry added 26 points for Dallas.
"All the remaining games (12) are important. We're jockeying for position every night trying to get the No. 1 seed," Terry said. "During the playoffs the home court means a lot. Last year we didn't have it and lost in six games to Phoenix. We don't want that to happen again."
The Mavs have decided to rest Josh Howard (hamstring) and Devin Harris (strained left thigh) until the last few weeks of the regular season, and continue to play without Adrian Griffin (hamstring).
Dallas, however, had Keith Van Horn return Saturday after missing 11 games with a knee injury.
Isn't this a little premature?
Who do you root for? Do you want Dallas to win and have them go up half a game on the Spurs? Do you want Detroit to win and have them go up half a game for the best record in the NBA?
Root for Detroit, but hope that Miami beats them in the playoffs. If nothing else root for the Pistons because their fans here are better than the Mavs fans around here.
Don't look or Bet that Detroit is going to lose two in a row at home. It's pay back time for the beating they gave us.
Right know dallas has the exact record as the spurs, and the pistons are 1.5 games ahead for the best record. Do you want dallas to win (Detroit 1 game up, and dallas .5 games up on the spurs), or do you want dallas to lose (detroit 2 games up, but spurs ahead of mavs by .5 games.)
what happened to Detroit's payback to the Utah Jazz and Washington Wizards???
First things first. Dallas must go down.
i hope it's a good game, not a blowout either way.
what happened to Detroit's payback to the Utah Jazz and Washington Wizards???
LOL!!!!
The Fifteen-Million Dollar Man is back? Oh my GAWD WE'RE DOOMED!
NOOOOOOO!
Doesn't matter.
Spurs are going to win the West, and trail Detroit for HCA in the finals.
Dallas's schedule to finish off is brutal, the Spur's is a relative cake-walk. Detroit's is a joke.
Classic
the return of keith van horn is good news for Spurs and Pistons fans alike
I dont root for either, and dont care. Im just hoping for a good game.
Maddenism-the team with the most made baskets at the end of the game will win.
Not necessarily.
That would come from someone like Madden because it isn't necessarily true at all.
wrong category Re
I don't think we have a chance anymore to catch Detroit for HCA (after last night and now TP's injury), so I want them to beat Dallas and help us begin to wrap up the West.
Besides, there is no way that the Pistons lose two in a row at home.
Agreed. Gotta root for the Pistons. HCA for the finals this year just isn't meant to be. It's simply uncanny every time the Pistons lose, we lose the same night. I would much rather wrap up the no. 1 seed in the West before even thinking about the Finals.
I think we can still beat Detroit for the best record. They have a tough schedule beginning tomorrow. The Spurs just have to win the rest of the way. LOL
Of the remaining Spurs games, there are 4 that are most threatening:
Clippers
Lakers
Kings
Grizzlies
All other remaining games are quite winnable.
I say let the Spurs take care of the West HCA first -- Pistons roll over Mavs!
Detroit. I don't think there's any way we catch them for homecourt when the Spurs are effectively 3 games behind in the loss column (counting the tie-breaker Detroit owns) with only 12 left to play. The team would have to get red-hot to make that up, which they obviously are not after seeing how they dropped these games to Denver and Seattle.
We have Dallas, Phoenix and Miami over the next 11 days and 10 of the 13 against possible playoff teams, I wouldn't consider that schedule a joke by any means. The good news for the Pistons is that 3 of the 5 road games left are against weaker teams
Tues 28 Dallas
Wed 29 at Philadelphia
Fri 31 Milwaukee
Sun 2 Phoenix
Tue 4 NO/Oklahoma City
Thur 6 at Miami
Fri 7 at Orlando
Sun 9 Indiana
Wed 12 Cleveland
Fri 14 at Toronto
Sun 16 New York
Mon 17 at Milwaukee
Wed 19 Washington
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