Game 50 Preview

PG: At this point in their careers, this matchup is just about even. By next year, Rose will dominate

Advantage: Draw

SG: As long as Gordon get hot, we should take this matchup. AI isn't exactly Bruce Bowen though

Advantage: Pistons

SF: Here is another close matchup. Deng is the better shooter, but Prince is way better defensively. I don't know why the Bulls are so hesitant to give up Deng

Advantage: Pistons

PF: These two guys play a similar style of ball. Both are very athletic. Right now, Tyrus is better defensively

Advantage: Bulls

C: I really don't think Joakim Noah should be a center, at least not right now. Sheed should take advantage of him all night

Advantage: Pistons

Overall: In their last 6 games, the Bulls have won 4. In the two losses, they have lost by a combined 8 points against the Mavs and Rockets. Now they are well rested, not playing since Saturday. We could be in trouble. However, we beat them by 6 last time we played and Stuckey had 40 points. I would be surprised if he scored 25 points tonight, but I think the Pistons will escape with a 5 point win

Game 49 Preview

PG: Well, this will be fun. Nash really doesn't play much defense at all. To me, Rodney's defense is still suspect. There should be a ton of scoring

Advantage: Suns

SG: My bad. I meant to put former Spartan Jason Richardson up there, but I really wasn't thinking. Barbosa is one of the few guys that is faster than AI. Richardson is not. He thinks he is a shooter, which he isn't

Advantage: Pistons

SF: This is a past and present matchup. Tayshaun is going to lock down Grant. I don't expect much scoring out of either of these guys

Advantage: Pistons

PF: Well, here we go again. Amir should not be a starter at this point in his career. He got embarrased by Villanueva, and now things are only going to be worse. This could get ugly, even with McDyess in

Advantage: Suns

C: I really don't know how we plan to defend Shaq. We have nobody on our team who can stay with him down low. These type of things will hopefully be adressed at the deadline

Advantage: Suns

Overall: Hopefully, this is an audition for Amar'e ( Spelling his name is so stupid) Anyways, he is probably going to score at least 30, and maybe Joe D. will be impressed enough to trade for him. I think the guys are still going to be fatigued after last night's game, so we will lose tonight, by about 8

Game 48 Preview

PG: Well, the Bucks are going to miss Luke Ridnour. Maybe they put Sessions here, which wouldn't be a drop-off, but he was already playing in Redd's spot

Advantage: Pistons

SG: Sessions is a good distributor, but I am not sure if he is a good shooter or defender. I'm not betting on it

Advantage: Pistons

SF: I think Richard Jefferson is one of the most overrated players. He doesn't really do all that much but score about 15 a night

Advantage: Pistons

PF: Villanueva has the skill set to be an All-Star, but he seems indifferent to how he performs. Regardless, Amir is going to have his hands full, but what else is new?

Advantage: Bucks

C: The Bucks also really miss Andrew Bogut. Sheed should dominate tonight

Advantage: Pistons

Overall: I liked the Bucks team at the beginning of the season, but now, three of there top 5 players are down and out. We are definitely playing them at the right time. I think we should win by at least 10.

Game 47 Preview

PG: Actually, Stuckey will be matched up against Wade, his idol. This matchup will show what Stuckey is really made of. Wade will have a big night

Advantage: Heat

SG: Iverson will be defending NCAA champion Mario Chalmers. Chalmers is a threat, and is solid defensively, but Iverson has no reason not to shoot well tonight

Advantage: Pistons

SF: This is the key matchup, obviously. The Matrix can do it all. Tonight he will have to. Tayshaun has been in a mini-slump lately. He needs to break out of it for us to win

Advantage: Draw

PF: Haslem is a good rebounder. Amir is not right now. Haslem is gonna be workin him down low all night. Well, that sounds kinda weird

Advantage: Heat

C: The Heat are running low on options at center. If they keeping winning at a steady pace, I wouldn't be surprised if they traded for a center. Until then, they are stuck with Jamaal Magloire and Joel Anthony

Advantage: Pistons

Overall: We just played the two top contenders in the East and held our own. Now we play the team that is directly above us in the standings. I have a feeling that we get the W tonight, but Marion is gonna have a big game. I like us to win by 12

Game 46 Preview

PG: Everybody is saying Mo Williams got snubbed. No, LeBron just makes him look better than he is. Tonight we see how good he really is. Stuckey has done a good job lately of driving the lane

Advantage: Draw

SG: Well, the Cavaliers apparently find it very important to maintain a solid bench. AI should torch Sasha

Advantage: Pistons

SF: I don't know if you've heard, but this LeBron guy is pretty good

Advantage: Cavaliers

PF: Big Ben is back, baby. There's some alliteration for ya. Anyways, Ben can still rebound, but so can Amir. Amir is offensively more advanced

Advantage: Draw

C: Big Z may be a goofy looking man, but he can ball. He plays similar style to Rasheed, but he does it better, and more consistently

Advantage: Cavaliers

Overall: We played well even though we lost to the Celtics. Tonight is a different story. We need to make sure The Big Z is contained in the post. That is the key. I think we are capable of winning tonight if we play like we did against the Celtics. The Cavaliers, however are a top defensive team. I think we play hard, but we lose by 6 tonight.

Game 45 Preview

PG: Hey, Rajon Rondo has been putting up pretty decent numbers. However, his jump shot is still ugly. Some people are calling him an All-Star snub. No way. Stuckey isn't as good at distributing, but he is the superior scorer

Advantage: Draw

SG: I wouldn't count on us holding Ray Allen under 10 points. No one has done that this year. However, it is not every night that he has to defend someone as quick as The Answer. This should be interesting

Advantage: Draw

SF: Most people either love or hate Paul Pierce. I don't really fall in either category. I think he is very good, but I don't think he is a Top 10 player like he thinks he is. Prince will be all over him tonight

Advantage: Draw

PF: Regardless of whether he is at PF or C, Sheed will be on Garnett and vice versa. Sheed was hot against the Wolves, but tonight is the man Al Jefferson got traded for. Garnett could go off tonight.

Advantage: Celtics

C: I have a feeling we will see Kwame in the starting lineup. He weighs 60 pounds more than Amir, but still gives up 10 pounds to Kendrick Perkins. Perkins is kinda streaky. He is either devastating or non-existent. We will see tonight

Advantage: Celtics

Overall: The Celtics just methodically wear you down. I went to Game 6 against them last year. We never really seemed down that far, but we never got close. They are a defensive machine. But all the Pistons have heard lately is that things are falling apart. Even Yahoo Sports thinks so. The Pistons are angry and ready for a battle. Meanwhile, the Celtics have been coasting. They are going down tonight. I think we beat them by 8 in a surprisingly high scoring game.

Game 44 Preview

PG: Sebastian Telfair was supposed to be big. Not so much

Advantage: Pistons

SG: Isn't Randy Foye a PG? AI should get his groove back tonight. If not, than something is seriously wrong

Advantage: Pistons

SF: This isn't close. Prince will dominate shooting tonight

Advantage: Pistons

PF: Craig Smith is underrated. I think he is a decent low post guy and a good rebounder. Amir will have his hands full

Advantage: Timberwolves

C: Big Al is pretty close to dominant right now. Sheed needs to take notes

Advantage: Timberwolves

Overall: These teams are polar opposites. One is a good team that is playing almost as poorly as it can play. The other is a bad team that is play about as perfect as it can play. The Wolves have won 10 of 12 games in January. We didn't play awful against the Rockets, we just ran into them at the wrong time. We should win this game by 10 points. But right now, who knows.

Game 43 Preview

PG: As long as Rafer doesn't break Stuckey's ankles we should be good here. We should hope that Rafer takes a lot of shots tonight. That is how the Rockets lose

Advantage: Pistons

SG: McGrady could be back for the game, but he probably still wouldn't be able to hang with Iverson. Wafer is fun to watch and has been hot lately, but he's no Iverson

Advantage: Pistons

SF: I think Shane Battier must be Tayshaun's hero. They both have similar games, except Tayshaun is a better scorer and Battier takes a ton of charges'

Advantage: Draw

PF: Amir got torched by Dirk. Things won't get much better here. Scola is very underrated and is really crafty in the low post.

Advantage: Rockets

C: Yao may start in this game, depending on how his knee is feeling. On the off chance, that he does, I think this will be a very close matchup. Mutombo isn't gonna like having to follow Sheed outside though. We probably wil see more Chuck Hayes if Sheed decides he wants to shoot.

Advantage: Draw

Overall: Even with the injuries, this looks to be an excellent game between my two favorite teams. Luckily, I will be going to this game. I think the Rockets will somehow escape with the win, but only by a basket.

Game 42 Preview

PG: Two very different styles at the point guard matchup. Stuckey is now a better scorer, but Kidd is the better player all-around. I don't Stuckey can defend him

Advantage: Mavericks

SG: Both these guys are in places they shouldn't be. Wright should not be a starter, Iverson should not be an All-Star

Advantage: Pistons

SF: This is a matchup of good versus evil. Both are good defenders and scorers

Advantage: Draw

PF: Yeah, Dirk is way better. Hopefully we can see him get swatted a few times, either by Amir or Maxiell, cause it makes me laugh

Advantage: Mavericks

C: Dampier is a scrub. Sheed will dominate

Advantage: Pistons

Overall: I think this game is going to be very close. Unlike against the Raptors, I see the bench playing a very big role in tonights game. Rip should score a bunch off the bench. I like us to win the game, by 4 points

Game 41 Preview

PG: We will be in trouble if Jose Calderon decides he is healthy enough to play. He is currently day to day. Parker, however, should not be overlooked. This will be a tough matchup for Stuckey

Advantage: Draw

SG: This isn't even close

Advantage: Pistons

SF: This is another fun matchup to watch. Moon is very athletic, but he has occasional mental lapses. Prince is too savy for Moon to get the best of him

Advantage: Pistons

PF: This also isn't close

Advantage: Raptors

C: Here are two totally opposite guys that play an oddly similar style of game. Sheed is a much better rebounder though

Advantage: Pistons

Overall: We should win this game if the Raptors lineup stays as is. If they have Calderon and O'Neal play, I don't see us winning. I don't think they both will, so I like us by 10

Game 40 Preview

PG: Rodney Stuckey should not struggle at all tonight. Lowry is not a very good player.

Advantage: Pistons

SG: Iverson goes against the premier scoring rookie in the League. However, Mayo is not the premier rookie defender in the League

Advantage: Pistons

SF: This is another weird matchup. I think once Arthur trots out onto the court, they will look at him standing next to Rip, and maybe we will see some Darius Miles action, much to the chagrin of the Portland Trail Blazers

Advantage: Pistons

PF: Two guys playing here that should be SF's. Gay is a pretty good slasher. We will see how Prince handles it

Advantage: Draw

C: Hopefully, Sheed doesn't underestimate the younger Gasol brother. He needs to stay inside, instead of jacking up 3's

Advantage: Pistons

Overall: Tonight is the night. We could be on a 20 game losing streak and not lose to the Grizzlies. They have the worst roster in the League, without question. I think we win by 15 and put an end to the freakin streak.

Game 39 Preview

PG: Chris Paul used to have problems with Chauncey Billups, too bad he's gone now

Advantage: Hornets

SG: It was funny listening to Jeff Van Gundy talk about how good of a shooter Butler is. Then the other announcer said that he was going to regret that comment, and JVG shut up. Iverson better score tonight, or we lose

Advantage: Pistons

SF: Another awkward matchup for Rip. Rip doesn't like standing still, but Peja kind of just sits behind the arc. This will be interesting

Advantage: Hornets

PF: As long as West doesn't stay in the post all night, Prince shouldn't have a problem. West is good, but Prince is better

Advantage: Pistons

C: Tyson is gonna have a big night on the boards. I don't know who has the muscle to stop him down low

Advantage: Draw

Overall: Hopefully, the loss to the Cavaliers destroyed the Hornets confidence. Otherwise we have no chance. What we need is Iverson to start playing good basketball. If that happens tonight, we win. If he has another 4-13 shooting night we are screwed. I sadly don't think we will win this game.

Game 38 Preview

PG: Stuckey has played well, but we keep losing. Westbrook plays good D. This will be close

Advantage: Pistons

SG: AI is tiny compared to Mason, but all Mason can do is dunk. Sorry Thunder

Advantage: Pistons

SF: Hopefully this isn't the actual matchup tonight. If we don't slide Prince over to d-up, this could be disastrous. I don't know who Rip is going to defend

Advantage: Thunder

PF: Prince definitely will be able to score on Green, without question. But if he has to follow the Durantula around all night, that might wear him down.

Advantage: Pistons

C: Rasheed just better lay off the 3 pointers. He took way too many against Indiana.

Advantage: Pistons

Overall: There are very few teams that look better than us on paper. But that is it. We don't play with intensity, and we aren't upset about this losing streak. We need to get fired up to play tonight. If we don't come out with energy in the first half, they will beat us, like they just beat the Jazz. I don't see us winning tonight, but I hope they prove me wrong again.

Game 37 Preview

PG: I have no clue why T.J. Ford is hurt. My guess is that he is nursing some sort of injury, as always. Jack should not be starting...anywhere

Advantage: Pistons

SG: Stuckey played very well last night. Graham can't stop it from happening again

Advantage: Pistons

SF: Rip is undersized at the 3, and Granger is gonna take advantage of that tonight. I expect Granger to score at least 20

Advantage: Pacers

PF: I don't care what numbers Troy Murphy, he still can't escape the fact that he is Troy Murphy. Tayshaun will be back scoring again tonight

Advantage: Pistons

C: Roy Hibbert can't hang with Sheed for very long. I expect Jeff Foster to get more minutes here. Either way, they still suck.

Advantage: Pistons

Overall: Looking at the starting lineup, the Pacers roster looks like the Bobcats J.V. squad, with the obvious exception of Granger. As long as he doesn't go off for 40, this should be an easy win. But the Pistons keep proving me wrong

Game 36 Preview

PG: Felton is a dynamic playmaker, but D.J. Augustin is the better passer. I would rather see him against Iverson, but he has a strained abdominal muscle and his status is unknown to me. Iverson shouldn't have much trouble shooting tonight, hopefully

Advantage: Pistons

SG: Raja Bell is a crafty defender. I like Stuckey to get off to a hot start, but struggle down the stretch. However, Bell isn't really an offensive threat, other than an occasional three. Rip may play tonight, but I am not sure if he will be inserted into the starting lineup

Advantage: Pistons

SF: Prince struggled against the Jazz. Home cooking is what he needs to get back on track. However, G-Force is an exceptionally, athletic player. This will be the funnest matchup to watch tonight

Advantage: Draw

PF: Amir Johnson doesn't have as much savy as Diaw. This will be a close one, but Diaw will wear Amir down

Advantage: Bobcats

C: Emeka is putting up solid stats, but Sheed is back tonight, and ready to go. Emeka is stronger than Sheed, but we will see what happens when Sheed steps out near the perimeter

Overall: We just have to keep the shooters like Bell, Morrison, and Carroll in check and we should be good. I think the team is relieved to be back at the Palace, and shouldn't have too much trouble getting the W tonight.

Game 35 Preview

PG: Iverson had trouble shooting consistently last night again. Even if Deron Williams isn't real healthy, I still think he will have a big game attacking the basket. He is just too physical for AI

Advantage: Utah

SG: Two young guns. Brewer shoots at a high clip and is a huge threat to steal the ball. Stuckey just needs to stay focused.

Advantage: Detroit

SF: Tayshaun is el capitano right now. C.J. Miles usually starts at the 3 for the Jazz, but he is out. I think they start Kirilenko, but they might also go with Korver just to screw with our heads. Kirilenko would aggravate Prince, Korver however, would not.

Advantage: Detroit, barely

PF: I am not sure if Sheed is back for tonight. Sheed would no doubt dominate Millsap, because Millsap's comfort zone is in the post. But Amir can't rebound like Millsap.

Advantage: Utah

C: Awww yeah, it's Mehmet Okur. Kwame is no matchup for the Turkish Terror....or really any center

Advantage: Utah

Overall: On paper, the Jazz have got the upper hand. However, I think we have been playing hard and building momentum in the close games. Also our bench is much better than Utah's. I think we win another close one

Game 34 Preview

PG: Iverson has strung together a few terrible shooting nights. Going against a motivated Chauncey, I don't expect it to stop

Advantage: Nuggets

SG: Stuckey made a lot of dumb plays against Portland, but tonight he faces Dahntay Jones and J.R. Smith, who aren't exactly defensive stoppers

Advantage: Pistons

SF: Prince has carried the team lately, but Kleiza is an underrated defensive player. I still think Tayshaun will score at least 15, but Kleiza won't let him take over. We are just lucky we are dodging Carmelo

Advantage: Pistons

PF: Two really explosive guys. Even though K-Mart is old, I think he will be more physical than Amir and be able to score down low. Sheed is still questionable.

Advantage: Nuggets

C:Kwame looked good against the Blazers. Tonight...not so much. A lot of people are calling Nene this year's most improved player

Advantage: Nuggets

Overall: Chauncey is going to dominate tonight. He would like nothing more than to show they never should have traded him. I think the Nuggets win, unless Sheed decides play, then it would be a different story.

Game 33 Preview

PG: Stuckey has been on fire lately, so I don't really think Steve Blake has a chance here. When are the Blazers gonna give this spot to Jerryd Bayless

Advantage: Pistons

SG: Fernandez is a heck of a player to watch, but he is no match for AI. Iverson should score at least 20 with Brandon Roy still injured

Advantage: Pistons

SF:Batum is only playing because Martell Webster is out. Prince should lock him down

Advantage: Pistons

PF: LaMarcus Aldridge is one of my favorite young big men in the League. He will be tested tonight having to follow Sheed out to the perimeter. However, this is a draw

Advantage: Tie

C: Finally, somebody Greg Oden can pick on. He should go for a double double tonight in the intriguing matchup of #1 picks

Advantage: Blazers

Overall: The Pistons are riding high on a 7 game winning streak but going to Portland will be tough. Even without Brandon Roy, the Blazers will still put up a good fight, and should have the advantage on the boards. However, the Pistons guards will roam free tonight and should secure the victory.