Game 4. (2-1) vs. Indiana Pacers (3-0). 7:30PM ET.

[dan2314]

Pacers starters:
Hill/ Stephenson/ George/ West/ Hibbert

Should be a very good game and a very good measuring stick as to how successful the dominating teams inside gameplan is going to work. if it works here, then theres a good chance it will work against anyone, as indiana is arguably the best interior defensive team in the league.
Indiana hasnt been 4-0 for 9 years, but have won the last 5 against us and paul george has been playing ridiculous basketball so far.
i really josh smith tries to shutdown paul george. thats something i really want to see. if josh smith can be a lockdown defender on the star wings like lebron, durant and george, then we can really start to expect big things from this team.

we still dont know who are starting backcourt will be, which is worrying a week into the season, but im assuming jennings and stuckey will after they finished the last 15 minutes against boston. we all say bynum is best in the 10-15 mins off the bench, he should be getting that here now, lets see how he does with it now that jennings should be the starter..... (as much as i would rather see all of his minutes go to KCP and billups as the backup PG.)

i really do think indiana is going to be very good this year, and they move to 4-0 but being in detroit, im expecting a very good game, and if we can win this one, this team is a playoff team no doubt.

[The Moose]

Let's get this win

[dan2314]

Pistons no. 2 in points in the paint at 55.3 (behind only the sixers). Indiana is no.1 in lowest points allowed in the paint at only 30ppg. Somethings gotta give. Very interesting to see how this plays.

[ImHeisenberg]

Pistons no. 2 in points in the paint at 55.3 (behind only the sixers). Indiana is no.1 in lowest points allowed in the paint at only 30ppg. Somethings gotta give. Very interesting to see how this plays.

It's going to be really tough to score in the paint when Hibbert is out there. I don't anticipate a win here, but I hope it's a competitive game, and not a 10+ point blow out.

I'm not expecting a loss at the detriment of the Pistons, but the Pacers are probably playing the best basketball in the league right now, and look like a legit 60+ win team. Detroit will have better luck against OKC.

[BadMofoPimp]

Would love to see Jennings get the start. This is a great matchup. Should be very interesting.

Drummond vs Hibbert

Smith vs George

Oh yeh. Pistons need to prove themselves here.

[Dre Drummond]

Indiana is the only team left in the NBA without a loss... Would certainly be nice to hand them their first L and that would push us up to first in the conference at 3-1 with the tie breaker over Indiana.

[Clarity]

Hope everyone has realistic expectations about this game.

Pistons no. 2 in points in the paint at 55.3 (behind only the sixers). Indiana is no.1 in lowest points allowed in the paint at only 30ppg. Somethings gotta give. Very interesting to see how this plays.

It's going to be really tough to score in the paint when Hibbert is out there. I don't anticipate a win here, but I hope it's a competitive game, and not a 10+ point blow out.

I'm not expecting a loss at the detriment of the Pistons, but the Pacers are probably playing the best basketball in the league right now, and look like a legit 60+ win team. Detroit will have better luck against OKC.

Way better luck, I expect a win vs OKC.

[tmorgan]

I expect a loss, but I want Drummond to sky over Hibbert and dunk on his head at least once.

[MotownMadness]

I just hope we don't beat ourselves in this one.

[menten]

if jennings gets the start and stuckey doesnt play we might have a chance

[BadMofoPimp]

if jennings gets the start and KCP doesnt play we might have a chance

[detroitKG]

if jennings gets the start and KCP doesnt play we might have a chance

You really are becoming intolerable. I do agree that Jennings starting gives us a much better chance at winning versus Bynums garbage.


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[RTM]

This is one hell of a front court matchup:

Smith v. George
Greg v. West (I think this will be the most troublesome for us)
Dre v. Hibbert

Also, this might be a game for Stuckey to really contribute defensively - we need someone to be physical with Stephenson, and it's certainly not going to be Chauncey or Will. Here's hoping KCP gets some burn.

[DetroitPistons]

This is going to be a slugfest. I don't think we are ready to compete with the Pacers just yet so I expect a loss. However, I am expecting to see Jennings/Stuckey start and make this a competitive game at least.

[joeposh]

This is going to be a slugfest. I don't think we are ready to compete with the Pacers just yet so I expect a loss. However, I am expecting to see Jennings/Stuckey start and make this a competitive game at least.

I just want to see if our guys can hang in a battle in the paint. They clearly have the size and athleticism, but do they have the tenacity it takes to avoid getting pushed around by the likes of Hibbert and West? This will be a great test.

Also curious to see if Cheeks can come up with a gameplan to draw Hibbert away from the basket and open up slashing opportunities for our wings. We'll likely learn a lot about Jennings ability to facilitate from this one as well.

[Brapman]

"Slugfest" is the right term for this game.

While we're younger, we're actually bigger and more athletic. But that team is much further developed than we are. The thing with having Stuckey and Billups at SG is they are plenty physical and strong enough to match up with Stephenson and to play smashmouth BB. The thing with Jennings is that he gives us an incredible boost in athleticism and ball control. He's about the fastest and shiftiest PG playing in the NBA. And with Bynum off the bench, along with Singler and JJ, we've got guys who really keep the pressure on.

Bynum on the second unit will be defending way less capable guards, and Indy really doesn't have guys that can beat him off the dribble as easily as have some of the guys he's matched up about.

Indy might be very surprised tonight in that we might be the only team in the league who is both bigger and more athletic than they are, and who are best situated of any team in the league to trade smash for smash with them all game long. Playing on the road and having a way more inexperienced roster probably means a L tonight, but Indy will start to realize that the Pistons are a team that'll be nipping at their heals (possibly mauling their ankles actually!) for the next couple of seasons.

[RTM]

Hill is out for this one. CJ Watson will start.


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[Brapman]

That's a serious blow for Indiana. Hill fits really well into what Indiana does at both ends of the court. Also, Bynum going against their third PG might be ugly for Indy. Our odds of coming out with a W just ticked up a bit.

[menten]

hill had 15, 17, 17 and 18 last year against us so those are very good news

[MotownMadness]

Isn't this game at the Palace?