G9 ~ Pistons (2-6) @ Thunder (3-6) ~ 8:00 PM EST

[whitehops]

cartier martin practiced yesterday and will see how his foot feels during shootaround. hopefully we see him play a couple minutes.

keys on defense: the thunder are great at penetrating and take a ton of their shots in the 3-10 foot range. the good news? the pistons are the second best team in the league at defending shots in that range. they will have to watch out for ibaka though, as he has legit range all the way out to the 3 point line and the pistons are one of the worst teams at giving up shots from the free throw line to the three point line. it's up to the guards to try to limit penetration and make it easier for the bigs to rotate. they don't want the thunder to get all the way to the rim but keep them in that 3-10 foot range, which believe it or not is the least effective area to shoot from in terms of FG%.

keys on offense: 2 major keys. we have to get our bigs going. we have no problem getting close to the rim and taking shots, but we simply aren't making them. with all of our size we are 27th in FG% from 0-3 feet and 25th from 3-10 feet. if we can start making those little bunnies it'll help a lot. the good news is that the thunder have weak interior defense and give up one of the highest %'s from inside. other than that, they give up a TON of three pointers. Jennings, KCP, DJ, singler and JJ should have tons of opportunities to launch it from deep, especially if the ball movement is as good as it was against the wizards. smith should play a decent role here as he seems to have a knack for hitting open shooters with his cross-court passes.

INJURIES
Thunder - Out
Kevin Durant
Russell Westbrook
Andre Roberson
Perry Jones

Pistons
Jodie Meeks
Cartier Martin (GTD)

STARTERS
Brandon Jennings
KCP
Josh Smith
Greg Monroe
Andre Drummond

Reggie Jackson
Jeremy Lamb
Lance Thomas
Serge Ibaka
Steven Adams

go pistons!

[ImHeisenberg]

Kendrick Perkins must hate the Pistons- he usually has good games against us.

Reggie Jackson will be intriguing to those who believe Detroit should pursue him this summer.

But, without Durant and Westbrook, OKC is a pretty boring team to watch.

[princeofpalace]

I have a good feeling about this game, this should be our third victory

[aad]

We gotta get this game I also think we will beat memphis the team been playing hard

[epheisey]

Let's be honest. The Pistons will be at 60 game mark in position for a top 5 pick, and that's when everything will click for us, and we'll go on a tear finish near 40 wins, lose a top 10 pick, watch Monroe walk, and be 2 steps back after half a step forward....


Sent from my iPhone using RealGM Forums

[ImHeisenberg]

We gotta get this game I also think we will beat memphis the team been playing hard

You think we're going to beat Memphis? You apparently don't watch much basketball.

[Pharaoh]

We should beat the Thunder but Memphis is on a whole other level right now.

Sent from my GT-I9300 using RealGM Forums mobile app

[Kilo]

I predict fisticuffs. Adams is a chippy player and Dre is frustrated right now. If Smith is on the floor when this happens there could be punches thrown.

[Ghost]

Without Durant and Westbrook, we actually might be more talented than the Thunder .

Hopeful for another win, but eh, can't expect it right now.

[BadMofoPimp]

Reggie Williams has been proving me wrong. He has been a monster last 2 games. This will be an intriguing matchup.

[ImHeisenberg]

We should beat the Thunder but Memphis is on a whole other level right now.

Sent from my GT-I9300 using RealGM Forums mobile app

They're basically the super version of Detroit. Better center and PF, better PG, weak on the wings.

[engelbert321]

The beating stops tonight. I SENSE A VICTORY!

[Brt19]

We gotta get this game I also think we will beat memphis the team been playing hard

You think we're going to beat Memphis? You apparently don't watch much basketball.

Hey Bucks did.

Yeah a win in Memphis is not going to happen.

Games like this are must win for Thunder before they get fit. With home crowd they'll be hungry and I think will get the job done.

[whitehops]

added some info in the OP

[BadMofoPimp]

Thunder could use JSmooth with all their injury problems.

Josh for Perkins? Straight up.

[ComboGuardCity]

Your GT game is on point. Thanks whitehops


Sent from my iPhone using RealGM Forums

[Billl]

Well, on paper we should win this one. OKC hasn't been good on the road with all those young guys.

Will this be the night that Dre finally isn't in foul trouble?

[Spider156]

With the way that we're playing I actually expect us to be up the majority of the game the way we were against the Bucks. It will definitely be a test at the end of the game with Jackson getting the Thunder back in the game. We'll see what happens. But I expect a win this game. We've been playing well. This game might give us a step forward in our development. I'm really hoping we do well this game. I didn't really expect it the last game. Should be interesting to watch.

[Spider156]

I can see KCP on Jackson this game with Jennings on Lamb. I can see Drummond having a big game against Adams but I don't know what to expect from Drummond these days anymore. Ibaka will probably have a big game. I really believe we should win this game.

[Piston Pete]

Smith, Mitchell, Singler

for

Perkins and PJ3