OGT: Heat/Pistons 2/4/09, Wade vs. Lil' Wade?
Stuckey is questionable with a thigh bruise.
Quote:
Wednesday, February 4, 2009 at 7:30 p.m. on FS Detroit HD
Pistons vs. Heat Gameday
:langlois:
by Keith Langlois
SCOUTING REPORT: Miami enters tonight’s game in the No. 5 seeding position in the Eastern Conference playoff chase, just ahead of the Pistons due to one more win, at 26-21 overall. The Heat have been carried by Dwyane Wade, who has thrust himself into the MVP discussion by carrying Miami into playoff contention after winning 15 games a season ago. Wade has played in all 47 games after being limited to 51 in each of the past two seasons. He’s averaging a league-best 28.5 points on .484 shooting, 7.1 assists, 5.0 rebounds and 2.1 steals in 38 minutes a game under rookie coach Erik Spoelstra. Rookie Michael Beasley, the No. 2 overall pick, has emerged as the No. 2 scorer, averaging 13.4 points and 5.5 rebounds. Veteran Shawn Marion, the focus of intense trade speculation as he’s due to hit free agency in July, has seen his scoring plunge to 12.0 points a game, though he remains a top defender and is averaging 8.9 rebounds. Marion just returned in Monday’s win over the Clippers after missing five games with a groin strain. Udonis Haslem (10.9, 8.4 rebounds) brings an element of toughness to an undersized team. Second-year guard Daequan Cook (10.3, .410 3-point shooter) did not accompany the team to Detroit after bruising a thigh in a Saturday loss to Dallas. Second-round pick Mario Chalmers has solidified the point guard spot, averaging 9.8 points and 4.6 assists in 31 minutes, freeing Chris Quinn (5.9, .414 3-point shooter) to slide into a more comfortable backup role. Veteran Jamaal Magloire has moved into the starting lineup at center, though he plays sparingly. Joel Anthony, who went undrafted out of UNLV in 2007, plays more minutes at that spot. Veteran Mark Blount is also available. James Jones, Miami’s biggest off-season signing, has played in just 10 games due to a wrist injury; with Cook out, he’ll be in line for more minutes and be looked to for perimeter scoring. Miami gets hurt on the boards, being outrebounded by nearly three per game, and ranks in the bottom third in the league in both offensive and defensive rebounding.
PISTONS PERSPECTIVE: Though Miami ranks No. 11 in points allowed and No. 5 in field-goal percentage defense, the Heat come in having allowed 95 to the Clippers in a win on the heels of consecutive losses to Dallas and Indiana in which they yielded an average of 112.5 a game. That should be good news for the Pistons, who averaged 79.5 in weekend losses to Boston and Cleveland. Rodney Stuckey will have his hands full, not only trying to goose the Pistons’ sputtering offense but getting the defensive assignment on Wade – though it will be very much a team effort with the big men instrumental in jamming Wade on the many pick and rolls the Heat run for him. Rip Hamilton and Tayshaun Prince are also likely to be assigned to Wade at various points of the game as they attempt to keep him from establishing a rhythm. Amir Johnson will more than likely start the game assigned to Beasley, who can score both inside and out. If he can handle that task, it will free Rasheed Wallace to police the middle without much fear of Magloire or Anthony hurting him from outside. The Pistons have lost six of their last seven home games and have sunk to 29th in the league in scoring, averaging 92.9 points a game.
