OGT: Nets at Pistons, New Year's Eve Matinee (3 pm, FSD)

**Glenn** · 12-31-2008 01:18 PM

Hopefully

don't get confused by the early start time and think it's a Sunday.

Wednesday, December 31, 2008 on FS Detroit HD at 3 p.m.
Pistons vs. Nets Gameday

by Keith Langlois

NEW YEAR'S SPECIAL: $2.09 glasses of champagne will be served at all Palace Restaurants and at concession stands located at sections 112, 115, 102, and 125. A photo station will also be set up in the Comcast Pavilion featuring Tayshaun Prince's gold medal, jersey and shoes. Prince is also featured in tonight's giveaway poster, courtesy of Coca-Cola.

SCOUTING REPORT: The first thing that jumps out at you about New Jersey is the inexplicable home-road record disparity. Only 5-12 at home – and one of the five wins ruined the Pistons debut of Allen Iverson on Nov. 7 – the Nets are cruising with a 10-4 road record and are ahead of both Philadelphia and Toronto, two teams that made the playoffs last year and added key pieces over the summer, in the Atlantic Division. The Nets have had three very positive developments this season: Devin Harris, acquired in the Jason Kidd deal last February, has emerged as an elite point guard, averaging 23.8 points and 6.4 assists per game; Vince Carter has elevated his level of play after a down year, kicking in 23.3 points a game and shooting .461; and rookie Brook Lopez has been better than anticipated, averaging 9.9 points, 7.8 rebounds and 1.97 blocks a game. Harris devastated the Pistons in their November matchup with 38 points, including 20 of 24 at the line. Curry shouldered the blame for not trapping to force Harris to give up the ball and vows the Pistons will trap Harris aggressively in the rematch. The Nets don’t get a lot of scoring from their forwards, Bobby Simmons and Yi Jianlian, which is troublesome because neither is known as a defensive or rebounding force, either. Ex-Piston Jarvis Hayes and Keyon Dooling give New Jersey some scoring punch off the bench, both averaging 8.7 a game. The Nets are coming in off of 13-point home loss to Chicago on Monday night.

PISTONS PERSPECTIVE: Rip Hamilton is expected to miss his third straight game with a groin strain, though Antonio McDyess (ribs) went through practice on Tuesday and is expected to play. The Pistons have won four straight and are now a season-best seven games over .500 and hope to conclude their Palace home stand with wins over New Jersey and Sacramento (Friday) before embarking on a tough, weeklong Western road trip that encompasses four games. Curry will stick with the same starting lineup that’s been exceptionally good defensively in the past two games, holding Milwaukee to 30 percent shooting and Orlando to 40 percent in snapping win streaks of three and seven games. That means Amir Johnson starts up front with Rasheed Wallace with Tayshaun Prince back at his customary small forward and Rodney Stuckey running the point with Allen Iverson at his side. Arron Afflalo’s consistency has seen him average 24 minutes a game over the four-game winning streak as Curry has shortened his rotation.