Pistons, Mavs both struggling shooting the ball

Essentials

• Teams: Dallas Mavericks at Detroit Pistons
• Date: Jan. 10, 2012
• Time: 7:30 p.m.
• Television: Fox Sports Detroit

Records

• Pistons: 2-7
• Mavs: 4-5

Probable starters

Pistons:

• Brandon Knight
• Ben Gordon
• Tayshaun Prince
• Jonas Jerebko
• Greg Monroe

Mavs:

• Vince Carter
• Delonte West
• Shawn Marion
• Dirk Nowitzki
• Brendan Haywood

Las Vegas projection

Spread: Pistons +5

Over/under: 185

Score: Mavs win, 95-90

Three things to watch

1. Both teams dealing with injuries

The Mavs will play without starting point guard Jason Kidd tonight. The Pistons may or may not have Rodney Stuckey back, still trying to recover from a sore groin. No Kidd won’t necessarily make things easier on Brandon Knight. If he starts again, he’ll most likely be guarded by Delonte West, who will certainly make things hard on him.

2. Both teams are shooting horribly

The Pistons and Mavs are actually tied for 25th in the league in field goal percentage. Some of the Mavs’ roster changes, particularly Lamar Odom and Vince Carter, have gotten off to poor starts, while we all know the story behind Detroit’s shooting woes. The difference, however, is the Mavs look to be pulling themselves out of their slump while the Pistons seem to be regressing.

3. You are about to be possessed …

Rob Base of MC Rob Base and DJ EZ Rock fame will be tonight’s halftime entertainment. My mom had their record in like ’87.

Be Sociable, Share!

•