Pistons at Rockets, 3.18.09

I will be participating in a Live Blog (link) on PistonPowered.com during the game. Piston Powered is a Detroit Piston's blog that is a part of the ESPN.com TrueHoop blog network. During the Live Blog, I will discuss the game, the state of the team, and will be available to answer questions. Thanks to Dan Feldman of Piston Powered for helping set this up.

Matchup: Detroit Pistons (33-33) at Houston Rockets (44-25)
Spread: Rockets -9
My Pick: Rockets by 12

Three reasons the Pistons will win:

1. Man Down. The Rockets will not have standout reserve Carl Landry, who, like Rasheed Wallace, has a calf injury. Unlike Rasheed Wallace, Landry sustained his calf injury via a gunshot wound.
2. 80 Inches of Flu. Yao Ming is expected to play, but he has been battling the flu this week. With Tracy McGrady sidelined, the Rockets need the offense to run through Yao. If he is ineffective, the Rocket offense may be reduced to contested Ron Artest jump shots.
3. Shot Selection. Speaking of Artest jump shots, he’s near the league lead in ill-advised shot attempts. Occasionally his contested heaves go in, but his current shooting slump – 34% on field goals in his last five games – could easily continue tonight if he settles for jumpers. Von Wafer and Aaron Brooks also have a penchant for launching some head-scratchers.

Three reasons the Pistons will lose:

1. Rocket Defense. The Rockets began the season as one of the top defensive teams in the NBA. Losing T-Mac and flipping Rafer Alston for Kyle Lowry puts them at the top of their class in the West.
2. Texas Two-Step. This is the fifth consecutive season the Pistons will play consecutive road games in Texas. Entering today’s game, the Pistons are 1-3 in the second half of the Texas trip.
3. Ailing Pistons. Iverson is out. Rasheed is doubtful. RIP is questionable. Afflalo is banged-up. Stuckey looks worn down. Will Bynum, Jason Maxiell, Kwame Brown, and Walter Herrmann will have to drastically out-perform their roles for the Pistons to have a chance.

Update:
Final Score: Detroit 101, Houston 106 (2OT)
Notes:

• The Pistons are starting to pile up the moral victories. They played very well considering all the missing pieces.
• Normally Tayshaun Prince steps up when the Pistons are ailing, but Ron Artest was all over Prince last night.
• Arron Afflalo was awesome, scoring 24 points on 13 shots. He is 24-46 with 13 made three pointers since the All-Star break. That’s good for a ridiculous 66.3% effective field goal percentage. (The league average hovers around 50%)
• Prince played 55 minutes while McDyess played 51.
• Once again, the Pistons dominated the glass and the turnover battle, but failed to overcome a huge disparity in field goal percentage.