Pistons vs. 76ers, 3.29.09

Matchup: Detroit Pistons (34-37) vs. Philadelphia 76ers (37-34)
Spread: Pistons -3
My Pick: 76ers by 4

Three reasons the Pistons will win:

1. Prince on Iguodala. Prince harassed Iguodala into a disastrous playoff series last year. Iguodala finished with a 33% field goal percentage while trying to shoot over Prince.
2. Ready to RIP. RIP carried the Piston offense last night. If the 76ers leave Willie Green on him, he should be able to do the same tonight.
3. Threes. The 76ers are the league’s worst three-point shooting team. The team’s only threats from deep are Thaddeus Young, who does opponents a favor when he settles for threes, and the re-discovered Donyell Marshall, who is too slow to play defense.

Three reasons the Pistons will lose:

1. Tired Dice. Dice has been playing heavy minutes since Rasheed went down. After playing 37 hard minutes last night, he may not have his legs against Philly.
2. Youngn’s. Thaddeus Young and Lou Williams are loaded with talent and athleticism. They have hurt the Pistons before and could do the same tonight.
3. Confidence. The 76ers played great against Detroit in last year’s playoffs. Since then, Philly has improved while Detroit has taken a step (or two) back.

Update:
Final Score: Detroit 101, Philadelphia 97
Notes:

• The Piston starters made 17 of their first 21 field goal attempts. The Pistons trailed by 1 at the half despite 61% shooting.
• Allen Iverson returned and wasted no time in reminding everyone that he is enormously talented, yet does little to positively impact this team. He has an awesome handle and is lightning quick, but too often, his decision-making leads to broken plays and/or forced shots. He was only attributed with two turnovers, but his high-risk passes led to a far greater number of turnovers and near-turnovers.
• Amir Johnson botched several scoring opportunities, left Andre Iguodala too early while hedging on a pick allowing Iggy to drill a three, and failed to box out Thaddeus Young on a crucial play which resulted in an offensive rebound and dunk. Despite all of those problems, Johnson was as important as any Piston in the win. He kept several possessions alive by attacking the offensive glass and was worlds better than Jason Maxiell and Walter Herrmann defensively. Credit Michael Curry for entrusting Johnson with fourth quarter minutes. Johnson was +10 in 19 minutes off the bench.
• I expected Tayshaun Prince to neutralize Andre Iguodala with his defense, but instead, he did so on the other end. Prince scored 21 points on just 11 shots to outplay Iguodala, who needed eight more shots and three more free throws to score eight more points than Prince.
• PER stud Marreese Speights had one of his worst performances of the season.
• Rodney Stuckey had a strong all-around performance, but Will Bynum was rewarded with crunch-time point guard duties after he sparked a 14-2 run early in the fourth quarter.