Pistons at 76ers, 4.04.09

Matchup: Detroit Pistons (36-39) at Philadelphia 76ers (39-35)
Spread: 76ers -3
My Pick: Pistons by 8

Three reasons the Pistons will win:

1. No AI. The Pistons are 9-1 in games where Rasheed plays, but Iverson does not. That recipe should be in play the rest of the season.
2. Rest. Antonio McDyess and Tayshaun Prince, among others, badly needed the two-day break the Pistons just received.
3. No Thaddeus Young. The über-athletic forward is on the shelf with an ankle injury. Without Young or Elton Brand, the Pistons have a clearly superior active roster.

Three reasons the Pistons will lose:

1. Rough Stretch. The Pistons have lost eight of their last 11, so they don’t exactly have much momentum.
2. Wachovia Center. The 76ers have won five of their last six home games. The Pistons wish Philly had won the sixth – a game against Charlotte.
3. Distractions. If the Piston players have too spent too much time worrying about Iverson and too little time worrying about this matchup, they could struggle.

Update:
Final Score: Detroit 90, Philadelphia 95
Notes:

• In a role reversal from last year’s playoffs, Andre Iguodala dominated Tayshaun Prince. Iguodala scored 31 points on 19 shots, many of which were dunks.
• The Piston offense went through Kwame Brown in the first quarter. In the fourth quarter, they would have benefitted from an offensive force as consistent as Brown was early. That says more about the Pistons than it does about Brown, although Kwame did play very nicely.
• Will Bynum was awesome in the first half, but invisible in the second.
• Andre Miller went wherever he wanted with the ball.
• The 76ers, without Elton Brand and without Thaddeus Young, badly lack reliable offensive options. The fact that they made 48 percent of their field goals in the game underscores how bad Detroit’s defense – especially in transition – was in this game.
• If there’s a good reason Amir Johnson did not play, I’d like to hear it. His DNP is big part of the explanation for the previous bullet point.