Hawks at Pistons
If the Detroit Pistons are going to end a six-season playoff drought,
they need to pile up victories on a nine-game homestand that opens on
Wednesday against the Atlanta Hawks. Detroit is one percentage point
behind the Chicago Bulls for the eighth and final Eastern Conference
playoff spot and just 2 1/2 games ahead of the 10th-place Washington
Wizards.
Detroit is 19-11 at home - it plays Atlanta twice during the nine-game
stretch - and will by vying to bounce back from a dreadful 124-81 road
loss to the Wizards on Monday. "That means nothing," coach Stan Van
Gundy told reporters of the homestand. "You play like that, you'll go
0-9." The Hawks have won five of their past six contests and they
allowed an average of 79 points while notching back-to-back wins over
Memphis and Indiana. Atlanta is in fifth place in the East and hoping to
pass up both Miami and Boston to claim the No. 3 seed.
TV: 8 p.m. ET, FSN Southeast (Atlanta), FSN Detroit
ABOUT THE HAWKS (38-29): Atlanta has been a middle-of-the-pack offensive team by averaging 102.1 points and the defense has been the centerpiece of the success, ranking sixth at 98.6 points allowed. The defensive assault has even been better during the six-game run that has helped the Hawks reach a season-best nine games above .500 as Atlanta has allowed just 86.7 points during the stretch. "We are still getting better," All-Star forward Paul Millsap said after Sunday's 104-75 rout of the Pacers. "Defensively, we are pretty good. Offensively, we still need work. We still need to get to our second and third options. (Sunday) was a big step for us."
ABOUT THE PISTONS (34-33): Detroit has played poorly over its last three games - one contest was a victory over the lowly Philadelphia 76ers - and the players are well aware they need to turn things around on the pivotal homestand. "We've still got a realistic chance, but three games straight we haven't had an identity," point guard Reggie Jackson said after the loss to Washington. "I don't think anybody in the world really knows who the Pistons are right now, what they're going to bring night-in, night-out. We've got to figure out who we are." Shooting guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope was the only starter to score in double figures against the Wizards with 18 points on 8-of-13 shooting, and he is averaging 21.7 points over the last three games.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. The Hawks have won eight of the past 12 meetings and the teams have split this season's two matchups.
2. Atlanta SG Kyle Korver is shooting 52.8 percent from 3-point range in March.
3. Detroit rookie F Stanley Johnson was just 2-of-11 shooting against the Wizards and is averaging 2.3 points in three games since returning from a shoulder injury.