Pistons-Blazers Pregame

The Pistons travel to Portland tonight to face the Blazers. After getting crushed by the Lakers' starters, Detroit is looking to rebound and steal a win here for the first time since 2005.

If the Pistons want any shot at winning this game they are going to have to correct a few mistakes from last nights let down at the Staples Center. First and foremost is their turnovers.

Detroit commited 17 turnovers against the Lakers. A lot of those came off of trap pressure on the Pistons' guards. The Pistons were unable to find the open man when L.A. would turn to the trap, and the Lakers used it judiciously, at least in the second and third quarters.

The fourth quarter was a different story when Kuester decided to play huge ball with a line-up of Will Bynum, DaJuan Summers, Jonas Jerebko, Jason Maxiell, and Chris Wilcox. On the backs of Bynum and Maxiell this crew closed a 28 point deficit to six with plenty of time on the clock.

They were unable to make the final push though, and came up short when Phil Jackson was forced to bring back Kobe Bryant.

If Portland was paying attention last night they will probably trap whoever the Pistons have bring the ball up the court. This could cause some trouble for Rodney Stuckey and Will Bynum who have both had turnover problems as of late.

The Blazers have instituted a more guard heavy line-up this year, which puts Brandon Roy at the small forward position. This should work out well for the Pistons as they have been forced to utilize their own small ball line-up with the injuries to Richard Hamilton and Tayshaun Prince.

If the Pistons hope to be able to compete on the offensive end, Charlie Villanueva will have to find his offense again. He only managed two points against the Lakers in 23 minutes. The fact that he only played 23 minutes is a little bit of good news in that he will be rested for tonights game, but two points isn't going to cut it when facing LaMarcus Aldridge.

Look for the Pistons to try and get the ball moving to avoid traps and set up their shooters, otherwise it will be another ugly game for Detroit.