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| 30-13 | 27-17 | |
| The Palace of Auburn Hills | ||
| 7:00 PM | ||
| ESPN | ||
| Probable starters: | ||
| Chauncey Billups | PG | Carlos Arroyo |
| Richard Hamilton | SG | Maurice Evans |
| Tayshaun Prince | SF | Hedo Turkoglu |
| Antonio McDyess | PF | Rashard Lewis |
| Rasheed Wallace | C | Dwight Howard |
The Magic are in Detroit tonight for the first time since last year's playoffs. Detroit has our number, especially in the Palace, where it's beaten us eight straight times. The Pistons will be focused after we beat them on Monday, so I'll be surprised if we don't get hammered by 37 points. As always, don't forget to check out Detroit Bad Boys, Need4Sheed, and Pistons Nation for your Pistons fix.
A win tonight would certainly go a long way to showing that we've recovered after an early January slump. Cleveland is surging -- 9-1 in January -- and Washington is just 3 games behind us for the Southeast Division lead. We absolutely need to pick up the intensity level and get back to early-season form.
Jameer Nelson was planning to play tonight after having missed the past four games with a strained tendon in his right foot, but he's still not feeling well enough to play, says Brian Schmitz in his blog. Schmitz adds that Nelson is "doubtful" for Sunday's game against Boston. Carlos Arroyo will start in his place.
Curious fact: in games this season in which Jameer Nelson has not played, the Magic are 5-0. Might be a coincidence, might not be.
The ESPN crew will have the call at 7 PM this evening. The game will be in HD, which means you'll get an ultra-detailed view of Rasheed Wallace's bald spot.