| 2009/2010 NBA Season | ||
|---|---|---|
 | @ |  |
| 2-3 | 4-1 | |
| November 6th, 2009 | ||
| Amway Arena | ||
| 7:00 PM | ||
| Sun Sports | ||
| Probable Starters | ||
| Rodney Stuckey | PG | Jameer Nelson |
| Ben Gordon | SG | J.J. Redick |
| Jonas Jerebko | SF | Matt Barnes |
| Charlie Villanueva | PF | Ryan Anderson |
| Ben Wallace | C | Dwight Howard |
| Previous Meetings | ||
| November 3rd: Pistons 85, Magic 80 | ||
| Game Officials | ||
| Bob Delaney | ||
| Eric Lewis | ||
| Leroy Richardson | ||
It's a rematch of shorthanded Eastern Conference rivals tonight when the Orlando Magic look to avenge an earlier defeat this week at the hands of the Detroit Pistons. Orlando's Vince Carter (ankle) isn't expected to play; ditto for Detroit's Tayshaun Prince (back) and Richard Hamilton (ankle). The Pistons handed the Magic their first--and, so far, only--defeat of the season on Tuesday, when their undersized, shoot-first guards attacked the lane and fouled out Dwight Howard and Marcin Gortat, the Magic's only centers, in fairly short order. The Magic, meanwhile, rarely drove the ball, and instead hoisted three-pointer after three-pointer, with poor results.
But since then, the teams have gone in opposite directions. The Magic bounced back with an impressive blowout of the Phoenix Suns in which they mixed outside shooting with aggressive takes to the basket; they also shut down the Suns' high-powered offense. The Pistons allowed 110 points to the Raptors, including 44 in the second period, to take their third overall loss on the year. They gifted the Raptors 47 free throw attempts, and 20 for Chris Bosh alone.
But throw all that out the window, right? Because when the Pistons play the Magic, nothing goes as it should, it seems. Orlando is 5-20 in its last 25 regular-season games against Detroit, dating back to 2003. The Magic are bound to break the cycle of futility against the Pistons eventually, right? Tune in at 7 to see if tonight's that night.