The Detroit Pistons will play against another Western Conference team after defeating the Houston Rockets in an overtime thriller. The Phoenix Suns are coming off a big win as well against the Milwaukee Bucks
The Detroit Pistons get to enjoy playing in front of their fans with the second game of a six-game home stand. Today’s opponent is the Phoenix Suns.
Detroit comes in with a lot of momentum just days after pulling out a tough victory against the Houston Rockets. This will be the Pistons first look at Phoenix this year.
How does Detroit prepare for a team like the Suns? For starters, match the same energy they had when they defeated Houston.
That win sparked something in the Detroit locker room.
Every player who played in the Houston game stepped up and contributed to the win. Now Phoenix doesn’t have a MVP like Houston with James Harden.
Well, we are all aware of the Suns go-to man, Devin Booker.
Booker comes into today’s contest averaging 24.1 points per game which is 13th in the league. But Detroit has a scorer as well in Blake Griffin, who has had an exceptional season so far.
He’s averaging 25.3 points per game and coming off a 28-point performance in the win over Houston.
They do have some talented role players. Trevor Ariza and Jamal Crawford are two key additions to the Suns roster and they both add a lot of NBA experience and knowledge to the team.
Not to mention the number one draft pick, DeAndre Ayton, who is having a good rookie campaign and averaging a double-double. It will be interesting to see how he squares off against Andre Drummond. That will be the match-up to watch today.
In the win over Houston, Detroit had four starters score in double figures.
Reggie Bullock, who was the lone starter not to score in double digits. had a solid eight points. Griffin and Drummond both shot 50 percent from the field and if they can both continue to success on the offensive side, the Pistons will have a high chance in winning ball games.
You can’t forget about Reggie Jackson‘s performance on Friday either. Jackson, who had 22 points, made the right decisions late in the game with the ball in his hand, as a floor general should.
Let’s see if Detroit can hold off Booker from having a big game tonight in his home state. I wouldn’t be surprised if head coach Dwane Casey puts the rookie Bruce Brown on Booker at some point during the game. Brown looked like a seasoned veteran guarding James Harden last game.
You could have mistaken him for Bruce……Bowen, based on his defensive performance. A win today would increase that Detroit energy and have the boys from the Motor City feeling good.