Washington Wizards vs. Detroit Pistons: Regular Season Game 28 Open Thread

2011/12 NBA Regular Season
8-20		5-22
February 12, 2012
Palace at Auburn Hills
6 PM
CSN
Starters:
Brandon Knight	PG	John Wall
Rodney Stuckey	SG	Nick Young
Tayshaun Prince	SF	Chris Singleton
Jason Maxiell	PF	Trevor Booker
Greg Monroe	C	JaVale McGee
Detroit Bad Boys

UPDATE, by Mike: I was tardy on my Meet The Pistons post. Here it is.

Somewhere in the deep catacombs of the NBA League office there is some twisted schedule maker who insists every year that a Pistons-Wizards early Sunday game takes place. I'm not sure what obsession this individual has with ruining my Sundays, but Rodney Stuckey has spent the last few years ensuring that I went to work the next day feeling rather aggrieved at the world in general. This marks the start of the Wizards long road swing and perhaps their best chance to earn a win during the trip. Unfortunately, they find themselves going up against a Pistons team that is on current four game winning streak and plays significantly better at home than on the road.

For Wizards fans, this is a chance to get to see Greg Monroe again and check in on his development, as the Pistons are a team like the Wizards that tend to fly under the radar on many League pundits. Unlike the Wizards, however, the Pistons seem poised to be a team that is stuck in the mire for the long haul. Still anchored to the Charlie Villanueva and Ben Gordon contracts, and having given silly money to Rodney Stuckey, they are a sub-average team tied to a variety of bloated contracts. Using the amnesty on either Villanueva or Gordon only gets them out of one crappy contract, and I haven't even gotten into the money that Joe Dumars has handed out to Jonas Jerebko or perennial Wizards killer Will Bynum. In short, its probably more painful at the moment to be a Pistons fans than a Wizards fan, because at least we "might" have options.

Irrationality states that the Pistons win tonight because Bynum or one of his nameless stablemates will light us up and make us question our sanity in following the Wizards. I prefer to think that the Wizards are due, and that we are going to see a team desperate for a win prior to the long losing streak which may yet follow.

GO WIZARDS!!!!