Detroit Pistons @ MindSay

Miami Heat guard Dwyane Wade missed the team's morning shootaround practice with what the team said were flu-like symptoms, marking the second straight year his health has been a major factor entering Game 6 of the Eastern Conference finals.

 

Miami coach Pat Riley said Wade was being treated and did not divulge any other specifics -- but insisted his leading scorer would be ready for Friday night's sixth game of the East finals against Detroit, a series the Heat led 3-2.

 

"He's going to be fine. He'll be here tonight, yeah," Riley said. "It's just something that came on. He's going to be fine. ... He's being very well taken care of."

 

 

Personally, I hope he does play.  It'll make it all the more sweet when we beat them!!!!  :)

 

Great column here by Mitch Albom, dealing with Proof, rap music, etc.

 

Gonna be a nice night, watching the Red Wings and Pistons.  I love the playoffs.

There was no champagne in the Detroit Pistons' locker room Monday night.

 

In fact, the Pistons didn't even realize they clinched a tie for their fourth Central Division title in five years by beating Atlanta 91-84.

 

"I didn't know until someone just told me," Tayshaun Prince said. "I guess that shows you where our minds are right now."

 

The win put Detroit two steps up coach Flip Saunders' pyramid.

 

"First, you have to make the playoffs, which we did a couple weeks ago, and then you have to win the division," he said. "Now we have to get homecourt in the East, homecourt in the league, and then we have to win the championship."

 

Detroit (53-13), whose magic number to clinch the Eastern Conference dropped to nine over Miami, also moved to 40 games over .500 for the first time since the 1988-89 season.

 

"That's crazy," Chauncey Billups said. "This has been one of those special years for us. Hopefully, we can keep it up."

 

NEW YORK -- Detroit was rewarded Thursday night for one of the best starts in NBA history when four Pistons made the All-Star team as reserves.

 

Chauncey Billups,Richard Hamilton, Ben Wallace and Rasheed Wallace all were picked for the Eastern Conference team that will be led by Detroit coach Flip Saunders. Tayshaun Prince was the lone Pistons starter not chosen in voting by East head coaches.

 

"I would just like to thank the coaches in the league for recognizing our players," Pistons president of basketball operations Joe Dumars told The Associated Press on Thursday night. "What the coaches are saying by voting our guys on is that they appreciate unselfishness, great attitudes and team basketball."

 

The Pistons (40-8) became the first team with four players in an All-Star game since the Los Angeles Lakers sent Shaquille O'Neal, Kobe Bryant, Eddie Jones and Nick Van Exel to the 1998 game in New York.

 

"I wish Tayshaun would be there," Hamilton said. "If that would have happened, that would have been incredible because it hasn't happened before. But it will be incredible to be there with those guys and if Flip plays us all at the same time that will be even more exciting."

 

Joining the Pistons on the East team for the Feb. 19 game in Houston will be Toronto's Chris Bosh, Boston's Paul Pierce and Vince Carter of the New Jersey Nets.

 

The Western Conference reserves are guards Ray Allen of Seattle and Tony Parker of San Antonio, and forwards Dirk Nowitzki of Dallas, the Clippers' Elton Brand, Memphis' Pau Gasol, Minnesota's Kevin Garnett and the Suns' Shawn Marion.

 

Billups, the 2004 NBA Finals MVP, and Hamilton are among the five first-time selections, joining Bosh, Parker and Gasol.

 

"That is something that you play for, to be recognized as one of the best," Billups said. "I've felt like I've played like that for a couple of years now and it's nice to finally get that validation."

 

Despite playing in the NBA Finals the last two years, recognition had come slowly for the Pistons during the season in recent years. Ben Wallace was Detroit's only All-Star in each of the last three years, and the Pistons haven't had multiple selections since Grant Hill and Jerry Stackhouse in 2000.

 

"What they have done the first half of the year, I wouldn't have disagreed with five," said Mavericks coach Avery Johnson, who will coach the West.

 

The only other teams with four All-Stars were the Celtics (1953, '62 and '75); Lakers ('62) and 76ers ('83). This is the first time four players from one team have been picked as reserves by the coaches.

 

The starters were voted on by fans and were announced last Thursday. Miami's Shaquille O'Neal and Dwyane Wade were chosen in the East along with forwards LeBron James from Cleveland and Jermaine O'Neal of Indiana. Philadelphia's Allen Iverson was the other guard.

 

Houston's Yao Ming and Tracy McGrady were voted in, along with guards Kobe Bryant of the Lakers and Steve Nash of Phoenix, and San Antonio forward Tim Duncan. The Mavericks' Avery Johnson is the West coach.

 

Jermaine O'Neal is injured and his replacement will be chosen by NBA commissioner David Stern. Though Saunders gets to choose who will start in O'Neal's place, he doesn't think it will be one of his players.

 

"I haven't really thought about that yet, but it probably won't be one of our guys," he said. "The first time they step on the floor, we will have them step on the floor together."

 

The toughest omissions in the East seemed to be guards Gilbert Arenas of Washington, the league's No. 4 scorer at 28.2 points per game, and Milwaukee's Michael Redd. Denver's Carmelo Anthony and Hornets rookie Chris Paul were among those left out in the West.

 

"I wish they would take more people, but they can't," Johnson said. "You have that every year. Every year you've got guys that's deserving. Guys that get out there every night, lay it on the line."

 

Coaches were required to select two guards, two forwards, one center and two other players regardless of position. They could not vote for their own players.

 

There were six All-Stars born outside the 50 states for the fourth straight year: Yao (China), Nowitzki (Germany), Gasol (Spain), Parker (France), Nash (Canada) and Duncan (U.S. Virgin Islands).

 

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. (AP) -- This was not just another game for Antonio McDyess. He was still stung by the Pistons' loss in the NBA Finals six months ago.

 

The reserve forward came through with a season-high 13 rebounds and 10 points in Detroit's 85-70 victory Sunday over San Antonio -- a rematch of the title series and a game between the teams with the two best records in the league this season.

 

"I was a little more motivated for the win," McDyess said after his first double-double of the season. "It was my first finals. To lose like we did, I'm going to remember it for the rest of my life."

 

McDyess seemed to take the setback the hardest because he wasn't on the team when it won the title two seasons ago.

 

"He was so close and it sort of slipped away," teammate Ben Wallace said.

 

Detroit dominated this gritty defensive struggle. The Pistons held the Spurs to their lowest-scoring first quarter as they missed 13 of their last 14 shots. Both teams shot about 40 percent.

 

"You saw both teams as basically who they are -- meat-and-potato teams," Detroit coach Flip Saunders said. "Maybe this is why the game wasn't hyped as much. This is what basketball was meant to be like -- play defense, play team basketball."

 

The game featuring the past two champions opened the NBA's annual Christmas doubleheader, lacking the Shaq-Kobe hype of the Heat-Lakers matchup that followed.

 

"We're very honored, but we realize it is a great responsibility to play in the JV game," San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich joked before the game. "We have to do a good job to make sure the fans stay around to watch the varsity game."

 

The Pistons won their seventh straight and improved to an NBA-best 22-3, their best 25-game record in franchise history. The Spurs have lost three of five, but their 21-7 mark is the league's second best.

 

"We were playing a lot closer at the end of the season," Popovich said. "They're a little bit ahead of us."

 

Detroit's Chauncey Billups scored 20 points and Ben Wallace had 10 points and 21 rebounds, the most for him since the 2003-04 season. Rasheed Wallace scored 14 points and Richard Hamilton had 11 for the Pistons.

 

"We've had different people carry us at different times," Saunders said. "That's what has made this a very good team, and has made us tougher to play against."

 

While the game was low scoring, much like the 2005 NBA Finals, the matchups were intriguing.

 

Bruce Bowen hounded Hamilton, holding him to 4-of-15 shooting. Tim Duncan and Rasheed Wallace dueled sensationally near the basket.

 

The Pistons have maintained their gutty defense while being more aggressive -- and effective -- on offense under Saunders. Detroit was coached the previous two years by Larry Brown, now with the New York Knicks.

 

"Flip has upped their offense," Popovich said. "He has them really confident in what they're running offensively, but they're also one of the best defensive teams in the game."

 

San Antonio's Tony Parker scored 19 points and Duncan had 18 points and 11 rebounds.

 

With Manu Ginobili missing his eighth straight game with a sprained right foot, Parker and Duncan had little help. Reserve Nazr Mohammed had 10 points. Michael Finley, who replaced Ginobili, had three points on 1-of-7 shooting.

 

"We would love to have Manu, but that wouldn't have made much of a difference on the boards," Popovich said.

 

The Pistons made just 42 percent of their shots, but held the Spurs to 40 percent shooting and outrebounded them 57-30, including 18-6 on the offensive glass.

 

"Every time we got within four or five, they would get an offensive rebound," Popovich said.

 

Detroit led by 10 after holding the Spurs to eight points, their fewest first-quarter points in franchise history and a total that matched their low from any quarter.

 

The Spurs lost the lead midway through the first quarter, and didn't regain it. Detroit led by four after three quarters and outscored the Spurs 28-17 in the fourth.

 

"They just outplayed us, honestly," Duncan said. "They took the game over down the stretch."

 

The Pistons, playing on Christmas for the third time in four years, hosted a game on the holiday for the first time since 1984, when they played at the Pontiac Silverdome. The Spurs played on the holiday for the first time since 1999.

 

"We had a little more energy because we were at home," Ben Wallace said. "It's tough to play away from home on Christmas."

 

The Spurs led 6-2 before turning cold. Detroit scored the last eight points of the quarter, taking an 18-8 lead. Parker was 4-of-8 in the first quarter, and his teammates were scoreless after missing 12 shots and two free throws. San Antonio stayed in the game with its defense, holding the Pistons to 6-of-18 shooting.

 

Duncan, the reigning NBA Finals MVP, came alive in the second quarter with eight points on 4-of-5 shooting. But the Pistons got eight points from reserves and led 40-30 at halftime. San Antonio went on a 10-4 run early in the second half and later scored six straight, pulling to 49-46.

 

The Pistons led 57-53 after three quarters. McDyess made consecutive baskets early in the fourth to spark an 11-4 run, allowing Detroit to coast to victory.

 

"We just tried to show that we're the best team," McDyess said.

 

Game notes
The sold-out crowd included Kid Rock, a regular at The Palace, and Eva Longoria, Parker's girlfriend. Longoria was booed when shown on the video board, and she responded by holding up a Spurs championship pendant on her necklace. ... San Antonio tied its franchise low for points in a quarter, set in 1999 and matched in 2001. ... The Spurs surpassed their franchise low for points in the first half by two points. ... Detroit plays Jan. 12 at San Antonio.