The Pistons' Stability Merits Wizards' Envy

If the Washington Wizards have been among the least fortunate teams in the NBA when it comes to keeping key players healthy, the Detroit Pistons are at the other end of the spectrum.

When the teams meet for the first of four times this season tonight at the Palace of Auburn Hills, the Wizards (0-1) will be continuing to adjust to life without Gilbert Arenas and Brendan Haywood while the Pistons (1-0) are expected to have a full complement.

That is nothing new in Detroit where continuity, health and winning have been the recipe for six straight Eastern Conference finals appearances and an NBA title.

The Pistons have a new coach this season in Michael Curry, but the familiar foursome of point guard Chauncey Billups, shooting guard Richard Hamilton, small forward Tayshaun Prince and power forward Rasheed Wallace will be in the starting lineup along with forward-center Amir Johnson.

Billups, Hamilton, Prince and Wallace have been together since late during the 2003-04 season and none of them have missed a significant amount of time or suffered a major injury during that span.

It's enough to make a Wizards fan cry and Coach Eddie Jordan a little jealous. The teams, however, do have one thing in commonr: They are the only two teams in the Eastern Conference to have made the playoffs each of the last four seasons.

"The major difference is they've kept their starting guys healthy and we haven't had our guys healthy," said Jordan, who was an assistant coach with the New Jersey Nets when Hamilton and Billups kick-started the current era of Pistons success with a 50-win season in 2002-03. "They have been one of top teams in the East for a long time, going back to when I was in Jersey."

The Wizards have been competitive with the Pistons in recent seasons, with wins in six of the last 10 meetings. That includes three wins at the Palace, which has sold out 235 straight games and presents one of the most challenging road environments in the league.

"This is a typical Detroit team," Antawn Jamison said. "We know what they're all about and what they like to do. We have to buckle down and not let the crowd get into it early, can't let their guards control the game, you can't let their bigs out-hustle us and get rebounds. You can't keep the ball on one of side of the floor offensively. It's a typical game plan for facing Detroit."

Another key will be matching a Detroit bench that is anchored by fourth-year forward Jason Maxiell, who averaged 15.7 points and shot 72 percent in three games against the Wizards last season. Maxiell, who agreed to a four-year, $20 million extension on Thursday, is one of the fresh ingredients Pistons general manager Joe Dumars has found to complement his veteran core.

The 6-foot-7, 260-pound Maxiell plays with a high-energy, physical style that can change the momentum of a game quickly and make the Palace crowd go crazy. He did both with a string of powerful dunks and 28 points during a 102-72 Pistons win over the Wizards at the Palace last April.

It will be up to Wizards reserves like Andray Blatche, Nick Young, Darius Songaila and Juan Dixon to match the energy of Maxiell and Detroit's other reserves, a group that includes veteran Antonio McDyess, guard Rodney Stuckey, forward Wálter Herrmann, who scored 10 points during Detroit's 100-94 win over Indiana Wednesday night, and former Wizards center Kwame Brown.

"I hope he [Maxiell] gets fat off his new contract, but I doubt it," Jordan said. "That's sort of his calling card, his aggressiveness, his attacking nature. He's a load, man. He's a powerful, quick, strong player who learned how to play in that system. They have a good team and it's a heck of a challenge for us."

Jordan plans on sticking with a starting five of Jamison, Caron Butler, Antonio Daniels, DeShawn Stevenson and Etan Thomas tonight and wants to see better execution and an improved overall flow from his team.

The Wizards shot 37 percent from the field and were outscored 26-18 in the fourth quarter on Wednesday night. One solution would be to turn effective half-court defense into opportunities in transition. The Wizards managed only 10 fast-break points Wednesday night (the Nets finished with only eight) in a slow-placed game.

"I thought we defended well enough to get into the break, but we didn't break enough," Jordan said. "I felt we should have gotten out and gotten some easy opportunities. I watched the offensive [tape] and I saw a lot of good things and yet, we struggled with some rhythm stuff. When we don't stay in the rhythm that the offense gives us, we get into a bad way."