Windhorst Beat Blog
By Brian Windhorst, The Plain Dealer
March 05, 2010, 12:02PM
CLEVELAND -- Pre-game from The Q:
Projected starting lineups
Pistons: Rodney Stuckey, Richard Hamilton, Jonas Jerebko, Tayshaun Prince, Jason Maxiell
Cavs: Mo Williams, Anthony Parker, LeBron James, Antawn Jamison, JJ Hickson
Officials
Dick Bavetta, Mark Lindsay, Michael Smith
* Delonte West is available to play after missing Wednesday's game for personal reasons. Daniel Gibson, new father, will not be at the game and it doesn't sound like he's going to play tomorrow night in Milwaukee, either. Ben Wallace is out with a knee injury for the Pistons. He's been having an great season for the Pistons, one of the few bright spots. Chris Wilcox (back) probably won't play either.
* This is another great matchup for the new, smaller and faster Cavs. The Pistons' tallest starter will be Jerebko and he plays small forward. The Pistons have struggled offensively this season. Free agents Charlie Villanueva and Ben Gordon average a combined 26 points off the bench and neither is shooting better than 43 percent. Overall, the Pistons average just 93 points a game. The Cavs should be able to simply outscore them with their running ways. Cavs have scored at least 108 points in the last four games.
* Jerebko has been a pleasant surprise this season for the Pistons. He's proven to be a hard-nosed defender and often guards the best wing player on the opposing teams. He doesn't have a lot of bulk, but at 6-10 his length can bother people and he's got the desire to be a good defender. He's not a great scorer or 3-point shooter yet, but the Pistons did a nice job picking him up late in the first round. He will be guarding James quite a bit. One thing he will do is foul, so expected LeBron to attack him. Heck, the Cavs are attacking everyone on offense right now.
