Some perspective from the other side....
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Forget about Mavs' blowout
Playing solid game is more important than revenge for a 37-point loss in Dallas on Nov. 19.
Chris McCosky / The Detroit News
AUBURN HILLS -- For the Pistons, playing the Mavericks tonight isn't about gaining redemption for their 37-point drubbing in Dallas on Nov. 19 -- nor is it really about holding on to their slim game-and-a-half advantage for the best overall record in the NBA.
"Not at all," Richard Hamilton said. "We can only be concerned with ourselves. We are just trying to win every game. We aren't thinking about anybody else's record but our own. All you can do when you have a chance to play these teams is to beat them."
That's not to say the Pistons have forgotten about the debacle in Dallas.
"I know that's not going to happen again," Rasheed Wallace said.
When asked if the sting of that loss had been mitigated somewhat by the passing of time, Wallace said, "Yes and no. I say that because it was an embarrassing loss, but at the same time, we still have to come out and play the way we have to play to win."
The Mavericks have won five of their last seven games despite injuries to key players Josh Howard (left hamstring), Adrian Griffin (right hamstring) and Devin Harris (left quadriceps). Howard was expected to return to practice Monday and is questionable. Griffin and Harris are doubtful.
"We kind of slept on them down there," Hamilton said. "We can't afford to do that this time around; their record speaks for itself. We didn't have a chance down there. Once the ball went up, it seemed like we were down by 10 or 15 points. That just gives us more motivation, more awareness that we can't come out lackadaisical."
As for the race for best overall record and home-court advantage throughout the playoffs, coach Flip Saunders acknowledged that a victory over the Mavericks could be a three-game swing -- a win for the Pistons, a loss for the Mavericks, and it saves the tiebreaker.
"You think about that, but it's not a situation where it's do-or-die," he said. "A lot of things have to happen in order for you to get there. You can't just assume that because you have home-court advantage you're going to get to the Finals and win. There are a lot of steps to clear before that."
Lindsey Hunter, who has played in 99 playoff games, agreed.
"I've been in enough playoff series to know that you always have to go on the opponent's court and win a game at some point," he said. "It doesn't matter if you have home-court advantage or not. Something usually happens where you have to go and win a game on the road.
"Still, having home-court advantage doesn't hurt."
The bigger issue for the Pistons is to put together a complete game.
"Recently, we've put in a lot of work on our defense and our bench, and those have been two areas where we've had success," Saunders said. "One area we haven't worked on much was our offense, and we've seen some major slippage. I told the guys, we have not put together a game where we've played at a high level at both ends of the floor in a while.
"Now would be a good time to do that."
All or nothing
The Pistons' mantra all season has been championship or bust.
It's been their mantra the last two seasons, actually.
"That's our only goal," Hamilton said. "If we don't win it all, then our season isn't a success."
That kind of talk obviously rubbed some of the Mavericks the wrong way.
"A lot of them (Pistons) didn't understand it until they won it," Mavericks coach Avery Johnson said.
"They found out when they got here and it all came together."
Jerry Stackhouse was a bit more adamant.
"Everybody's mentality isn't that way," he said. "Our goal is to win a championship. But if we play as well as we can, and it's not in the cards, you can't say it's all for naught.
"Detroit was seven bad minutes away from not even being in the Finals last season. It would have been Miami representing the Eastern Conference. So, they're saying that was nothing if they lost that?"
Well, yes, that is what the Pistons are saying. But it is a touchy subject for the Mavericks, who are trying to shed the label of being a great regular-season team that typically fades during the playoffs.
"They've had good records and good teams, but they haven't been able to go far in the playoffs -- that's sort of been the knock against them," Wallace said. "Has that changed? You never can tell."
In the bonus
Pistons rookies Amir Johnson and Alex Acker are expected to be back with the team tonight. Both have been averaging better than 17 points at Fayetteville of the NBDL. The team has a week off, so the two get to come home for a couple of days. They will rejoin Fayetteville at the end of the week. The NBDL season ends April 8.
You can reach Chris McCosky at (313) 222-1489 or
chris.mccosky@detnews.com.