Game Thread: Pistons/Bucks

  
 Luc and Luke. (Nick Laham/Getty Images)

Pistons (16-11, 7-6 road) @ Bucks (14-16, 8-4 home)

Gametime: 7:30 p.m. central time

Injuries:

Pistons: None.

Bucks: Malik Allen (ribs) and Charlie Bell (knee) are questionable.

08/09 Series:

Nov. 28: Pistons 107 Bucks 97

08/09 Advanced Stats:

Pistons: Offense: 15th (106.7 points/100 possessions) Defense: 17th (106.6)  Pace: 25th (89.3)

Bucks: Offense: 23rd (104.3 points/100 possessions) Defense: 8th (103.9) Pace: 11th  (92.6)

Three points:

• A December to remember. With a win, the Bucks will not only extend their overall winning streak to four games, they'll finish December with an unblemished 6-0 record at the Bradley Center. Milwaukee hasn't lost at home in almost a month; they fell to the Cavs 97-85 on Nov. 29. Forgive the Pistons if they aren't intimidated; they are a winning road team (7-6) and are perfect within the Central Division (5-0).
• On points. The Pistons needed late-game heroics from Allen Iverson to beat the Thunder 90-88 last night at The Palace. If you don't think that's very inspiring stuff coming from the Motor City, consider that Detroit has barely outscored its opponents this season. We've noted how Milwaukee's decent record has been more than deserved this year, but Detroit should feel very fortunate to boast a 16-11 record. The Pistons are +0.1 per game while the 14-16 Bucks are +0.3 per game. In fact, the Bucks have the sixth best per game point differential in the conference, the product of a lot of tight losses and some recent big wins. Milwaukee currently stands eighth in the East. Do you think the Bucks will make the playoffs? Vote.
• Ridnour's hour. Detroit is 13-9 since trading for Allen Iverson. The Nuggets are 17-10 since trading away Allen Iverson. In any event, we know very well that AI has had fun at the Bucks' expense in the Bradley Center before. He's averaging 29.6 per game against Milwaukee in his career, his second highest against any team. In Ramon Sessions, the Bucks have one of the best backup point guards in the world, and Luke Ridnour has been a major part of the team's resurgence of late. The starting point guard has these averages in Milwaukee's last three: 13.0 points, 8.3 assists, 3.0 rebounds, and 3.6 steals. All wins, not surprisingly.

Coverage:

Bucks.com / Detroit Bad Boys / Need 4 Sheed / PistonsNationBlog / MLive.com