BasketBallr.com

Are the natives now rested? Have the mutinous cries and concerns been quelled? With the Detroit Pistons winning six games straight, a whole lot of angry voices have been hushed. With two victories this weekend, 104-95 against Charlotte and 115-111 against Washington, the Pistons have risen to the second best record in the East (tied with Cleveland)– just one win behind the Orlando Magic.

Are the Pistons growing pains behind them? Not entirely. I’d love to see our boys go for a conference leading record again this year, but I’m not too anxious to execute on that. I’d like to see Flip give Detroit’s young bench a better rotation, especially Delfino and Maxiell. After taking home 64 wins last season, we all remember how tired Detroit’s starters were in the post-season (and how that turned out). This season, I’d like to see Flip give Delfino and J-Max some much needed experience, as I feel they’ll both be vital to our playoff performance. (However, with Tay playing as hot as he has been lately, I’m not going to argue if Flip feels like keeping him in the game over Delfino).

Without further adieu, let’s take a look at the numbers and the players behind them for Friday, November 24th:

• Allen Iverson - Coming off of a two game absense due to an absessed wisdom tooth, Iverson made up for his time off in a heartbeat. Iverson led the 76ers past the beleaguered Bulls with 46 points, 5 boards and 10 assists. 16 of these points came from the line, where The Answer shot 94.1%.
• Dwyane Wade - Wade put up 33 points and dished 15 dimes on Friday’s 104-107 loss to Orlando. Wade’s performance wasn’t enough, even though Miami out-rebounded Orlando by 51-38. Orlando didn’t let Miami take off with much of a lead, and played a consistent, precisely-shot game to hold Miami to their third straight loss.
• Andris Biedrins - Biedrins, a third-year player for the Golden State Warriors, had a career night with 31 points and 10 rebounds, shooting 82.4% from the field. While Troy Murphy has returned for the Warriors, Biedrins should be a big factor in their game after proving his value to coach Don Nelson.
• Carlos Boozer - Yet another monster game from Carlos Boozer: 31 points and 16 boards. Wow.

• Dwyane Wade - This kid is amazing. 35 points, 6 boards and 12 assists the night after another huge performance. This one did earn the Heat a win, going 102-93 against the Charlotte Bobcats.
• Chauncey Bu-Bu-Billups - Mr. Big Shot himself broke two personal career records on Saturday’s win over the Washington Wizards. Chauncy had 7 assists to 1 TO and shot 18 of 19 from the free throw line. This is Chauncey’s best assist/turnover ratio performance and most dominating free throw shooting. His 29 points pushed Detroit over Washington for the win, 115-111.
• Paul Pierce - Pierce put up 34 points, 7 boards and 7 dimes to help the Celtics overtake the Bucks on Saturday’s 111-98 victory. This is Pierce’s 5th game with over 30 points this season.

On Thursday night, the Pistons visit the Miami Heat at 8:00 p.m. Eastern on TNT. The Heat will be without Shaq, who is still recovering from surgery. But can we expect another dominant performance out of Dwyane Wade? If anyone can contain him, its the Pistons– but we’re in for an exciting game nonetheless. Go Pistons!