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- Washington, which has won four straight, has held nine straight opponents under 100 points. Detroit coach Lawrence Frank said that pushing the pace isn’t the only thing his team needs to do tonight to combat the Wizards defense. “You want to play your game, regardless of who you play,” he said. “It’s not just in transition. You really have to work your sets — your setups, your screening, your spacing and your passing has to be precise. That’s how you (probe) a good defensive team, by really working them from side to side.”
- The combination of Nene and Emeka Okafor has been the Wizards much more formidable inside. The Pistons will have to combat them without standout rookie Andre Drummond, who is out until at least next month with a back injury. Greg Monroe, Jason Maxiell and Charlie Villanueva will draw those defensive assignments. “You’ve got to take the challenge one on one,” Frank said. “You have to take ownership in that. You’ve got to get them off their spots and take away their pet moves. You look at Nene in his last two games against Brooklyn and Milwaukee, he went 19 for 26. That’s pretty good.”
- Washington coach Randy Wittman will stick with Garrett Temple at shooting guard and bring rookie Bradley Beal off the bench, even though Beal had a career-high 28 points against the Bucks.
- Other than Drummond, the only injured player on either side is Wizards forward Cartier Martin (left knee).
– Dana Gauruder
