Tonight's Preview: Washington vs. Detroit

October 10, 3:59 PMWashington Wizards ExaminerGeorge Panagakos

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Motor City is still abuzz from their WNBA basketball squad, which won a third championship for Detroit to make it three rings in just six years.  Could the dynasty of the Detroit Shock, head coached by NBA great, Bill Laimbeer, trigger a Bostonian-like effect for Detroit sports this year?  If the Detroit Lions weren't dead last in their division (although, the Lions still have a chance to bring magic to Detroit).

The Detroit Pistons do have high hopes this season, after leading all teams last season by holding opponents to just 90.1 points per a game.  They are battling age, and have a lot of frontcourt personnel that want action.  They also still have their four starters: Chauncy Billups, Richard Hamilton, Rasheed Wallace, and Tayshaun Prince; it's safe to say offensive continuity will be Detroit's biggest question heading in to tonight's game.

Detroit is off on a 2-0 start, with wins over the Miami Heat and the Milwuakee Bucks.  The Wizards will have to focus on what they did poorly against Dallas last Tuesday, and try to control rebounding to limit second-chance points for the Pistons.  With all of the former Wizards on Detroit, including recent addition Kwame Brown, this reunion should make for an interesting rivalry game.

The 1-1 Wizards, fresh off of their first victory on the year, should look to play inside tonight.  JaVale McGee and Andray Blatche should match up well against Rasheed Wallace and Tayshaun Prince, and it will be interesting to see which duo will end up with the most range in their shots.  However, Etan Thomas will be the Wizard to set Defensive standards tonight, and will likely have to help weak side on penetration from the Pistons excellent starting backcourt of Billups and Hamilton.

I'm looking at Dominic McGuire to step up on the boards again like he did against Memphis Wednesday night, and Dee Brown's quickness to disrupt Billups tempo on the offensive end.