After winning at Washington on Saturday, the Detroit Pistons are 3-1 in the team’s last four games.
On Monday, Detroit welcomes one of the Western Conference’s most complete teams. The Los Angeles Clippers are 28-14 in their first season under Doc Rivers, and have gone 5-2 in their last seven games despite the loss of All-NBA point guard Chris Paul.
In Paul’s place, reserve point guard Darren Collison has averaged 9.6 points per game and 2.8 assists per game in a starting role. Joining Collison in the Clippers’ starting lineup are J.J. Redick (16.2 ppg, 2.3 rpg), DeAndre Jordan (9.5 ppg, 13.5 rpg), Blake Griffin (22.5 ppg, 10.2 rpg) and Matt Barnes (7.1 ppg, 4.3 rpg), who’s replacing the struggling Jared Dudley at small forward.
Former Michigan Wolverines guards Jamal Crawford and Darius Morris both come off the Clippers’ bench. Crawford is averaging 17.1 points and 2.9 assists per game, while Morris is on his second 10-day contract with the organization after beginning the season with Philadelphia.
The Pistons have benefitted from the recent offensive explosion of free agent signee Josh Smith (15.5 ppg, 6.9 rpg), and a healthy sixth man in Rodney Stuckey (13.8 ppg, 2.1 rpg). Filling out the Pistons’ starting five are Brandon Jennings (16.4 ppg, 8.4 apg), Andre Drummond (12.6 ppg, 12.7 rpg), Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (7.2 ppg, 2.3 rpg) and Greg Monroe (14.4 ppg, 8.8 rpg).
“We want to be able to come in and give as much energy as possible,” said Smith. “They have been winning as of late. We want to come in here and match their intensity.”
Tip-off is at 1:00 pm at the Palace of Auburn Hills – follow all of the action live on Twitter @MichiganReview
