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Pistons look to sweep Paul, Hornets

Mar 16, 2008 - 12:58 PM New Orleans (44-20) at Detroit (47-18) 1:00 pm EDT

AUBURN HILLS, Michigan (Ticker) - The Detroit Pistons recently just took down one elite team from the Western Conference. Now, here comes another.

The Pistons host Chris Paul and the New Orleans Hornets on Sunday in a possible NBA Finals preview.

Detroit enters riding high after All-Star Richard Hamilton buried the defending champion San Antonio Spurs for 25 points in Friday's 84-80 home victory.

"It's good to see a team come in here that is going to be vying for a shot at the Finals as we are," Pistons guard Chauncey Billups said.

The Pistons have captured six of the last seven meetings in the series against the Hornets, who might be without the services of All-Star forward David West due to an injured ankle.

West exited late during Friday's impressive, 108-98, win over the Los Angeles Lakers.

If West is unable to suit up, Detroit's frontcourt of Rasheed Wallace and Antonio McDyess should contribute in a huge way in the paint.

One of the important factors should be how Billups plans to handle MVP candidate Paul, whose averaging 27.5 points over his last six games.

In the first matchup, Billups had 18 points and held Paul to just four field goals in Detroit's 91-76 victory on December 5 in New Orleans.

The Hornets are just one-half game back of the Lakers (45-20) and Houston Rockets (45-20) for the top spot in the Western Conference. Los Angeles and Houston also are squaring off on Sunday.