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Pistons host shorthanded Wizards

Nov 1, 2008 - 10:40 AM Washington (0-1) at Detroit (1-0), 7:30pm EDT

AUBURN HILLS, Michigan (Ticker) -- Only two teams in the Eastern Conference have made the playoffs in each of the last four seasons. Those clubs will square off on Saturday as they look to continue their respective streaks this year.

The Detroit Pistons, who have advanced to the postseason seven years running, will play host to the shorthanded Washington Wizards, who have posted four consecutive playoff seasons but open the new year with the odds stacked against them.

Star shooting guard Gilbert Arenas - who missed 69 games last year - signed a lucrative six-year extension with Washington this summer, only to undergo surgery on his troublesome left knee that will keep him sidelined until early January. The bad news got worse as starting center Brendan Haywood - coming off a career season - suffered a fractured right wrist during practice that will force him to miss four to six months.

The team's depleted lineup got off to an ugly start in Wednesday's season opener, a 95-85 loss to the rebuilding New Jersey Nets. The Wizards' only two reliable options remaining, forward Antawn Jamison and Caron Butler, combined to shoot 9-of-29 from the floor.

The Pistons had to sweat out their season opener against the Indiana Pacers on Wednesday, surviving Danny Granger's 33-point effort to prevail, 100-94. While the team's defensive effort wasn't up to its usual standards, the game was by-and-large a typical Pistons win - they spread the ball around on offense, forced a slew of turnovers and closed out the game with clutch free throws.

Tayshaun Prince, fresh off a busy summer with the gold medal-winning U.S. Olympic team, led Detroit with 19 points, while Chauncey Billups added 13 and seven assists.

The Wizards are one of the few teams that have had some success against the Pistons in recent years. Over the last three seasons, Washington has gone 6-4 against the Eastern Conference powerhouse.

However, the Wizards will likely miss Arenas' presence against the Pistons - in 16 career games against them, he has averaged 24.4 points and 6.0 assists, including 36 and 11 in a 104-99 victory in January 2007.