Mar 22, 2013; Miami, FL, USA; Miami Heat small forward LeBron James (6) is pressured by Detroit Pistons shooting guard Kyle Singler (25) during the first half at American Airlines Arena. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports

Well, the Pistons lost again. Can we expect anything different at this point?

The Pistons are not tanking. They’re playing hard, and just getting outplayed night after night after night.

The two teams came in on two very different and very impressive streaks (the Pistons for the wrong reason). Detroit came out very strong and executed extremely well in the 1st quarter. With that and help from some hot 64% shooting, Detroit got out to a 28-22 lead after one, being led by 9 points on 4-4 shooting from Greg Monroe. When the began the 2nd quarter without LeBron, the Pistons took advantage and extended their lead to as much as 11. But that all went awry as soon as James re-entered the game.

By halftime — thanks to a walk up 3 in Rodney Stuckey’s face by Dwyane Wade — the Heat had cut the lead to 3 at 54-51. The Pistons really shared the ball in the first half, something that could be seen by 16 assists on 21 field goals. Still, you had the feeling that the Heat were just toying around and had yet to give their full effort.

And, hey look, that turned out to be true. Much like a lot of other games during their now 25 game winning streak, Miami came decided this game was over mid-way through the third. The Heat took advantage of a sloppy second half from Detroit and pulled away behind an 18 point half from LeBron James. The Pistons  kept stayed within reasonable distance through the 4th quarter, but were never able to make a move. Miami was able to steadily distance themselves from the Pistons and took the game 103-89.

Detroit played hard. The Heat are just so much better. They’re just toying with opponents at this point.

Since its been about 23 days since the Pistons won, at this point we’re just looking for moral victories. I guess a positive you could take out of this performance is how Greg Monroe played. Monroe played one his better games I’ve seen him play since joining Life On Dumars. He ended up just 10-19 from the field after starting 6-7. Still, 23 points 15 rebounds and 6 assists is nothing to be ashamed of. Jose Calderon played well in the first half, but forced a lot of bad passes in the second half and ended the game with 7 turnovers. Having Kyle Singler play fairly well was encouraging. He had 18 points on 14 shots to go with 8 rebounds. Kim English fouled out after just 13 minutes of play. Not the best of nights for the rookie.

Tomorrow night the Pistons will head to Charlotte to play the Bobcats in a game that the Pistons actually might have a chance to win. At this point in the season, for the Pistons winning doesn’t mean much. In fact it’s probably better than their losing. Regardless, for a team who has lost 9 straight, a win might help them feel better about themselves.

The Heat (1-2) are coming off a 99-89 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers, a game that took place in Shanghai’s Mercedes-Benz Arena. The team’s Big Three of Chris Bosh (11 points, five rebounds), LeBron James (11 points, three rebounds, four assists, three steals) and Dwyane Wade (seven points, three assists) had solid games in limited minutes, while the team’s big offseason pick-up, Ray Allen, struggled mightily with his shot, going 3-of-10 from the field, including 0-of-5 from three-point range.

Detroit rebounded nicely on Tuesday, carving up the Orlando defense for 112 points on 54% shooting, including 10 makes from three-point range. They also had 26 assists to 16 turnovers, a positive trend considering the youth in the backcourt for the Pistons.

A crucial stat that the team will need to replicate if they hope to beat Miami is their points in the paint. They scored 46 against Orlando, and with Heat big men Udonis Haslem, Joel Anthony and Jarvis Varnado all out with injuries, Greg Monroe and Andre Drummond will need to exploit that weakness.

Limiting James, Wade and Bosh is never an easy task, but pressuring their complementary teammates like Norris Cole, Ray Allen, Terrel Harris and Shane Battier into turnovers and poor shots will help Detroit’s cause. Players like Jason Maxiell, Rodney Stuckey and Jonas Jerebko must be on top of their games, as those second-tier players for Miami will probably play more than the team’s Big Three.

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