FanHouse

In another of our continuing series, five things to keep an eye out for tonight in the Pistons-Magic Eastern Conference Semifinals Game 3 this evening.

1. Hemming And Hawing About A Hammy: Will he play? Won't he? Is he okay? Is it fine? Lord, you tweak one hamstring and the whole world goes nuts. Such is the life of Chauncey Billups. Billups is doubtful for tomorrow's game, but has been improving steadily since the injury he sustained in Game 3. Chauncey is now officially the hinge on which this series rests. Without him on the floor, the Magic can create turnovers, open shots, spread the floor, and play their game. With him in, it's like the teacher's back in class. No more spitwads from Lewis, and Mr. Howard! Take that ridiculous cape off!

2. Hey, Where Did That $118 Million Guy Come From?: Rashard Lewis was not the primary focus for the Pistons coming into this series, but maybe he should have been. Lewis is hitting his groove in this series, averaging 24 points a game, including a career playoff high 33 points in Game 3. He's working it from the outside, driving the lane, getting rebounds, the whole nine yards. The Pistons probably assumed that they can accept Lewis' points as long as Turkoglu and Howard are kept down. But at some point, the Pistons need to get a clamp on him before he really gets going.

3. Big FAIL Man: Jason Maxiell: 0 points. Theo "Howard Stopper" Ratliff: 0 points. Antonio McDyess: 0 points. Dwight Howard: 20 points, 12 boards. Not exactly a stellar night for the boys in blue and red in Game 3. After shutting down Howard completely in Detroit, they let him off the mat in Game 3 and he responded. The Pistons are going to have to get more support from their back up big men if they want to try and neutralize Howard's effect on the game. They don't have to be the primary scorers, even, but combining for fewer rebounds than Howard had by himself is, shall we say, a regrettable performance that cannot be repeated if Detroit wants to place foot to throat heading back to Detroit.

4. Maybe He Just Flips A Coin: Maybe that's how Rasheed Wallace decides whether or not he wants to put any effort towards playing basketball. After terrific performances in Games 1 and 2, Wallace had 11 points and 4 rebounds and shot 4 for15 in Game 3. Perhaps it will stimulate him to actually have one of his big nights after the complete failure in Game 3. Then again, this Detroit team probably feels that there's no real urgent push with a 2-1 lead and homecourt advantage. Still, if they want to catch up on some shut-eye before the Conference Finals (and not allow another collapse like the last two years), they might want to think about pushing themselves.

5. How Sticky Is Stuckey: If Billups can't go, or if his minutes are limited, Rodney Stuckey will get the call again. Stuckey scored 19 in Game 3 in a surprising performance that mostly proves, despite Stuckey's considerable talent and upside, just how terrible the Magic's backcourt is. It's unlikely that he'll have the same kind of performance in Game 2, just based off his inexperience, but if he does, he could stem the Magic's tide of three pointers and help Detroit escape the Magic Kingdom with a commanding 3-1 lead.