The Pistons modest, and longest of the season, two-game winning streak came to an end in a highly entertaining game in Atlanta on Wednesday.  Now Detroit welcomes the defending champion Heat to the Palace tonight as Miami is missing one of the “Big Three” due to suspension.

Dwayne Wade has been suspended for the game for this cheap shot on Ramon Sessions of the Charlotte Bobcats:

Luckily for the Pistons they now get to face the Heat minus one of their stars, but it should still be an uphill climb for the team.  LeBron has been playing out of his mind scoring at least 20 points in every game this season and I don’t see that streak ending tonight.

Detroit’s starters should be well rested even after the double overtime game on Wednesday as the second unit played a majority of the minutes.  The Pistons bench scored 85 points in the game, the most in the NBA since 1999, and forced overtime after being down 22 points in the fourth quarter.

Even without D-Wade I think the Heat will be able to handle the Pistons easily.  Detroit does have size inside that the Heat do not, but Monroe and Drummond can’t compete with Bosh, James and Ray Allen on the outside.

As the core of this team continues to improve games like this against the Miami’s of the NBA will only help to show how far the team has come, and how far they still need to grow.  Plus this game could be seen as an audition for guys like Tayshaun who could, and should, be moved at the trade deadline against good competition.