| Away | Home | ||
| Miami | Detroit | ||
| Heat | Pistons | ||
| 48-22 | Record | 25-45 | |
| (5th of 30) 110.9 | Off Rtg | 107.0 (16th of 30) | |
| (5th of 30) 103.2 | Def Rtg | 111.7 (28th of 30) | |
| (19th of 30) 91.0 | Pace | 88.8 (29th of 30) | |
| Likely Starters | |||
| Mike Bibby | PG | Tracy McGrady | |
| Dwyane Wade | SG | Rip Hamilton | |
| LeBron James | SF | Tayshaun Prince | |
| Chris Bosh | PF | Greg Monroe | |
| Zydrunas Ilgauskas | C | Ben Wallace | |
| Mike Miller | 6th | Gordon/Stuckey | |
| Matchup Series 3-0 | |||
| The Palace of Auburn Hills | |||
| 7:30 PM EST | |||
| Sun Sports / 790 AM | |||
| Injury Report: | |||
| Heat: Haslem (indef), Chalmers (2 wks), Ilgauskas (doubtful) | |||
| Pistons: Jerebko, White (out indef) | |||
Quick Game Notes:
- Detroit has been a team in disarray all season, but victories over the Mavericks, Celtics, Magic and Hawks this season have shown what their array of firepower can do when all their pieces are in full harmony. Miami leads the series 3-0, having beat the Pistons in convincing fashion twice and surviving one in the absence of Wade and Bosh, overcome in the clutch by Eddie House's free throws.
- The Road to the Top: Anyone who can say they predicted the Chicago Bulls at the top of the Eastern Conference is what we call a liar. Chicago currently leads the Eastern Conference standings, ahead of the Celtics by 0.5 games with the Heat trailing by 3.0 games. The prestigious top spot is crucial in the resistance to the Conference Finals, with the 2nd or 3rd seed having to face each other in the 2nd round if they both win their 1st round series, respectively. Basically, if playoffs started today the Heat would face the Sixers followed by the Celtics-Knicks winner. The Bulls would face the Pacers, followed by the Magic-Hawks winner. Out of the Bulls 12 remaining games, half are against .500 teams. The Celtics on the other hand, have 7 of their next 12 versus winning teams.