Blaming the Pistons' slow start on the pre-game festivities may be a convenient excuse, but it's probably an accurate one. The media's pre-game locker room access was shortened from the usual 45 minutes to just 10 because the team needed to move up a lot of their pre-game prep with five players needing to leave the team at 7pm to take part in the pre-game ceremony.

"I told our guys after the game, I said this is a very abnormal day, especially as far as athletes, whether it's pro, whether it's college, no matter what it is, you have certain things you do for preparation," said Saunders. "There's no question that it throws things off. I think it was pretty emotional as far as prior to the game. We lost Tay and Sheed, Chauncey, Rip, Lindsey – those guys left basically at seven o'clock, we basically didn't see, our guys didn't see them again until we started warming up 8:10. Things that you normally go through, how players prepare, going out to shoot and what they do before, those things [weren't] done."

The Pistons trailed by as many as 25 points, but a frantic finish in the fourth quarter by the bench closed the gap to just four by the final buzzer. Even though they didn't pull out the W, their energy in the final frame was just amazing. Saunders spoke highly of his second unit in his post-game comments, as did Rasheed Wallace.

"The bench, they did a good job tonight," said Wallace. "The veterans, we were telling them, that's pretty much playoff basketball right there, the way that they played, up tempo, high energy. Even though that they came up short tonight, we still gave them our kudos for what they went out there and did."

Walter Herrmann was a one-man wrecking crew in the fourth, and Amir Johnson had one of his better games of the season with 14 points (5 of 6 shooting) with nine boards, two blocks and two steals. "We were just trying to get back in the game," said Johnson. "Full-court press, and try to go for every trap and go for every steal. We were right there. We had so many opportunities to win the game, which was crazy."

That never-give-up attitude was perfectly exemplified with 1:30 left when the Knicks had a fast break with a three-on-one advantage. Johnson broke things up by staying in the paint, leading to one (or two, or three) too many passes back and forth by the Knicks before turning the ball over on a three-second violation. (In all my years watching basketball, that may have been the first time I've seen a fast break end with a three-second violation.)

Over in the other locker room, Isiah Thomas spoke a little bit about the loud ovation he received from the Detroit fans. "It is always kind of embarrassing to live with because we always looked at ourselves as a team and as a Pistons family. Anything that I ever did is because of the team. I'm thankful and I'm grateful and very appreciative of the way that I'm treated here."

Isiah addressed the crowd before the game and joked that he didn't know who would win between the old school Bad Boys and today's Pistons. Rasheed, though, was less bashful. "I think we could have got them. It would be a hell of a game. I'll tell you that. I'm not sure who would win – of course I'm going to say us – but damn, it would be a hell of a game. A hell of a game."

That's all for now. The Pistons travel to Philly tonight for a game against the 76ers tomorrow evening, while the Knicks return home to host the Bobcats.

Tonight's game must be like the Twilight Zone for the visiting New York media – the Palace is the perhaps the only arena in the entire league that will give both Isiah Thomas and Zach Randolph a rousing ovation, and that includes Madison Square Garden. (I have a sneaking suspicion I may have made this same observation the last time the Knicks visited Detroit, but it's still true ...)

In fact, Isiah may have received the loudest ovation of all of the members of the All-Time Team, or at the very least tied with Joe Dumars and Bill Laimbeer. No matter how much Thomas tarnishes his legacy outside of Detroit, he'll always be remembered fondly here.

As for the game itself, Saunders was correct in worrying that the pre-game ceremony might throw his team out of rhythm. The Knicks lead by 23 at the half. Wilson Chandler has 19 points alone, converting all eight of his attempts, including two from long distance and one from the free-throw line.

As for the Pistons, Rasheed Wallace and Juan Dixon are the only two guys who have tallied more than one attempt from the field. As a team they're shooting 28%, including 8.3% (1 for 12) from long distance. The Knicks, meanwhile, are trouncing Detroit's defense to the tune of 59% from the field. You don't need a courtside seat to know that's not going to get it done.

That's all for now – check back after the game for the rest of my thoughts from the Palace.

The Pistons host the Knicks tonight, but to be honest, the game almost seems secondary to some of the pre-game celebrations. The Pistons have been celebrating the team's 50th anniversary in metro Detroit all season long, and tonight they're announcing their All-Time Team, honoring 30 players from the past and present.

About 25 of those players are actually in the building tonight, from Dave Bing to Isiah Thomas (obviously) to Vinnie Johnson to Bob Lanier to, well, everyone. Former GM Jack McCloskey and coach Chuck Daly, the architect and field general of the Bad Boys era, respectively, are also here – I passed them in the hallway and had flashbacks to the fourth grade.

The Pistons are holding an on-court ceremony honoring all of the players before the game, and Flip Saunders acknowledged that his players would have to adjust their pre-game routine accordingly.

"For sure, this is not going to be a typical game," said Saunders. "Because, one, they're going to be out there, our guys will probably come out at 7:30 and watch the ceremony, so it's not like you're sitting in the locker room waiting for a game

"I think from our standpoint the one thing that is nice is that we are where we're at – we're locked in as far as the No. 2. ... I think that we'll still go out and play well because of the atmosphere of the game. And our main guys know they're going to play 20, 22 minutes and our guys off the bench know they're going to play 22 minutes, so I think all those guys are going to be focused knowing they're going to play."

As much as he's focused on the game at hand, Saunders is also excited to see all of the old timers like Bing and Lanier at the ceremony. "I'm actually excited about seeing it, because there's a lot of guys when I was growing up that were out there playing and you kind of idolize as far as growing up."

He also hopes some of his younger players will use the ceremony as a bit of a history lesson, helping them appreciate some of the players that came before them. "I think if you ask them, I don't think any of those guys know who Bailey Howell is," said Saunders. "It's like, if you talk to some of the young guys, go ask a kid on the streets if he knows who Boz Scaggs is. Probably doesn't know who he is. It's the same thing. Whether it's athletics, whether it's music, they're more in tune to their own [generation]. But like I said, I think when they go and they see and they hear about the things and they see them, it'll make a lot more [sense]."

Speaking just for me, I know the name Howell but not much about the player except that he's an all-time great. As for Scaggs, I had to hit up Wikipedia (He's a musician). Minor lineup note: Rip Hamilton is still out with a sore hip, Arron Afflalo is starting. That's all for now – check back at halftime for my thoughts on the actual game.