On December 23, 2005, in the home locker room of the Auburn Hills Palace Arena in Detroit, the Pistons, who had finished playing the game against the Warriors, did not leave after the game, but continued to stay in the locker room, watching the game between the Indiana Pacers and the Miami Heat on the television.

The Detroit Pistons have experienced a lot of turmoil this summer, first the thorn Ron Artest was sent to the West, in exchange for the same thorn Peja Stojakovic, and then the head coach Larry Brown resigned, although the Pistons reached the Finals last season, but they collapsed, coupled with the bad impact of the Auburn Hills palace mass assault on the Pistons, so as the head coach Larry Brown chose to resign, hoping to use his resignation to resolve all this.

After Larry Brown resigned, Philip Saunders, who was removed from the Timberwolves, took his place, and after Philip Saunders took over the Pistons, Peja Stojakovy, who coincided with the contract year, chose to give in, although in terms of defense, the gap between Peja Stojakovy and Ron Artest is very large, but he is significantly stronger than Ron Artest in off-ball running, air cutting, and shooting, Peja Stojakovy, Richard Hamilton, Chauncey Billups, The three outside players who can contribute an average of 20+ per game make the luxury of the Pistons' outside group drool.

Philip Saunders completely retained Larry Brown's original tactics, and only made slight improvements on the offensive end, so the Pistons after the coach change and trade, did not have any discomfort, and did not go through any run-ins to burst out of strong combat effectiveness, the Pistons have won 20 of the 25 games so far in the new season, and temporarily ranked first in the East with a 20-5 record.

Why temporary? Because the Pacers, who are currently behind the Pistons, are already in hot pursuit, the game that the Pistons are watching now, that is, the Pacers' away game against the Heat, will determine whether the Pistons continue to stay in the first place in the East or be kicked down by the Pacers.

As the dominant player in the East in recent seasons, the Pacers started the new season with a four-game losing streak, which was enough to surprise everyone, and then the voice of the Pacers was even more popular, but the Pacers' next performance made everyone realize that the Pacers were still the same Pacers.

From the Pacers' away victory over the Spurs, ending the four-game losing streak, the Pacers won 19 of the next 20 games, a wave of 12 consecutive wins, a wave of 7 consecutive wins, let the Pacers rise from the bottom of the East all the way to the second in the East, if the Pacers win away against the Heat today, then with the advantage of winning each other, the Pacers will surpass the Pistons and once again rank first in the East.

So after the game, the Pistons were all waiting in the locker room, waiting for the results of the game between the Pacers and the Heat, and as the game time became less and less, the faces of the Pistons became more and more ugly.

"The Heat lost." Philip Saunders, who attended the post-game press conference, returned to the locker room as soon as possible, but the miracle that Philip Saunders expected did not appear, 106-102, the Pacers defeated the Heat by 4 points, increased their winning streak to 8 games, and also surpassed the Pistons with a 20-5 record and ranked first in the East.

The playoff battle for several consecutive seasons, coupled with the group fight that broke out at Auburn Hills Palace, has made the relationship between the Pacers and the Pistons to the point of non-stop, and the last time the Pistons visited the Pacers, the two sides almost broke out again, so the Pistons are full of strength to compete with the Pacers this season.

"Our deficit is only temporary, the rest of the schedule is more favorable for us, and in a few days, we will be able to regain the first place in the East. Okay, it's not too early, let's all go back and rest, we're going to participate in the Christmas war this year. Seeing that the players under his command were all depressed, Philip Saunders as the head coach began to comfort them.

There are only two Christmas games this season, the Pistons at home against the Spurs, the Lakers at home against the Heat, one set against the two teams that reached the Finals last season, and the other group is the "OK" combination that has fallen apart.

Philip Saunders is right, the schedule for the next two weeks is very favorable to the Pistons, because they are going to participate in the Christmas game, the Pistons only have three games next week, and they are all Knicks, Raptors, Hornets and other fish belly, as for the Pacers, they have to go through two consecutive weeks and four games, six games, including the Nets, Suns, Nuggets, such a strong force, so in this race for the top spot in the East, the Pistons still seem to be in a favorable position for the time being.

Unlike the Pistons, who are staring at the Pacers, the Pacers' focus now is all on the Spurs, after talking to the locker room after the game with the Spurs, the Pacers have regained their fighting spirit, and there are new pursuits and goals, so the Pacers are paying special attention to the defending champion, the first Spurs in the league this season, after all, there are only a few teams in this league that can pose a threat to the Pacers, and among these teams, the Spurs are the strongest, So the Pacers have been keeping an eye on the Spurs all the time.

"Spurs have won again, and they're still two wins ahead of us." As soon as he walked into the locker room, Meng Xu heard the Spurs' game tonight, the away Spurs beat the Raptors by 22 points, Tim Duncan only played 30 minutes, and he cut down 29 points, 15 rebounds, and 8 assists, and Chris Bosh, who was pinned on by the Raptors management and even sent away Vince Carter for him, was like a child in front of Tim Duncan, shooting 4 of 16 from the field, scoring only 9 points and 7 rebounds.

"Looks like we're going to have to work harder." The Pacers have only one goal this season, that is, the championship, and in order to have home-court advantage in the playoffs and the Finals, the Pacers must get the first record in the league, and the Pacers' main opponent Spurs are now in such a hot state, so the Pacers naturally have to work harder, and they can't fall out in advance.

Thanks to the boy in the black and white shirt for a reward, thank you.