Toronto Upstages Detroit's Youth Movement

The Raptors beat the Pistons on Friday ... or at the very least, the Pistons' bench. After Detroit clinched the top seed in the East on Wednesday, they opted to give all of their starters a lot of rest. Chauncey Billups didn't even dress as a precaution after taking a knee to the thigh late in Wednesday's game, and none of the other regular starters played more than 28 minutes. Instead, the team decided to live or die with their young reserves (including D-League sensation Amir Johnson) down the stretch.

The Raptors, on the other hand, fought for this game just like they have any other game this season since they still have at least a chance at securing the second seed in the East. They used all of their key players in the fourth, outscoring Detroit 29-15 in the fourth while re-taking the lead after trailing for most of the game.

Even so, after the game Toronto's media recognized that it may have been a different story had the Pistons taken the game a bit more seriously. From Dave Perkins in the Toronto Star:

Let's get way ahead of ourselves and dream that the Raptors might meet the Pistons again this season. That could be possible only in the NBA Eastern Conference final and if the Raps ever get there, what happened last night – what has happened for the past five years, probably – will be long forgotten.

I hate to be the one to point it out to Dave, but his entire lede needs to be scrapped -- the Raptors and Pistons most certainly will meet one more time this season, since they play this coming Tuesday in Detroit. It's not quite as melodramatic, I know, but that's another game that the Raps might be able to sneak away with assuming Flip Saunders remains dedicated to resting his starters for the playoffs.