The Pistons (37-40) will need to win almost every one of them if they are to improve their playoff seeding.

"We're running out of time," Pistons guard Rodney Stuckey said. "Each game that we play is crucial for us."

With so many games and so little time in between, practice will be a luxury.

"It seems like it's been that way for the longest (time)," Pistons coach Michael Curry said after Tuesday's two-hour practice. "We actually had one day last week where we got some practice in, and we got some in today."

While most teams look forward to having as much practice time as possible this time of year, Curry said Detroit's schedule might help the Pistons better prepare for the playoffs.

"We've had guys injured, so the games are good for us," he said. "We're able to get games in, try to get guys back into tip-top shape."

Rasheed Wallace is among the Pistons whose conditioning needs work. He recently returned to the lineup after missing 11 games because of a strained left calf injury.

Like Curry, Wallace said that having little time in between games is a plus.

"We can get fine-tuned. The guys on the bench can continue to come in and be a part of our success that we've had over the last few games," Wallace said.

Curry looks ahead

The mission for Detroit's coaching staff in the last days of the regular season is two-fold: prepare for each game and plan for potential first-round playoff opponents such as Cleveland, Boston or Orlando.

Although the Pistons will be an underdog, regardless of which team they face in the first round, Curry said he feels good about Detroit's chances of pulling off an upset.

"I just want to be as good as we can be going in," Curry said. "We've shown we're capable against all the teams."

The Pistons, having already beaten each of the NBA's division leaders this season, are 5-6 against the Eastern Conference's top three teams.

Part of Curry's confidence stems from his belief that those matchups play to Detroit's strengths.

"All the first-round possible candidates that we would play, all have bigs," he said. "Those are the teams that we played better against throughout the year."

Sheed proud Tar Heel

There was no Guaran-sheed made before North Carolina's win against Michigan State in the national championship Monday, but Former Tar Heel Wallace was not the least bit surprised at how easily North Carolina whipped the Spartans, 89-72.

"Once I saw that State beat UConn Saturday ... cake walk for us," said Wallace, who played two seasons at UNC. "I told everybody that we were going to be up a minimum 12 at the half (UNC had a 21-point halftime lead). But the only prediction I said that didn't come true, we didn't beat them by 25 or more. But we beat them by 17, 18, I'll take that. We're No. 1."