Saturday’s “Battle of the Suck”, between Indiana and Detroit, resulted in a rare win for Detroit, although an unwelcome one at this point. Come on, let’s get us a decent draft pick here.

However, Ricky Johnson, via a Yahoo contributed story, believed differently:

Really, did anyone truly believe that the Indiana Pacers were going to defeat the Detroit Pistons? I understand that the Pacers are running a better record and season, but that is just mere coincidence and time and chance. As a fan that has been watching Detroit for a long time, Saturday’s night game on March 26, 2011, went pretty much exactly how I expected it to go.

[...]

The Pacers are a decent team, and played fairly well. What is lacking is, well, talent. They could also use a little more hunger and vision for where they want to be. Until then, maybe they will have better fortune in the next game (I doubt it).

Why? Because winning season-opening road games is never easy, even when it’s against the (slightly-improved) Nets. And for most of the 4th quarter, I thought we had it.

• A 13-3 run in the last 1:40 of the game. The last 1:40 of the game is an extremely bad time to allow a 13-3 run, and it’s a shame we had to re-learn that lesson on opening night.
• Avery Johnson got his first win as Nets coach – and it came against a team that wanted him badly ($$ but not THAT badly $$) a year ago.
• Very evenly-distributed scoring sheet for the Pistons. Rodney, Tay, and Chuck all pitching in with 14 points, and Jason, Will, Ben Gordon, and Rip all had between 10 and 13 points. I think that they’ve successfully pointed out that, like every other season, there will be no dominating superstar this year.
• T-Mac only notched 14 minutes and had a few boards and assists. He didn’t score, going 0-3 from the field. Is this a sign of things to come? I sure hope not!
• Something good: only 6 turnovers for Detroit.
• Whether it was good defense or a poorly-designed inbounding play, Stuckey ended up taking the last desperation shot to force overtime. When Rodney has to shoot a heavily-defended jumper, it usually doesn’t end well.
• Props to the CV/BG Huskie squad for hitting some clutch jumpers down the stretch. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough.
• Keep telling yourself — it’s only the first game, it’s only the first game. That’s what I’ve been doing.

Quote of the day:

“It’s very, very frustrating. To be up 7 with 1:40 to go is frustrating. We have to close out the game. We had the game in our hands and we didn’t do the little things to pull it out.”

-Charlie Villanueva

From mlive:

Tracy McGrady may not have been the only big-name veteran the Detroit Pistons pursued this summer.

Shaquille O’Neal said during a recent interview with the New Orleans Times Picayune that he had an opportunity to sign with the Pistons before settling for a contract for the veteran’s minimum with the Boston Celtics.

“I could have gotten $8 million from Atlanta and Detroit, but it wasn’t about that,” O’Neal told the newspaper. “It was about being somewhere and being seen and winning.”

O’Neal said the two-year contract he signed with the Celtics — worth about $3 million — will be his last.

He was not clear about whether the $8 million figure he cited was for a single season or multiple seasons, but the Pistons did not have $8 million available to sign a player for one year this offseason.

“A lot of people said I only got the league minimum salary, but that’s all right,” O’Neal said. “I’m the luckiest guy in the world.”

O’Neal averaged 12.0 points and 6.7 rebounds in 53 games with Cleveland last season. He has averaged 24.1 points and 11.0 rebounds for five teams during his 18-year NBA career.

Pretty good deal, if you ask me (you are asking me, right?).

There’s been a lot of negative chatter on the efficiency of this move, but from one Dumars critic to another, I’m just not buying much of it. Offer McGrady anything above the veteran’s minimum, and my tone might be a bit different. The truth is, the Pistons are gambling pocket change for a guy who just might stay healthy/keep a positive attitude this time. If he turns into a drama queen in December, dump him. If he’s having back spasms by January, then he’ll probably retire. But the Pistons lost next to nothing in the process.

I’m thinking of it as a low-risk, low-to-mid-reward scenario, if that makes sense. If Rip doesn’t get traded, then he’ll make an efficient backup at the two or three. Keep him healthy, and he’ll probably upstage Tayshaun on a regular basis. But the “but” lies therein – McGrady comes with the dubious health. Curse those knees/legs/back!

Enter Arnie Kander . . . result: optimistically unknown.

So far now, I have faith in T-Mac. He comes with a fraction of the baggage that Iverson came with, and we’re not swapping anybody important, or potentially important for him. In fact, we’re not swiping anybody at all. If there’s any has-been superstar that has the lowest amount of team-related risk attached to him, I’d say it’s Tracy McGrady.

Now let’s get a damn big man already.

Sadly, the most exciting waiver wire tidbit is that Brad Miller is still available for the time being. While I am (admittedly) not the biggest Dumars supporter lately, his silence during free agency is understood. Take a look at this summer’s free agency signings and you’ll get it. If the Darko Milicic and Amir Johnson “bargains” weren’t enough, Tyrus Thomas just landed a 5-year, $40 million deal with the Bobcats. With cash like that flying around, I’d rather Joe stand his ground.

In true Tayshaun fashion, Austin Daye is beefing up. Packing an extra 15 pounds, low post position should be a bit easier to establish for the 6’11″-er. No complaints here.

Ben Gordon has been spending some time practice-scouting the Vegas summer league lately. Not sure how I feel about someone who has 8+ years left in the NBA attending front office “seminars,” but if he wants to get started early, more power to him I suppose.

Speaking of Vegas, Jamie Samuelsen doesn’t think the Pistons will be moving there. He makes a good point about the Palace Sports & Entertainment empire, referring to the Pistons as the “crown jewel.” Also:

This is a glorious basketball community with a large, loyal group of fans. And there are three pretty big car companies here that seem to be heading in the right direction. Turning your back on that wouldn’t be the best business decision.

DBB links this: Joe Dumars noted as #24 on a list of the top NBA GMs (out of 30). Agree or disagree? PistonPowered disagrees.

From freep.com:

Free agent big man Ben Wallace has agreed to a two-year deal at $1.9 million per season to remain with the Pistons. The Pistons will use their bi-annual exception on Wallace.

The deal still isn’t official but is expected to be completed later this week. Wallace, 35, told the Associated Press that he agreed to the deal earlier this week after being contacted by several teams. It became apparent late in the season that despite the Pistons’ woeful 27-55 record, Wallace would return. He had fun last season after several injury-marred campaigns.

Wallace was a mainstay on the 2004 world championship team, and he has been named Defensive Player of the Year four times.

Wallace said he’s confident he’s not coming back to a losing team.

“When we’re healthy, we’re pretty good,” he said. “If we stay healthy and improve, I think we’ll be able to compete.”

The Pistons are holding off on Will Bynum – As Vince Ellis points out, I’m on the fence about the strategy here. When Darko is getting paid $5 million a year, there’s no telling what kind of crazy offer could come Will’s way.

Add Amir Johnson to the list of hilariously ridiculous contracts – 5-year, $34 million. No, that’s not a typo. Almost $7 million a year for a guy who averaged 6 points and 5 boards a game and can’t stay out of foul trouble for more than 3 minutes.

LeBron and Wade are still talking to people – Why do these “summits” even make the headlines anymore?

Dirk is staying with the Mavs – No surprise here. And for the bargain bin price of $20,000,000 a year!

Amare is close to signing with the Knicks – Stoudemire has talent, don’t get me wrong, but he has never seemed like max contract material to me (especially without Nash). He’ll be a perfect fit with the Knicks when he’s getting $5-7 million more every season than he should be.

Still no retirement update from Sheed – And Boston isn’t interested anymore. Could this mean Wallace x2 could be back in full veteran’s minimum force? Joke.

———————————————————->

Now that that’s out of the way…

Where the Pistons stand: As you probably know, the signings of Ben Gordon and Chuck Villy last summer leave much to be desired in the way of this summer’s cap room. The biggest possibilities for Detroit right now seem to be Brendan Haywood and Raymond Felton. I like the potential of adding a quality big man like Haywood, especially with the arrival of Greg Monroe and the likely departure of Kwame Brown, and eventually, Big Ben. Raymond Felton? Ehh, not so much. I’m not sure if Dumars still has the “sacred cow” approach to Rodney Stuckey, but he’s our point guard for the foreseeable future. Felton would require too high of a paycheck for a backup, so I don’t see it happening.

Rip and Tayshaun? Personally, I think Rip is as good as traded but Tay stays. Rip’s departure would fully allow Ben Gordon to gain valuable minutes at the 2, and hopefully we could see some of the same solidarity we saw during 2009 Bulls vs. Celtics. Rip’s consistency would surely be missed, but Ben Gordon is the Pistons SG future now. Not to mention, getting rid of Hamilton’s hefty $12 million contract would open the door for a quality mid-level big man that could further strengthen the Pistons’ frontcourt…

While 2009 and early 2010 left my faith in Tayshaun Prince on empty, his return after that streak-snapping injury has been extremely promising. Because of the nauseating amount of Pistons that were injured, Tayshaun put the burden on his shoulders and genuinely looked like star material for a while. If Kuester (we still have the same coach?!) starts designing more plays for Tay, his productivity and confidence would surely follow.

Regarding the LeBron soap opera: I’m putting my chips on the Nets. On the surface, the guy seems so Hollywood (as Hollywood as Newark can get) that he would follow best bud Jay-Z and the youthful, risk-taking Mikhail Prokhorov instead of considering the Heat or Bulls to some championship jewelry. Prokhorov’s “billionaire/global icon” pitch may just be what James was waiting for. Uncertain as his Kremlin-injected past is, the Prokhorov is a sports marketing genius.

Wake-up call: As outlandish as this opinion may be, I firmly believe that NBA players are overpaid. If you thought shelling out $4 million on Kwame Brown last season was a joke, try looking at the fat new contracts of Rudy Gay, Drew Gooden, and Darko Milicic. 1.) When I saw that Gay agreed on a 5-year, $81.2 million contract with Memphis, I nearly lost consciousness. I thought an ESPN.com writer had gone rogue until I saw it on Yahoo Sports too. Rudy Gay isn’t much more than a pure scorer whom has little concept of team play – he may be young and his talent may be rising, but I can’t see the “Iverson factor” ever coming out of him. MSRP: $5-years, $50 million. 2.) Milwaukee extended their gracious pocketbook to Drew Gooden by agreeing to a 5-year, $32 million contract. Gooden is a solid rebounder, but Ben Wallace averaged a full rebound more per game, all on a veteran’s minimum salary. Roller-coaster scoring doesn’t add much value either. MSRP: 3-years, $16 million. 3.) Unless Darko is rage-scoring against the Pistons every game, I doubt he’ll produce $16 million $20 million of worth over the next four years. Not to say he couldn’t potentially be worth that, but teams just don’t play him enough. MSRP: 2 years, $5.5 million. At $4 million a season, at least Joe Dumars only signed Kwame Brown for one season.

Dirk Nowitzki: He’s not going anywhere. Flip-flopping on that “I want to retire a Maverick” speech? Unthinkable.

All of this in the first 24 hours! Stay tuned for more stories of abnormally large contracts and free agency hi-jinks galore…

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So, it is with a putrid combination of basketball misery and hockey/baseball optimism that I present the top five reasons to support the Wings and Tigers while the Pistons play golf and pray for a high lottery pick.

5. Pavel Datsyuk, Henrik Zetterburg and…Todd Bertuzzi? Wings fans have come to expect Datsyuks’s magic and Zetterburg’s wit over the past few years, but who would have ever guessed 35-year-old Bertuzzi would have 17 goals and 25 assists at this point? Tossed aside by the league and its fans, Todd is playing like he has something to prove. And that’s a good thing.

4. Maggs. There’s a lot of buzz going on that the career of Magglio Ordonez is creeping to an end, judging from an unmistakable hit, HR, and RBI fallout in 2009. He had a late stat hike last season, and is undoubtedly looking to silence his critics.

3. Justin Verlander and Rick Porcello. Verlander is on everyone’s Top 10 starting pitcher’s list and Porcello had 14 wins in his rookie season. In Monday’s Grapefruit game against the Blue Jays, Porcello threw a no-hitter through six innings. It may be spring training, but pitching that well is a good sign any time of the year.

2. The NHL Playoffs. At 39-23-13 with 91 points, the Wings have all but solidified their playoff spot in the West. Going 8-1-1 in their last 10, Detroit is hitting their stride late and has somehow managed to crawl up to the 6th conference seed. If momentum in sports is real, few teams have as much of it going into the postseason.

1. Jimmy’s time has come. Gone are the times of Osgood, Conklin, and Hasek. Now, after spending four years with the Grand Rapids Griffins, Jimmy Howard has cemented himself as one of the most exciting up-and-coming goalies in the nation (and Canada). The big question: how will he mind the net when playoff mentality comes barreling toward him?

First: last night’s game between against the Cavs was despicable. Not in relation to how the Pistons played (surprisingly), but how the sickening officiating robbed Detroit of a blood-sweat-and-tears kind of win. A Ben-less Pistons team that turned up every ounce of their game, made all the right runs at all the right times, and had an answer to everything Cleveland threw at them — except the refs.

If you watched the game (or had the misfortune of attending it), you know exactly what I’m talking about. The media-anointed King of Basketball and Not Winning Championships got every single call. We’re talking Heat-Mavericks 2006 Finals Dwyane Wade calls here. Three hilarious whistles still come to mind, and I’m writing this over 12 hours after the game ended.

1.) An intentional foul by Tayshaun at the top of the key to force James to make a couple free throws instead of putting Tay on a juxtaposition-filled poster. Smart play right? Well yes, if the refs did chirp in favor of the continuation rule after LeBron took at least three full strides and made an uncontested layup. Why settle for free throws when fledgling ref Kane Fitzgerald can give you a three-point play? Ya done well Kane, ya done well. You may now kiss Mr. Stern’s ring and sit in his favor.

2.) The crunch-time, come-from-behind “block” on Will Bynum’s layup that had already hit the backboard. How can Will Bynum AND 90% of the fans in the Palace scream bloody goaltend, but the zebras right under the basket turn a blind eye? Lookin’ good for home-court advantage, Cleveland!

3.) This is an oldie but a goodie: the LeBron James offensive foul. The whole world knows by now that James’ favorite basketball tactic is to bowl through a team’s entire defense in one quick flash of ‘roid rage. The victim of this particular charge was Kwame Brown, someone who takes a good bit of force to knock down.  Think Jordan pushed off a lot? Give him the body of a linebacker and then see what happens.

George Blaha, a rare critic of NBA officiating, said it best with roughly 50 seconds left in the game, when it was already out of reach. Jason Maxiell was blatantly slapped on the arm by Mo Williams (who then split into an ego-induced frenzy) after going up for a layup. Blaha after hearing the whistle: “Finally, finally, FINALLY, the Pistons get a call.”

Other rants: Why did Mo Williams have to turn to the dark side? I used to respect the Williams-Redd duo in Milwaukee, and Mo’s game hasn’t improved since then. Yet he acts like he runs the team, celebrating wide-open threes like game-winning contested jumpers. I could hit those shots if I was that open after King Hippo (minus boxing gloves) gets triple-teamed. I feel for the ego of Antawn Jamison, who somehow managed to be on the same squad with Gilbert Arenas and DeShawn Stevenson and not turn into a complete ass. LeBron’s cockiness spreads like swine flu on that team (see Daniel Gibson, Delonte West). Rodney Stuckey puts up better numbers than Williams without a superstar, but you don’t see him prancing down the court laughing at the crowd (see previous sentence).

And the pregame rituals (photo op, home run derby, etc.)? They’re absolutely ridiculous. I wouldn’t be surprised if the majority of Cleveland fans thinks they’re outrageously stupid. If the Pistons started doing pregame drama class skits, I would probably shut down my blog and light my Pistons memorabilia on fire.

Also, Anderson Varejao is pretty unnerving, but I think I’ve covered that thing enough through the years.

Congratulations Cleveland, you’ve replaced the Celtics as the most hated team in the NBA. Don’t you go jersey-popping on me now.

As of now, the best update I have is the Pistons Twitter (and ESPN) saying that they believe Rodney had some sort of seizure on the bench. Seeing him grasping Arnie Kander was incredibly scary and sombering, as anyone who was watching will surely agree with me. All I can think of is watching Jiri Fischer collapse on the Wings’ bench, a memory which still seems all too recent.

Thankfully, as of the latest update, Rodney is conscious and breathing on his own. I’m sure he’s undergoing a number of tests and we can only hope that there aren’t any serious underlying causes. Huge props to the Cavaliers for joining with the Pistons for a postgame prayer, hopefully fans and viewers around the country joined them.

I’ll keep checking around the internet and keep you updated on any new information.

–

UPDATE: This completely slipped my mind, but Rodney “dropped to his knees” with dizziness last season following a halftime buzzer.

–

UPDATE: According to a Yahoo (AP) article, Rodney did not have a seizure, but instead had another severe dizziness/fainting episode like before. As of now, he is alert and talking, which is great news…let’s hope more good news is on the way.

West Starters

Chris Paul. Continues to play out the dictionary definition of “point guard”. Leads the league with 11.1 assists per game, right on par with his recent career numbers. I have a gut feeling this won’t be his last All-Star Game.

Kobe Bryant. This is an easy one. Two phrases: “top of the West” and “championship”. And I’m not even a Lakers fan.

Carmelo Anthony. This guy is scoring up a storm, and in a hurry. The rise of the Class of 2003 continues.

Kevin Durant. Second-highest point total in the league behind James, so I did a little tweaking and made Durant the skinniest All-Star power forward ever.

Dirk Nowitzki. Another no-brainer. Just imagine how royally screwed the Mavs would be without Dirk taking insane, off-balance jumpers (while he’s falling down) in the clutch.

West Reserves

Steve Nash. He’s suddenly reverted to his 28-year-old MVP self and shows no signs of age whatsoever. Not to mention, he’s fun to watch (when the Suns are on national TV every other night).

Chauncey Billups. Sorry, Deron Williams. As incredibly valuable as Williams is to the Jazz, this is about a players value to their squad. Billups turned the Nuggets around, and now they sit comfortably at the 2-spot in the West.

Tyreke Evans. The taboo of rookies in All-Star Games needs to be demolished ASAP. Evans is averaging 21/5/5 in season one? Kevin Martin better start shopping around.

Brandon Roy. Runs the Blazers, and the Blazers are good. Every comment can’t be a zinger.

Tim Duncan. How do you stop a pinpoint-accurate bank shot and someone that just pulled down 27 rebounds? You don’t.

Carlos Boozer. He’s averaging 19&11 and continues to quietly dominate the Western Conference defensive picture.

Chris Kaman. Chris has deserved to attend at least a few All-Star weekends, and this is one of them. He is on the Clippers, which definitely hurts his chances, but his selfless, ultra-efficient play makes him the David Lee of the West.

West Head Coach

Rick Carlisle. I like George Karl, but it seems the Nuggets rise to power was solely based on the Billups trade. My heart told me to pick Mark Cuban, though.

East Starters

Rajon Rondo. Considering the staggering quality of point guards in the West, it’s pretty sad that it was this easy to choose Rondo. He leads the East in assists and steals, making him a quick pick.

Dwyane Wade. One of the NBA’s top five scorers, and continues to get more and more comfortable making big plays, whether he’s shooting the ball or not.

LeBron James.Good luck not seeing him in the All-Star Game for the next 46 years. He’s the face of the NBA, has biceps the size of my car, and plays fun make-believe camera games with Mo Williams every time he dunks on somebody. In all seriousness though, the guy is legit.

Chris Bosh. Bosh is a beast. 24 points and 11.5 rebounds per game? Game over.

Dwight Howard. His scoring numbers are down around 15% from last year, but his rebounding and inhuman amount of double-doubles is what gets him in.

East Reserves

Derrick Rose. Not many stand-out point guards in the East, but he’s one of them.

Joe Johnson. A solid point guard and the primary reason the Hawks are doing so well. Jamal Crawford didn’t hurt either.

Danny Granger. If the Pacers were decent and the media focused on more talent than James and Bryant, the world would come to see the real Danny Granger. I would pay so much to see Melo vs. Granger, but that’s beside the point.

Andre Igoudala. More well-rounded and prominent that Al Horford. Despite the garbage record, Igoudala is hardly one of the reasons for it.

Gerald Wallace. He should be here much more often, but unfortunately cannot get past his injuries sometimes.

Stephen Jackson. Captain Jack is back, and what the…the Bobcats are good?

Zach Randolph. Not sure if he was reverse-inspired by Allen Iverson’s short stint with the Grizzlies, but he has shockingly evolved into somewhat of a team player.

East Head Coach

Mike Woodson. The Hawks rose from the ashes this season and sit as a threat to the East throne.

Close, but no Sterngar:

Monta Ellis. Great player, but pretty one-dimensional. Oh yeah, and David Stern hates him, so good luck with that one, buddy.

Deron Williams. See Chauncey Billups.

Aaron Brooks. In the absemce of “you-know-who” and “you-know-who”, Brooks has stepped up tremendously. Had he posted higher assist numbers, he would have easily made the reserves.

Rodney Stuckey. Had to through this one in. His (often-present) drive has helped the Pistons avoid becoming the Detroit Nets.

Adam Debrowski is the owner and editor of the Detroit Pistons blog pistonpost.com.

Scoring like it’s his job: Rodney Stuckey was out of control last night, and the Celts absolutely could not top him. As much as I hate seeing Stuckey take jump shots, they seemed to be falling this time. When he wasn’t dropping those, he had the jets on and his sights on the bucket. Rodney was born to drive to the hole, let’s hope he keeps doing it. 10 rebounds from your point guard is always good too.

Just goes to show: When Sheed is motivated, he’s still got it. He wanted to put on a show at the Palace and he did: 16 points, 7 boards, 3 steals, and a block in his Auburn Hills reuniting. However, his performance was overshadowed by the spectacular clutch shooting of our own Charlie Villanueva.

Bynum and Gordon: Get healthy already! Judging by how much Rip is being forced to handle the ball (eight turnovers last night), we need all the backcourt we can get. Rip is a pure shooter, and can’t be relied on to get the ball around the court.

17 points in the 1st quarter: However, Pierce only finished with 21 points on the night. I never understood how things like that we possible. One of the great mysteries of the NBA, I suppose.

No more Daye homonyms: Despite my awful Sheed wordplay in the title. Austin Daye finished with eight rebounds and eight points, three of them coming from a key buzzer three-ball in the waning seconds of halftime. Pretty good numbers for the little fella. Regardless, if I see “Sunny Daye” or “What a beautiful Daye” in one more Detroit media piece, I’m not reading another daye.

Holy Amir Johnson, Batman: Is it just me, or do the refs have a mission to put Jonas Jerebko into foul trouble the second he walks on the court? I think I agreed with one of his five fouls, and at least two of them were to the point of being laughable. Like guarding Paul Pierce isn’t hard enough (especially for a rookie).

Pistons for sale: If you haven’t already caught my link to the AP write-up on Karen Davidson’s Pistons yard sale, check out another great piece from the Oakland Press here.

Another Blaha gem: “Well, if you know Rasheed and you don’t like him, then you don’t like people.”

From Yahoo! Sports:

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. (AP)—The Detroit Pistons might be for sale.

“The options are being explored,” Pistons owner Karen Davidson said Wednesday night after the first quarter of a game against the Boston Celtics.

Her husband, Bill Davidson, died last year. The late owner known as “Mr. D” helped the Pistons win NBA titles in 1989, 1990 and 2004.

He had said during an interview before his enshrinement into the Basketball Hall of Fame that a succession plan was in place to keep the team in the family and it would not be sold

“The Pistons won’t be for sale,” Davidson told The Associated Press in 2008.

Forbes valued the Pistons at $479 million last month.

Karen Davidson told reporters the team could be sold by itself or as part of a package with Palace Sports and Entertainment, which includes The Palace of Auburn Hills, DTE Energy Music Theatre and Meadow Brook Music Festival.

The Red Wings chose not to renew their lease, which expires June 30, at Joe Louis Arena in downtown Detroit and that has fueled theories on where they will play in the future.

“As we have said, we are working with the City of Detroit to develop a new lease for Joe Louis Arena,” Ilitch Holdings Inc. spokeswoman Karen Cullen said Wednesday. “We are not going to discuss our negotiations or respond to speculation on this topic.”

Davidson said she has not talked to the Mike Ilitch family, which owns the Red Wings, about having the NHL team play future home games at The Palace, adding she was sure there have been talks between the organizations.

She joked with reporters at halftime that there is an ice rink under the court, referring to the surface the Detroit Vipers played on when they were in the International Hockey League.

Associated Press Writer David N. Goodman in Detroit contributed to this report.

So what happens now? Detroit has officially matched the infamous season-ending losing streak of ’94, and is doubtfully looking to surpass it. The good news – they have to lose to the Wizards to get there. That’s right, the firearm-brandishing jesters that have plagued sports headlines for the past two weeks. If the Pistons can catch the Wiz offguard somewhere between lawyer meetings and talking with the popo, they might just be able to bury this filthy streak once and for all.

Also, the Wizards are down to eight players as of Monday’s shootaround.

Back to last night’s spank job*. Jerebko was good, Rip and Wilcox okay, everyone else was just about terrible as usual. Daye had a decent stat line, but they were garbage minutes so don’t dwell on the numbers too much.

Villanueva went 1-for-10 on the night, continuing his own personal streak of holding on to the ball for the same amount of time had it been on fire. I think I might dub him Charlie “Park Ball” Villanueva.

Also, has this team ever heard of perimeter defense? I think John Salmons made all of his four three-pointers with the nearest Piston lounging at least 15 feet away from him. They had the same problem in Dallas, except that game was actually winnable. This was, in my mind, the only way the sub-.500 Bulls won by such a ridiculous amount of points.

Not much else to say, I guess. The Pistons are indeed bad, but the NBA odds might just be in their favor in Washington. But I’m sure they’ll find a way to lose by 30.

-Adam

*The term “spank job” is likely the sole property of Fred McLeod, ex-Pistons announcer galore. No infringement intended.

Play some freaking defense. I’m sure all of you have been shouting some profane version of this at your TV screens like I have, and we have every right to. It’s exactly what was in the back of many a mind when Joe put all his chips on Gordon and Villanueva, and it’s become a reality. Apart from streaks of defensive decency, neither of them are a threat whatsoever. Charlie, who usually gets 30-ish minutes, hasn’t recorded double-digit rebounds since mid-November. Oh yeah, and pretty much every other player (except Wallace and Jerebko) looks terrible too.

Shake up the roster (again). There’s nothing consistent about the Pistons’ frontcourt right now, and when a team loses 12 in a row, changes need to be made (see Lawrence Frank). Al Jefferson was allegedly offered to the Pacers in exchange for Danny Granger, and while we have no players that are quite Granger-esque, I’m sure Joe could come up with some type of Jason Maxiell/Tayshaun Prince concoction. Kuester needs someone he can dump the ball to in the post for an easy two. Villanueva is the closest thing Detroit has to that, and he’s hardly a rough-and-tough deep post player.

We need to see more Jerebko and Wilcox. Jerebko has averaged less than 10 minutes in the past three games. 10 minutes a game for someone who, in his rookie season, has averaged Tayshaun numbers for the past two months. If this is some sort of experiment, I don’t think it’s a very good one. Chris Wilcox has also been overly efficient with his [little] playing time (leads the team in FG%) and needs to be in the game more. Wilcox played ~30 minutes a game for years with the Sonics and averaged roughly 14 & 8, there’s no reason why he should be reserved for garbage time.

John Kuester needs to make better decisions in the clutch. This is just a single bitter pill. Villanueva, who was absolutely on fire when the Pistons were in Dallas, was on the bench when Detroit needed a three to tie the game. Stuckey nearly airballed it and all Charlie could do was watch. Why?

Let’s hope all of the mysteries are solved tonight in Chicago. Until then, PLEASE NOT 13 IN A ROWWWWW!!

-Adam

I will resume pistonpost.com posts in the second week of Janurary.

Happy holidays and Go Pistons!

-Ben Wallace

(explanation)

Oh yeah, and guess who the Sixers play not after Iverson’s debut? You guessed it, the Pistons.

Iverson signed a free-agent contract with Philadelphia on Wednesday, three years after their acrimonious split led to his trade and seemingly ended any chance of his return. Iverson’s brief retirement is over and he’s expected to make his debut Monday at home against Denver.

The Sixers needed a replacement once they lost starting point guard Lou Williams, who’s expected to miss eight weeks after jaw surgery. Williams, who averaged 17.4 points and 5.1 assists, broke his jaw in a loss to Washington on Nov. 24.

Iverson, his agent and business manager met with team president Ed Stefanski, coach Eddie Jordan and two other members of the organization Monday to talk about returning.

“Without really seeing him on the floor, I would like to compare him to Brett Favre, a guy who people think is too old to play and he’s almost having an MVP year,” Jordan said. “That’s off the top of my head. When I woke up this morning, I said, ‘Maybe he can be that.’ It’s not a big maybe. I think he can be that.” (Y!)

Villanueva updated the world Sunday with a Twitter posting: “Surgery tomorrow, wish me luck, I will send a tweet during surgery, lol, the mask is on its way, lets go.”

Villanueva suffered the broken nose during the Pistons’ 94-88 victory over the visiting Hawks on Sunday, a win that snapped a seven-game losing steak.

It happened when he was fouled by Atlanta’s Zaza Pachulia on a drive to the basket with 9:30 left. As he was falling, Villanueva’s face appeared to hit near the hip of teammate Ben Wallace.

Villanueva’s nose started bleeding profusely. Trainers slowed the bleeding just enough so Villanueva could make the two free throws. He then went to the locker room and didn’t return. (DFP)

After being T’d up for arguing a Hedo Turkoglu flop, Sheed was fined $30,000 for this spewing this outrageously humorous statement:

“They’ve got to know that he’s a (darn) flopper. That’s all Turkododo do. Flopping shouldn’t get you nowhere. He acts like I shot him. That’s not basketball, man. That’s not defense. That’s garbage, what it is. I’m glad I don’t have too much of it left.” (DFP)

“Turkododo” acting like he’s been shot? I lol’d.

•Historically, from what I can remember, the Pistons are horrible in Sunday afternoon games. To have this game be the one that snaps the streak is big.

•I’m surprised the Pistons aren’t doing worse, considering 95% of their team is injured in some way or another.

•Charlie broke his nose – story of the month for Detroit. Can’t wait to see if he sports a Rip mask better than Bill Laimbeer.

•Not enough can be said about Big Ben. He’s still a sellout in my mind, but the tenacity he’s showing at his age is incredible. Without his 11 offensive rebounds, the outcome of this game would be a different story.

•Stuckey. Solid.

•The Mad Swede continues to dominate with his temporary starting position. This guy is producing more than Tayshaun used to at this point. The more Jerebko continues to improve, the more open I become to Tay getting traded away.

•Josh Smith had five blocks, a couple above his average. Watching him swat shots is a thing of beauty.

•Chucky got a starting spot, but didn’t do much with the time, going 1-7 and finishing with 2 points. Why did we give away Arron Afflalo again?

Link

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. (AP)—A small fire kept Detroit Pistons fans from watching most of the second half of Friday’s 104-96 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers.

The fire filled a production truck with smoke during the second half and the live feed was lost for the rest of the game. No one was hurt.

Viewers saw the feed from the arena’s scoreboard once a connection with Palace of Auburn Hills was made, but the FSN Detroit live cast never came back.

Play-by-play man George Blaha, who narrated the final minutes of the game over the scoreboard feed, informed viewers of the incident.

Vince Ellis/DFP:

For now, the remedy is rest for the ruptured disc in Tayshaun Prince’s back, but possible surgery to correct the problem hasn’t been ruled out.

The team announced after Saturday’s practice that the seven-year veteran will be out indefinitely because of the back injury that ended his streak of 436 consecutive starts with Tuesday’s home game against the Magic.

The Pistons realized the seriousness of the problem Tuesday and he underwent treatment immediately to help ease the problem. His back responded at first and felt better, but things haven’t gotten better since.

So Prince is continuing treatment and he isn’t expected back in the foreseeable future.

Former Piston Rick Mahorn suffered a similar injury in the preseason of the 1987-88 season and it caused him to miss two weeks in March of that season. He eventually had surgery that July and recovered in time for training camp the following season.

]]> http://pistonpost.com/sheed-grows-in-ben-wallaces-image/feed/ 5 http://pistonpost.com/upcoming-pistons-season-impossible-to-predict/ http://pistonpost.com/upcoming-pistons-season-impossible-to-predict/#comments Wed, 21 Oct 2009 00:14:06 +0000 Adam http://pistonpost.com/?p=930 For the past two seasons, I have run a Detroit Pistons blog, and for the past two seasons, I have done season previews prior to the regular season tip-off.

This year, I admitted my defeat.

I tried to come up with something, anything, even if my preview was a little short compared to seasons past. I just flat-out couldn’t do it. That’s how outrageously different this year’s team is.

I tried to start out with the easy stuff: focusing on the returners. But not even the “sure things” are sure things anymore.

We used to be able to bank on Rip Hamilton dropping 20 a night, but nobody can predict what effect Ben Gordon will have on those numbers. Tayshaun Prince was usually reliable too, but Joe Dumars drafted three guys who could all realistically affect Prince’s playing time.

How those rookies will evolve this season adds to the season’s mystique even more. From what I’ve seen at Open Practice and the select few preseason games that weren’t blacked out, Austin Daye has the collectiveness of a veteran. Whether that transfers into the regular season remains to be seen and, of course, is impossible to predict.

Some returning Pistons are even giving other returning Pistons a run for their money. Somewhere between April and the present day, Will Bynum decided he was going to break out of his shell. He’s turning into an Iverson-type that Iverson never was, as far as Detroit is concerned. This could affect Rodney Stuckey. If that happens, how will Gordon and Hamilton be affected in the backcourt? It’s nothing short of a blogger’s nightmare.

But don’t forget about Charlie Villanueva and Chris Wilcox. They were both extremely efficient big men on their previous teams, but how will they add up with all the aforementioned factors? There’s no Rasheed Wallace anymore, and that leaves a gaping hole in everything the Pistons used to be.

So what’s it going to be? Will they make a decent title run deep into the playoffs or will they stumble into an utter chemistry meltdown?

To be honest, your guess is as good as mine.

Also found at The Western Herald

New poll on the right side of the page —->

…Got an idea for the next poll? Post it in the comments!

•Grand Rapids = A bit of revenge for Flip Saunders. Wish it wouldn’t have been blacked out.

•Jonas Jerebko gave Antawn Jamison a run for his money. Vince Ellis is rooting for him — and so am I for what it’s worth. Had a chance to interview him after open practice, he’s a good guy.

•Will Bynum has the most popular number in NBA history.

•The Cavs are all getting the flu now, let’s hope the virus doesn’t make its way around the lake.

•Looks like Stephen Jackson has replaced Allen Iverson as the NBA’s version of Brett Favre. Matt Barnes thinks he has four years left.

•Seeing this brings a tear to my eye. A sad tear.

•If you’re a drummer or a middle-aged fat guy, audition for the Pistons.

If you want in, drop me an e-mail at pistonpost@gmail.com with the e-mail address you want the invitation sent to.

Like I said, only 8 more available spots. Of course, this is 100% free — first come, first served!

The complete Detroit Pistons team is gathered near the scorer’s table. Each player wears a blue or white practice jersey with their numbers printed on both sides.

With a basketball in his hand, backup guard Will Bynum steps out of the group and firmly plants his feet just outside the right wing. He glances upward, then heaves the ball 25 feet into the Palace air. Thousands of fans watch, each one standing and momentarily silent. Bynum takes off running. The ball lands near the free throw line and bounces back up above the rim.

Bynum, all 6 feet of him, gathers and jumps – the No. 12 on his jersey almost touching the front of the rim. He grabs the ball, cocks it back with one hand and viciously slams it into the basket.

The crowd erupts; sounds of awe and stunned expletives resonate through the stands for a good 60 seconds following the dunk. And this wasn’t even planned.
The impromptu dunk contest was one of the highlights of the Pistons’ Open Practice at the Palace of Auburn Hills Saturday.

Not only did the practice provide fans with an expense-free opportunity to see NBA players in the flesh, but it also delivered a chance to see the “new-look” Pistons in action.

“The people who don’t get a chance to see us during the regular season get a chance to see us firsthand for free,” said Chris Wilcox, a former Thunder big man who signed with Detroit in July. “It’s a good way to give back to the community.”

“It’s fun to have the fans here watching what we do every day,” said rookie forward Jonas Jerebko, who took part in his first Open Practice Saturday.
“They can see a little bit of [our] personalities. It was a fun time having the fans watch us practice.”

The event, which is held during or slightly before the preseason every year, has been held at Oakland University for the past two years, but was moved back to the Palace this year. In addition to free parking and admission, hot dogs and Coke were also provided free of charge. A Pistons “garage sale” was also held in the Palace’s West Atrium, where fans could find clearance merchandise from Pistons past. Everything from basketballs signed by Rasheed Wallace to game-worn Antonio McDyess practice jerseys to autographed photos of Corliss Williamson were up for grabs.

Even a used pair of Walter Herrmann’s size 15 shoes was available for purchase.
As unique and interactive as Open Practice was for the fans in attendance, new head coach John Kuester took a moment prior to practice to stress the importance of what the team was doing.

“We have a game tomorrow at six. In that short amount of time, we need to get a lot of things done,” Kuester said over the Palace sound system.
“This is a practice day for us. I know it’s an open practice, but it’s also a practice day where we’ve got to get better.”

The fact that it was still a real practice became evident when Kwame Brown took a shot to the face during a half court drill. Brown left the floor with trainer Mike Abdenour at his side and a bloody towel at his nose. Although he returned 10 minutes later, the incident was a public reminder that on the professional level, even practices can be painful.

Before the drills, the players went through a lengthy stretching regimen, which Kuester and Assistant Coach Pat Sullivan spoke of as a key component to every practice. The stretches were followed by various offensive and defensive segments, a fast break drill, and two 10-minute scrimmages.

The team was split into a blue team and a white team for the scrimmages, one team coached by Sullivan and the other by assistant coach Darrell Walker. Rodney Stuckey led all scorers with 10 points as the white team won 28-22. Kwame Brown and Will Bynum each finished with six points.

Charlie Villanueva, who is recovering from a minor hamstring injury, was the only player who did not take part in the scrimmages.

The games gave fans a rare opportunity to see Pistons play Pistons, as well as a tiny glimpse into what the team will look like come regular season time.

“As the season goes on, other players will have to pick it up,” Kuester said afterward.
“We have a ways to go, but I’m really pleased with the energy and effort our big players have given us so far. In time, I think we have a chance to be a very good defensive team.”

The replacement referees caused confusion in the first quarter of the Pistons’ 113-104 preseason win over the Milwaukee Bucks Wednesday night. Ersan Ilyasova was fouled while shooting a jumper and awarded two free throws. During the next timeout, more than 90 seconds later, the officials decided he had been taking a 3-pointer, and gave him another shot.He made it, but Prince pointed out that the error was only correctable within 24 seconds, so the point was taken away from Milwaukee.”I told him that they couldn’t change it after five minutes or whatever it was, and he said ‘yeah, you’re right,’” Prince said. “Then I had to remind him to tell the scorer’s table to take it back off the board.” (ESPN)

I think it’s a little much the way this has been blown out of proportion. There’s a reason the word replacement falls in front of their titles. Plus, this is preseason. It must’ve been quite a slow news day for this to make it to the #4 spot in ESPN’s top NBA headlines.

Back to the game:

•I loooove seeing all those 20′s in the Points column and a W to go with them. Stuckey, Gordon, and Bynum combined to score 60% of Detroit’s points (while all shooting over 50% FG). 23-26 at the line. From all the horrid memories the phrase “small ball” brings back from last year, seeing that score makes me a bit more optimistic.

•I can only hope that Kwame Brown’s effectiveness translates into the regular season. If he keeps this up, he should pan out to be a solid 10&10 player, which is far from what he was last year. It almost seems like he has motivation for once, for whatever reason that is (Big Ben?). But then again, Chucky V hasn’t played yet.

•Ben Gordon has disgusting hops.

•20 turnovers – not so good. But it’s early and it could be worse.

•Austin Daye is like a skinny Tyson Chandler. Interpret that how you will.

•Not enough Jerebko or Summers. This is preseason basketball, rooks should be playing more than eight minutes.

•Big Ben didn’t put up quite the same numbers he did Monday, but they weren’t really that far off par from what I would expect.

If you post a comment now, you should have no problems whatsoever. In the rare occasion that you do, please let me know ASAP via the “Contact” tab near the top of the page.

Part of me loves the interview because it’s essentially a Curry bash. Part of me wants to throw my monitor against the wall, seeing how Iverson has become the NBA’s Brett Favre, at the expense of our fine basketball club.

The highlight of the interview, for me, was when Iverson said coming off the bench was “the worst year of [his] career.” So coming off the bench for a few games is worse for your career than being signed by a team that notched all of 24 wins last season? If you didn’t already know what Iverson’s priorities were, you do now.

I’ll do everyone a favor and highlight some of the gems:

“If you are a head coach and you feel strongly about this, what would make you think that I want to be around these guys?”

“I’d never been on a team where a coach told me the guys gave up on me. You know what I mean?”

“… I don’t have [anything] bad to say about the organization, especially Joe [Dumars]. I never had a problem with Joe. He’s a stand-up person that I have love for and respect. He was not part of any of the problems I had in Detroit.” [...] “But for [the coach] to tell me these things and for him to go back on his word like that, it was the hardest and the roughest season I’ve ever had.”

Full text here

The rule bans Twitter, Facebook, and just about anything classified as a “social networking site.”

Marc Stein writes:

The league has defined “during games” as the period of time beginning 45 minutes before the opening tip and ending “after the postgame locker room is open to the media and coaches and players have first fulfilled their obligation to be available to media attending the game.”

“During games” also encompasses halftime, according to the memo, but the new guidelines do allow players to engage in social networking during the pregame media ccess period that starts 90 minutes before tipoff and lasts for 45 minutes.

Stein even mentioned Charlie directly (well, how could he not?):

Corresponding guidelines in the NBA have been anticipated for weeks, largely because of the stir caused late last season when Detroit Pistons forward Charlie Villanueva, then with Milwaukee, tweeted from the Bucks’ locker room during halftime. Before his first practice with the Pistons this week, he proudly referred to the forthcoming guidelines as the “Villanueva Rule.”

If you want in, drop me an e-mail at pistonpost@gmail.com with the subject line “Fantasy” and the e-mail address you want the invitation sent to.

Like I said, only 15 more available spots. First come, first served! Don’t miss out on six months of relentless head-to-head fantasy basketball!

The circumstances are sad (in regards to JR), but Arron Afflalo will likely be allowed to take advantage of them.

Afflalo is the favorite to start in Smith’s spot during his suspension, according to the Denver Post.

The loss of Dahntay Jones and Linas Kleiza left a pretty damn big gap in the Nuggets rotation, especially defensively. Guess who fit right in? Our own Mr. Afflalo, who Karl practically picked up by saying ‘please’ with those big puppy eyes of his.

If you were with me earlier this summer, you may recall my “Please Joe, don’t give Arron away” rant that was posted about three hours prior to Afflalo’s departure. And wouldn’t ya know it, but everyone in Denver just loves the kid.

In almost a sick, twisted reversal of fortune, George Karl raves about Arron, calling him “tremendous” and saying that “the coaching staff loves him.” And of course, Chauncey had to throw his two cents in too, just to make it sting a little more.

Ugh, more depressing news from the Piston Post. I’ve gotta start popping Prozacs before I post or something.

The next post will be a happy one, I promise.

A few memorable quotes from yesterday’s chat (in order of appearance, [some] have no particular relevance):

•Jonas Jerebko on why he chose the number 33: “because my 3 other numbers where not available.. first 11..then 32…the 21.. so i went with 33.. looks good and larry had it..”

•Deron Washington on his free throw ability: “Its much better now summer league was a bump in the road”

•On the same boat, Kwame Brown on what he’s been working on this summer: “free throws free throws and free throws lol”

•Maceo Baston on his top NBA experience: “i enjoyed my first stint in indiana the most with rick carlisle”

•Chucky Atkins when asked about the status of his 3-point shot [by yours truly]: “The Long ball is better than ever! i ve had a great summer and had a lot of practice after 2yrs of injuries so its feel good”

•My personal favorite – Chris Wilcox on why he chose the #9 jersey: “maxiell has 54 so i just added it up”

•Ryan Pretzer: “Let me say, Rip is rocking a mohawk and it looks fantastic. I hope he keeps it and you all get a chance to see it.”

I hope he’s right, since we never “officially” got to see Rip’s Leonidas beard in action last season.

•Jason Maxiell when asked if he lost weight during the offseason: “nope not really i was really busy and when i went to Africa i didnt eat a thing but when i came back to the states i ate for days lol”

•Will Bynum: “i worked on my shot alot and my body i lost 15 pounds from last year to become quicker and jump higher and defend harder for long periods of time and i watched tons of film”

Wait…a Will Bynum that’s even quicker and has more hops? Now that’s frightening. In a good way.

•Charlie Villanueva on the subject of Twitter: “well i have to respect the rules, but if i had it my way, tweet at halftime ”

I can’t tell you how much I respect seeing a 6’11″ NBA star making a little emoticon.

The full chat log can be found on Pistons.com.

When the most exciting news of the past month (besides some no-name team giving AI 2mil above the vet minimum) has been Brian Skinner getting moved around like Quentin Richardson, it’s never a good sign.

Sooo…uh, I’m back. You probably won’t need to check back for a while.

Sincerest apologies for the lack of posts as of late, I’m out of town for a few weeks. Don’t lose hope though! “Business as usual” will resume on September 5th.

See you then!

Fans of other teams can point to Detroit and chuckle, catapulting comments regarding Ben Gordon and Charlie Villanueva and how that combination will rarely improve a team’s championship odds.

Perhaps, in that aspect, they would be right.

However, as the 2009 postseason action comes to a close, the most publicized moves may prove to be some of the least crucial.

Often times, sports media does not know best. What you see on the front page of ESPN’s website is not often the information that will prove most valuable.

Exhibit A: Chris Wilcox. When Detroit signed Wilcox, it was nothing more than a two-paragraph piece on some ticker page tucked away in the bowels of every sports website out there. I rarely saw praise for the dunker who can, unlike Jason Maxiell, do more than dunk.

Exhibit B: DaJuan Summers. Overshadowed by columnist chatter on how weak Austin Daye was, the Pistons’ second draft pick, got lost somewhere along the way. I never noticed mention of how Summers could lead to a shift in Detroit’s frontcourt. How he was like Tayshaun Prince, except a bigger, faster powerhouse.

When the dust settled, the Gordon/Villanueva signing turned out to be a bit of a debacle. Yes, I think Joe Dumars jumped the gun. Yes, I think both of their contracts are too long. And yes, I think Gordon is 95 percent Allen Iverson. But they will help this team, especially in the “here and now.”

It’s the moves that were not as widely publicized – the Wilcox signing, the Summers draft pick, the Herrmann departure, and the Afflalo trade – that may end up having the biggest impact on the future of the Detroit Pistons.

-Adam Debrowski

Article also published at The Western Herald

This time, when I heard that they had signed Chris Wilcox Saturday night, I didn’t have much to complain about.

The main reason was the contract length. Detroit inked Wilcox for two years at $3 million per season. Not only is this a bargain for a big man of his caliber, but if Wilcox can’t pick up his quality of play, he’ll be gone faster than a Pistons’ coach. What if Villanueva or Gordon slump? We’re stuck with ‘em.

Wilcox is also a big upgrade from Amir Johnson. Johnson was a foul machine who couldn’t have two consistent games in a row to save his life. Similar to Johnson, Wilcox presents himself as a forward-center tweener (is there any Piston that isn’t a tweener?) with more of a focus on power over finesse. However, unlike Amir, Wilcox has averaged around 14 points and eight boards a game for three of the past four seasons.

A lot of people are undermining Wilcox’s ability due to his sub par 2008-2009 season, which he spent with the Thunder and the Knicks. I don’t think that his numbers were relative to his skill, considering his minutes plummeted in Oklahoma City, then plummeted even further when he traveled to New York.

Considering Charlie Villanueva will likely start at power forward, I like Wilcox over Kwame Brown at center. Brown, like Amir Johnson, has also shown a lack of consistency and continues to be a non-impact player (although he has the potential to be). If Wilcox can get back on his game, the starting spot will be a no-brainer and this could turn into one heck of a free agency steal for Detroit.

Article also located at Herald Sports

Until then, here’s an open thread for everything Wilcox. Consider it a test run of my new “thumbs up thumbs down” comment rating system.

Respect.

PS – If you’re the RSS update type (which I highly recommend), add our live feed here.

Portland is still trying to pry Tayshaun Prince out of Detroit in a three-way deal with Utah, but Pistons president Joe Dumars hasn’t shown an inclination to move Prince and extend Boozer’s contract, league sources say. Several league executives are dubious of Boozer as a $14 million-a-year player, which his agent, Rob Pelinka, has told teams it will take to sign him to an extension. Miami could be the suitor willing to pay it.

-Yahoo Sports

The Denver Post reported Sunday that the Nuggets and Pistons were arranging a deal that would send the Pistons’ Arron Afflalo to Denver to clear cap space, which brings me to my first point.

Afflalo’s paycheck this coming season would total all of $1.09 million. In the sports world, that’s pocket change. Not even pocket change. Walter Sharpe nearly gets paid that much, and the only time fans usually see him is during timeouts, where he can be spotted in the second row donning his finest designer suit.

What Afflalo brings to the Pistons is rare. He brings a work ethic, he brings backcourt defense, and he brings an ever-improving jump shot. The front office is always talking about how important a positive attitude and hard work is to becoming a contender, so why would they think about getting rid of the one guy that does those things best?

The answer: there is none.

Like so many puzzling moves the Pistons have made over the past five years, there’s a good chance this will become the latest cherry on top of the team’s Cupcake of Confusion.

Part of the disarray lies in Dumars’ fear of commitment: six coaches in ten years, letting valuable free agents go, and, in Arron Afflalo’s case, ousting young guys before they can come to fruition.

Ironically, that fear of commitment was briefly overlooked when he signed Ben Gordon and Charlie Villanueva to respective five-year contracts. The contract lengths were head-scratchers, due to their streakiness and poor defense.

Newly-hired Pistons coach John Kuester, who was an assistant to Larry Brown, has already stated that he wants to emphasize defense. How many players on the current Pistons roster can boast about their defense? Two or three, tops.

Why not lock up 1/58th of your cap space on a player who meshes with Kuester’s system perfectly?

Joe only knows…

Also found at The Western Herald.

It sounded like, “All day! All day!” as a fan screamed from the stands at the Thomas & Mack Center in the first game of the second day of action at the NBA Summer League on Saturday.

He was really yelling, “All Daye!” as in Austin Daye, Detroit’s first-round draft pick. The “e” in his name may be silent, but his game certainly is not.

It literally was all Daye as the 6-foot-11 forward selected No. 15 out of Gonzaga played all 40 minutes for the Pistons (after playing just 19 minutes on Friday), tying fellow rookie DaJuan Summers for the team lead in points with 19 and also swiping eight rebounds.

“He has a chance to be a real nice basketball player,” Pistons summer league head coach Darrell Walker said. “That’s going to come with age and Arnie [Kander].”

Kander is Detroit’s legendary strength and conditioning coach charged with bulking up the lithe 200-pound Daye the same way he helped pad the frame of Tayshaun Prince when he entered the league in 2002.

Daye is the latest summer league participant to be scrutinized for his skinniness. Last summer it was Golden State’s Anthony Randolph. Two years ago it was Oklahoma City’s Kevin Durant. Instead of questioning his weight, Daye left the packed gym marveling at his length. Standing nearly 7-foot with an even longer wingspan, Daye is the type of guy who can scratch his shins without bending his knees.

Daye, whose father Darren played for the Celtics in the ‘80s, credited his dad for stressing the importance of his all-around game even after he grew from a 6-foot-2 point guard as a freshman in high school to the sky scraper he is now.