'Nasty News - Traversing Time & Space' Vol: 68

[nasty daddy]

http://www.detroitnews.com/article/2010 ... his-chance

Super sub
Jason Maxiell has thrived starting in place of the injured Ben Wallace. Maxiell's last five games before Tuesday:
Date Opponent Performance
March 13 Atlanta 19 points, 6 rebounds
March 15 Boston 11 points, 10 rebounds
March 16 Cleveland 10 points, 15 rebounds
March 19 Indiana 10 points, 5 rebounds
March 21 Cleveland 16 points, 9 rebounds

[nasty daddy]

http://www.detroitnews.com/article/2010 ... his-chance

Worthy candidate
Jonas Jerebko might not be rookie of the year, but he merits consideration. His ranking among league rookies:
Category Avg. Rank
Points 9.3 9th
Rebounds 5.9 3rd
Blocks 0.4 4th
Steals 0.9 8th
Minutes 27.3 5th

[nasty daddy]

http://www.detroitnews.com/article/2010 ... his-chance

Near the bottom
One look at the NBA statistics shows you how ineffective the Pistons have been on offense:
Category Avg. Rank
Points 93.4 29th
Shooting % 44.3 27th
Free-throw % 71.9 30th
Assists 19.0 27th

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http://apps.detnews.com/apps/blogs/pist ... logid=2039

Rough season
I wasn't sure this was going to be a playoff team when the season began. But I definitely thought they'd be near the final playoff spot. Still, I had no reason to think the season would go down the toilet as it has. Blame the injuries, and it's a truly legitimate excuse. But I'm beginning to wonder if things would have been that much better had everyone stayed healthy. I'm not so sure anymore. This roster is just too flawed.

[nasty daddy]

http://twitter.com/detroit_pistons

DetNews: Wizards' Andray Blatche refuses to play after squabble with coach Flip Saunders: It's the last thing a ... http://twurl.nl/56tg05

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http://twitter.com/detroit_pistons

DetNews: Ted Kulfan: Pistons' Jason Maxiell making most of his chance: Ben Wallace wasn't around, and who knew w... http://twurl.nl/eqclgs

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http://twitter.com/detroit_pistons

DetNews: Pacers 98, Pistons 83: Playoff chances officially finished: Getting swept by the Cavaliers is understan... http://twurl.nl/xep4ej

[nasty daddy]

http://www.pistonpowered.com/2010/03/pi ... exception/

Pistons are toast, and John Kuester should have to watch until the bitter end – plus Dumars will use mid-level exception
John Kuester deserves to be fined for what he did last night. Late in the third quarter, Ben Gordon swung his elbows to clear space and may have hit A.J. Price. Gordon was called for an offensive foul – hardly a big deal. Kuester went off the deep end, screaming at the official who made the call. Then storming to other end of the court, he went after another official and was ejected. When asked about the incident after the game, Kuester paused before trying to put the words together. “It was.. I was…,” he mumbled. He talked about the foul difference in the game and how Price flopped.* The league probably won’t take kindly to those comments. But that’s not why I think he should be fined. Kuester got out of watching the rest of the game. Good for him. But I want him to pay. If the rest of us have to suffer through the end of this season, so should he. No early exits. *Kuester also said Gordon’s offensive foul took away the Pistons’ momentum. I knew things had gotten low this year, but I didn’t realize it’s so bad the 5-0 run the Pacers were on, which expanded their lead to 11, when the foul occurred counts as momentum for Detroit.

The Pistons lost, 98-83 – and it was only that close because the Pacers are terrible. With Ben Wallace out, Detroit doesn’t have the players or fire to even compete with lottery teams. I wish I could say the players should give full effort no matter what – like Tayshaun Prince, who had 14 points, nine rebounds and six assists. He’s seemingly gone back to the robot-like player who can do a little bit of everything as long as you don’t ask him to do too much. He just puts his head, doesn’t think about his role and does his job. For the most part, I like players who think and share their feelings. But I prefer this Prince. When Prince thinks and shares his feelings, he’s been a malcontent and distracted by criticism. I don’t want him shut his brain off all the time, but it might serve him best to do it around basketball. But he’s the exception. How can these players not be worn down by this season? It stinks. A lot of this team is used to winning, and this isn’t easy to deal with. It shouldn’t be easy to deal with.

I can’t take much more, either. I don’t want to hear George Blaha getting excited about the Pistons cutting a 16-point deficit to 11 or calling it a huge possession down 11 later in the game. I understand it’s job, and I don’t begrudge him, but it’s annoying – especially after he’s had to say similar things all season. Before this game, Chris Iott of Mlive wrote: If the Pistons cannot muster enough energy and effort to beat the Pacers, it means they have waved the white flag. I’m not one for putting too much stock into a single game. But I’m ready to surrender, too. Let’s get past these final 11 games as quickly as we can.

[nasty daddy]

http://www.pistonpowered.com/2010/03/pi ... exception/

Joe Dumars plans to use mid-level exception
Here’s the real news of the night: Joe Dumars said in an interview with Eli Zaret that aired during tonight’s telecast he plans to use the mid-level exception this summer to acquire a quality player.

I was worried with the economy down in the area, coupled with his desire to sign Will Bynum, that Dumars wouldn’t use the MLE this year. Thankfully, it’s in the cards.

Dumars also said he plans to acquire a quality player through the draft and another via trade (which indicates he’s not looking to dump Richard Hamilton for an expiring contract – at least not as the only deal of the summer). That’s a plan I can get behind.

[nasty daddy]

http://twitter.com/detroit_pistons

Freep: MSU makes the Elite Eight!: Well, technically, not yet. But it's a foregone conclusion that Northern Iowa -... http://bit.ly/cxYw3l

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http://twitter.com/detroit_pistons

Freep: Injuries ultimately hurt Pistons' playoff hopes: Although it was apparent awhile ago that the Pistons would... http://bit.ly/9ZVzsm

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http://twitter.com/detroit_pistons

Freep: Frustrated Kuester barks at official, gets ejected: After pregame comments in which Pistons coach John Kues... http://bit.ly/aJP4Gb

[nasty daddy]

http://twitter.com/detroit_pistons

Freep: Piston notes and quotes: What happened: In a pretty lifeless performance, the Pistons were thumped again by... http://bit.ly/crUs6P

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http://www.freep.com/article/20100324/S ... lite-Eight

Cleaves off the air
Former Spartan and Piston Mateen Cleaves did not appear on the air as an FSD studio analyst for Tuesday night's Pistons-Pacers game, and his postgame online chat with fans was canceled. The Genesee County sheriff's department says Cleaves was arrested on suspicion of drunken driving Saturday in Mt. Morris Township and jailed in Flint, then released. Cleaves played at Flint Northern High.

Cleaves, captain of MSU's 2000 NCAA championship team, joined FSD this month. He worked two Pistons games (March 12 vs. Washington and Sunday vs. Cleveland, the night after his arrest). His role with FSD is being re-evaluated, said network spokesman Tim Bryant.

Cleaves' lawyer Frank Manley told the Flint Journal his client drove because of an emergency involving his son. He says Cleaves knows he's a role model and hopes people reserve judgment until more facts come out.

[nasty daddy]

http://www.freep.com/article/20100324/S ... ts-ejected

Frustrated Kuester barks at official, gets ejected
After pregame comments in which Pistons coach John Kuester said he felt he had a playoff team in the beginning, the first-year coach's frustrations boiled over during another loss to the Pacers -- somewhat symbolic of a season in which the Pistons are anything but a playoff team. In the third quarter of Tuesday night's 98-83 loss at the Palace, Kuester was quickly ejected for arguing an offensive call that went against Ben Gordon, so he wasn't around to watch his team fall to 23-48 after eight consecutive playoff appearances.

But he was around afterward to talk of how he always will fight for his team. "I'll tell you this, I thought our team was fighting, and I want to fight for them," Kuester said. "That's the way I look at it. "I look at that group, and they were trying to battle. It's tough when things get called a different way, and that's where it's frustrating. You look at the play, and I said, 'Come on, there's no need to make that call.' There were other calls that upset me, but this is part of the NBA."

At 1:02 of the third quarter, and the Pistons trailing, 75-64, Gordon, being guarded by A.J. Price, swung the ball around to create some space and lightly struck Price in the face with an elbow. Official Mark Ayotte immediately called an offensive foul, and Kuester was livid. He charged Ayotte near midcourt and was hit with a technical foul, and after a few choice words, Ayotte ended Kuester's night. "That is what we expected," Gordon said. "Guys are out there trying to fight back, trying to stay in the game, and it just seemed like we couldn't get anything going our way, so I completely understand his frustration." But that call had nothing to do with the Pistons' loss, as they put on a pretty lifeless performance in front of a crowd that didn't seem to have enough energy to boo.

[nasty daddy]

http://www.freep.com/article/20100324/S ... yoff-hopes

Injuries ultimately hurt Pistons' playoff hopes
Although it was apparent awhile ago that the Pistons wouldn't make the postseason, it became official Monday night. After making the playoffs for eight consecutive seasons, Pistons players will be headed home when the season concludes April 14 at Minnesota. A season that began with a resounding victory at Memphis on opening night quickly became a nightmare for first-year coach John Kuester as 124 times players have been unable to play because of injuries entering Tuesday night's game against the Pacers.

But Kuester remembers a great training camp and how his team performed that first game and still has no doubt about the Pistons' direction -- a playoff spot. "There was no question in my mind what direction we were headed," Kuester said. "The reality of everything is what it is, and we have to move forward and make sure we put our best foot forward in these last 12. "But I always say, 'What is the biggest thing on a team that wants to be a champion?' To me, you know what that is? Health."

The injury bug hit that opening night, when Rip Hamilton suffered a severely sprained ankle. Others followed him to the injury list. "You stay healthy throughout a year, you got a chance," Kuester said. "That's the biggest thing you get into a season itself, the teams that pretty much give themselves a chance to win a championship, pretty much stay healthy." The team has other issues. It has been mostly at full strength in the second half of the season, but the Pistons never recovered from the injury-filled beginning.

[nasty daddy]

http://www.freep.com/article/20100324/S ... yoff-hopes

NOTEBOOK: Ben Wallace (sore knees) didn't play against the Pacers, and Kuester didn't rule out that fans might have seen the last of Wallace this season.

"I'm quite sure he's going to make sure he feels 100% if he comes back again," Kuester said.

[nasty daddy]

http://www.freep.com/article/20100324/S ... and-quotes

Piston notes and quotes
What happened: In a pretty lifeless performance, the Pistons were thumped again by the Pacers, one of the worst teams in the league, along with the Pistons. The Pacers finished 4-0 in the season series against the Pistons. Tayshaun Prince led Detroit with 14 points, nine rebounds and six assists.

[nasty daddy]

http://www.freep.com/article/20100324/S ... and-quotes

The big number: 43 -- three-pointers by the Pacers against the Pistons this season. They nailed 12 on Tuesday.

[nasty daddy]

http://www.freep.com/article/20100324/S ... and-quotes

The other side: Danny Granger bludgeoned the Pistons for 32 points, and Brandon Rush, who looks like an All-Star against the Pistons, scored 20 points on 7-for-9 shooting.