'Nasty News - Traversing Time & Space' Vol: 54

[nasty daddy]

http://www.nba.com/pistons/news/DETMEM_ ... uotes.html

Grizzlies Forward Zach Randolph
On the loss: “It got away on defense. We have to play defense. If we don’t play defense, we’re going to be like this every night. We can score with the best of them. Everybody can score the ball on this team. We need to get stops.”

On the Pistons: “I’ll give Detroit credit. Richard (Hamilton) and Ben (Gordon) were on fire tonight and made tough shots. It’s a tough night; we’re real disappointed. We need to do what we’ve been doing. We’ve worked so hard this preseason. This isn’t a two-game season. We need to win Friday and win on the road.”

[nasty daddy]

http://www.nba.com/pistons/news/DETMEM_ ... uotes.html

Grizzlies Forward Rudy Gay
On the loss: “We were making it too easy on them. We weren’t attacking. We didn’t move the basketball around. We didn’t come out like we were supposed to. We didn’t stick to our principles and they exploited that. You have to put forth effort. We didn’t do it tonight.”

On the team’s youth: “I am not going to use that as a crutch. We are a young team, but we have had a whole preseason and a camp just like they did. They are a young team and so are we.”
On the Pistons’ shooting: “They hit a lot of tough shots, but we have to make it tougher for them.”

On moving forward: “Although we didn’t come out like we wanted to, we have another chance on Friday. All we can do is use this as an example and try to play Friday like we were supposed to today.”

[nasty daddy]

http://www.nba.com/pistons/photogallery ... 028_1.html

Pistons vs Memphis Photo Gallery

Pictures in the link above^.

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http://www.detroitnews.com/article/2009 ... er--115-93

Heat roll past Knicks in opener, 115-93
Dwyane Wade knows they all won't be this easy. Wade began defense of his NBA scoring title with 26 points, Jermaine O'Neal finished with 22 points and 12 rebounds, and the Miami Heat opened with a 115-93 win over the New York Knicks on Wednesday night.

New starting power forward Michael Beasley scored 21 for Miami, which made 26 of 31 shots in a staggering 20-minute stretch spanning the second and third quarters, turning a close game into a blowout.

David Lee scored 22 points and grabbed nine rebounds for New York. Danilo Gallinari added 22 off the bench for the Knicks, who were 10 of 39 from 3-point range.

[nasty daddy]

http://www.detroitnews.com/article/2009 ... am-to-beat

Celtics are East's team to beat
The Celtics beat the Cavaliers, 95-89, on Opening Night ... and believe it or not, it was a benchmark game.

The reason? The Celtics regained their rightful perch as the best team in the Eastern Conference. And they did it with a superior bench.

Sure, the Big Three (Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen and Paul Pierce) remain important, but the reserves (including new additions Rasheed Wallace and Marquis Daniels) carried the game. "They took us out of a lot of our sets that we have been working on in practice," LeBron James, who had 38 points, told reporters after the game. "They made us get into a lot of hot situations, meaning late (shot) clock and into a lot of one-on-one basketball." The Celtics will only get better.

[nasty daddy]

http://www.detroitnews.com/article/2009 ... am-to-beat

Hardwood artist
We keep hearing that having James go to a larger market -- Los Angeles or New York? -- would be good for the NBA.

But Commissioner David Stern said he hopes James remains in Cleveland after he becomes a free agent after this year. Stern also said James is the best player "to descend on this planet." Maybe not.

Michael Jordan is better. "He's a great kid and a great player," Stern told the Cleveland Plain Dealer. "Michael might dispute that, but he's got a lot of canvas yet which to paint. And I have no doubt the picture is going to beautiful."

[nasty daddy]

http://www.detroitnews.com/article/2009 ... am-to-beat

New York's frame of mind
TNT analyst Charles Barkley accused the Knicks of tanking two seasons in order to sign James next summer.

He might be right.

"I don't think there is any way this can be good for your team," Barkley told the New York Daily News. "They are not going to win because those guys know their not going to be here next year. To expect them to give 110 percent is unrealistic."

[nasty daddy]

http://www.detroitnews.com/article/2009 ... am-to-beat

Hack-a-Howard
We've heard of Hack a Shaq. Now teams deliberately are fouling Magic forward Dwight Howard near the basket.

It's a good plan, too. Once Howard gets the ball in the paint, he's money.

But the free-throw line is a different matter. Howard is a 60-percent career shooter. "It's tough because you've got people hanging on you, pulling at you, slapping at you whatever the whole game," Howard told the Orlando Sentinel. "You try to stay calm but sometimes you just want to react. But you've got to do what's best for the team."

[nasty daddy]

http://www.detroitnews.com/article/2009 ... am-to-beat

Fast lane
Former Celtics forward Antoine Walker has lived life like he played -- to an excess.
But it's hard to imagine Walker has squandered $110 million in career earnings.
Walker was arrested in a Las Vegas casino after passing off $1 million in bad checks.

[nasty daddy]

http://www.detroitnews.com/article/2009 ... am-to-beat

By the numbers
4 Consecutive seasons Atlanta has improved its victory total.
83 International players on NBA rosters.
117.7 Average scoring by Phoenix in the second half of last season.

[nasty daddy]

http://www.detroitnews.com/article/2009 ... am-to-beat

Dazzling debuts
An NBA.com poll on which player had the most impressive opening night:
Player Team Pct. Votes
Kobe Bryant L.A. Lakers 40
Gilbert Arenas Washington 30
LeBron James Cleveland 23
Dirk Nowitzki Dallas 8

[nasty daddy]

http://www.detroitnews.com/article/2009 ... am-to-beat

Terry's bottom 5
• 26. New York: Fans hope players on contract years play for money.
• 27. New Jersey: Let the Lopez era begin. Nets like the 7-foot youngster.
• 28. Sacramento: Rookie PG Evans is not afraid to attack defenses.
• 29 Milwaukee: Rookie Jennings gets to pass to underachieving group.
• 30. Minnesota: How long before Laimbeer begins throwing chairs?

[nasty daddy]

http://www.detroitnews.com/article/2009 ... am-to-beat

Moving up
Some achievable milestones for the 2009-10 season:
Points
28,000: Cleveland C Shaquille O'Neal needs 371
25,000: Memphis G Allen Iverson needs 1,017; L.A. Lakers G Kobe Bryant needs 1,147; Orlando G Vince Carter needs 1,746
20,000: Boston G Ray Allen needs 323; San Antonio F Tim Duncan needs 754; Boston F Paul Pierce needs 1,374

[nasty daddy]

http://www.detroitnews.com/article/2009 ... am-to-beat

Steals
2,000: Memphis G Allen Iverson needs 36

[nasty daddy]

http://www.detroitnews.com/article/2009 ... am-to-beat

Terry's top 5
• 1. L.A. Lakers: Bryant and Artest can go from bitter enemies to champs.
• 2. Boston: Garnett not 100 percent; this is where 'Sheed steps in.
• 3. San Antonio: They are long in the tooth but dangerous and savvy.
• 4. Utah: Millsap makes Boozer expendable. This roster is not set.
• 5. Orlando: Let's see if Carter can flourish in a non-starring role.

[nasty daddy]

http://www.detroitnews.com/article/2009 ... am-to-beat

Assists
8,000: Phoenix G Steve Nash needs 495

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http://www.detroitnews.com/article/2009 ... am-to-beat

Coaching
Victories: Don Nelson needs 24 to pass Lenny Wilkens to become winningest coach in history

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http://www.detroitnews.com/article/2009 ... am-to-beat

Teams
Victories: Lakers need 29 to become first franchise to win 3,000 games

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http://www.detroitnews.com/article/2009 ... am-to-beat

Quotable
"He’s an old man. I think with Rasheed (Wallace) you can call out Toronto’s play, our play, Detroit’s play. He’s seen them all. It’s funny because when we put in our first play the other day he already knew it. We played him in the playoffs so he knows our offense in some cases better than some of our guys."

-- Doc Rivers, Celtics coach, on Rasheed Wallace

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http://64.246.64.33/merge/tsnform.aspx? ... W11593.htm

Final Score: Detroit 96, Memphis 74
A taste of the old and some of the new gave Pistons head coach John Kuester his first career victory, as Richard Hamilton scored 25 points and offseason acquisition Ben Gordon added 22 to pace Detroit to a 96-74 victory over Memphis in the season opener for both clubs. Tayshaun Prince ended with 14 points, and Rodney Stuckey scored 12 for Detroit, which had its run of six straight trips to the Eastern Conference finals stopped last year with a first-round exit in the playoffs, prompting a coaching change and roster shakeup. "It is the right type of way to win," Kuester said. "We had good offensive flow and defensively we were getting stops. That's the thing that was so impressive tonight." Marc Gasol recorded 21 points and 15 rebounds for Memphis, which finished in the basement of the Southwest Division last year. Rudy Gay notched 16 points, and Zach Randolph chipped in 14 points and nine boards in the lopsided affair.

Allen Iverson was unable to face his old team, as his Grizzlies debut was put on hold due to a partially torn left hamstring. Six straight Pistons points ended the first quarter, with Gordon's jumper giving the visitors a 24-20 edge. Gordon, signed as a free agent in the offseason, hit a three-ball to cap a 9-2 Detroit run midway through the second for a 37-27 advantage. Hamilton's field goal at the halftime buzzer extended the margin to 53-41. Gay drained a three-pointer near the seven-minute mark of the third to pull Memphis to within 60-51. Charlie Villanueva, another pickup in the offseason for Detroit, answered with a trifecta of his own to keep the Grizzlies at bay. Neither team hit a field goal in the final 3 1/2 minutes of the stanza, which ended with Detroit ahead, 71-57.

Back-to-back three-pointers from Gordon to open the fourth made it a 20-point game. Villanueva added a dunk on the next possession, and the Pistons cruised to an easy victory for their new coach despite Hamilton rolling his right ankle midway through the final frame. "We were making it too easy on them. We weren't attacking. We didn't move the basketball around. We didn't come out like we were supposed to. We didn't stick to our principles and they exploited that," Gay said. The Grizzlies returned just six players from last year's roster...The Pistons have won their last five visits to Memphis...O.J. Mayo shot 2-for-12 from the floor and finished with nine points for Memphis...Detroit shot 51.4 percent from the floor, compared to 36.1 percent from Memphis...Will Bynum dealt out a game-high seven assists for the Pistons, who received a nine-rebound effort from Ben Wallace.