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

[nasty daddy]

http://www.nba.com/2009/news/features/1 ... index.html

My fearless prediction for the 2009-2010 NBA season is ...
The Detroit Pistons will get past the first round of the playoffs, unlike last year.

[nasty daddy]

http://www.nba.com/2009/news/features/1 ... index.html

The one thing you don't know about our team is ...
We are well balanced all across with a combination of vets and younger guys, and we all have mutual respect for one another and the same time, we're constantly cracking jokes on each other. We're one big happy family.

[nasty daddy]

http://www.nba.com/2009/news/features/1 ... index.html

The one thing I am most looking forward to for NBA Tip-Off 09 is ...
I look forward towards a lot of things this season, especially building my relationships with my new teammates and coaches. But most importantly is WINNING. I want to win. I want playoffs. I want championship. Period.

[nasty daddy]

http://www.emptythebench.com/2009/10/25 ... #more-5901

2009-10 NBA Season Predictions and Awards
Best Bench for Those Five:
FC: Rasheed Wallace, Boston Celtics
F: Paul Milsap, Utah Jazz
F: Lamar Odom, Los Angles Lakers
G: Manu Ginobili, San Antonio Spurs
G: Ben Gordon, Detroit Pistons

[nasty daddy]

http://www.emptythebench.com/2009/10/25 ... #more-5901

2009-10 NBA Season Predictions and Awards
Best Three-Deep (or more) Backcourts:
1. Boston Celtics - They have the big-time veteran gunner (SG Ray Allen), the young dynamo (PG Rajon Rondo), the 3-pointt bomber off the bench (PG Eddie House), and the versatile whatever-you-need (SG Tony Allen).
2. Portland Trail Blazers – SG Brandon Roy, PG Andre Miller, SG Rudy Fernandez, PG Steve Blake
3. Detroit Pistons – SG Richard Hamilton, PG Rodney Stuckey, SG Ben Gordon, PG Andrew Bynum
4. Dallas Mavericks – PG Jason Kidd, SG Jason Terry, PG J.J. Barea
5. Chicago Bulls – PG Derrick Rose, SG John Salmons, PG Kirk Hinrich

[nasty daddy]

2009-10 NBA Season Predictions and Awards
If I had to assemble a team of youngsters (players in their first 3 seasons) to play for the next 10 years, I would take:
C Brook Lopez, New Jersey Nets (1)
C Greg Oden, Portland Trail Blazers (1)
PF Anthony Randolph, Golden State Warriors (1)
PF DeJuan Blair, San Antonio Spurs (R)
F Blake Griffin, Los Angeles Clippers (R)
F Michael Beasley, Miami Heat (1)
F/G Kevin Durant, Oklahoma City Thunder (2)
G/F Anthony Marrow, Golden State Warriors (1)
SG James Harden, Oklahoma City Thunder (R)
SG Rudy Fernandez, Portland Trail Blazers (1)
PG Derrick Rose, Chicago Bulls (1)
PG Russell Westbrook, Oklahoma City Thunder (1)
PG Mike Conley, Memphis Grizzlies (2)

(And I would have to consider:)
C Marc Gasol, Memphis Grizzlies (1)
F/C Joakim Noah, Chicago Bulls (2)
F/C Luis Scola, Houston Rockets (2)
F/C Al Horford, Atlanta Hawks (2)
PF Kevin Love, Minnesota Timberwolves (1)
G Tyreke Evans, Sacramento Kings (R)
G Rodney Stuckey, Detroit Pistons (2)
G O.J. Mayo, Memphis Grizzlies (1)
PG D.J. Augustin, Charlotte Bobcats (1)
PG Aaron Brooks, Houston Rockets (2)

[nasty daddy]

http://www.motownstringmusic.com/2009/1 ... wyane-wade

Austin Daye's block on Dwyane Wade ranks amongst best in preseason
Remember the first impression Austin Daye gave us Pistons fans with his Tayshaun-like block in the first game of the preseason? Well, it was ranked in the top 10 of the preseason, amongst some pretty "ohhhhh" inducing blocks.

Take a peek for yourself:

Video in the link above^.

[nasty daddy]

http://www.motownstringmusic.com/2009/1 ... good-to-go

Kwame Brown should be good to go by Wednesday
If anyone was concerned about the severity of Kwame Brown's left hand injury, have no fear: Pistons center Kwame Brown sat out Friday night’s victory over the Milwaukee Bucks with a sore left hand, but Kuester said in a text Saturday that it was just a precaution. In fact, Kuester added that the X ray on his hand turned out OK and Brown will be good to go when the season starts Wednesday at Memphis.

That should bring about a sigh of relief for Pistons fans, especially considering how well Kwame had been playing this preseason. Now the question remains, who will start at power forward and center on opening night? Has Kwame played well enough to earn the start at center? Who will start at power forward -- Villanueva or Ben Wallace?

Personally, I'd like to see Kwame and Big Ben on the floor at tip off because I think they provide the best defensive combo. Who does everyone else want to see starting for the Pistons?

[nasty daddy]

http://wdfn.com/cc-common/podcast/singl ... dSharp.xml

Isiah Thomas Upset
Isiah lashes out in a SI.com story about Magic Johnson throwing him under the bus.

Audio in the link above^.

[nasty daddy]

http://detroit4lyfe.com/articles/detroi ... -suck.html

Bill Simmons certainly does suck
Aside from the fact Bill Simmons sounds and looks like a mixture between Pee Wee Herman and Jack McBrayer, he's not very funny. If you are finding yourself laughing at his material, it's probably once in a blue moon and/or your sense of humor is too kind.

It's no secret that Bill Simmons is a huge Masshole and hates Detroit, so I wasn't too surprised about his feelings toward Joe Dumars as a GM and his Pistons preview for the 2009-2010 season : I was rooting for Detroit to bring Charlie Villanueva and Ben Gordon off the bench this season, just so I could make the "any time you can pay $94 million and lock up your cap space for two bench guys, you gotta do it" joke. But the Pistons foiled me by starting Villanueva. Still, they dumped Chauncey Billups and effectively tanked last season for cap flexibility; now that flexibility is gone, only they look like a mortal lock for the lottery. (You realize their "big men" are The Artist Formely Known As Ben Wallace, Kwame Brown, Villanueva and Chris Wilcox, right?) And this was a good plan … how? Some day you'll have to explain this whole "Joe Dumars is a good GM" thing to me.

Simmons then went on to defend Allen Iverson for last season and predicted that the Pistons would somehow lose eight less games this year, finishing 31-51. There's not much to say to that, but DERP.

[nasty daddy]

http://www.nba.com/pistons/news/trueblu ... 91025.html

Like a Rock
John Kuester won’t commit to much where his starting lineup or rotation is concerned even with the preseason behind the Pistons and their regular-season opener just three days away.
But in the hints he’s dropped, it’s likely that three of the six frontcourt players who’ve all gotten extended minutes at one time or another in the 4-4 preseason have secured roles for the one unique thing each of them offers. For Charlie Villanueva, it’s not just his scoring but his offensively versatility. For Ben Wallace, it’s the glue he provides Kuester’s defensive blueprint and the intensity that demands his teammates to match the effort of their eldest member. And for Kwame Brown, it’s the sheer size and strength packed onto his 6-foot-11, 270-pound frame. Except it goes beyond Brown’s size this year. Not only does he offer the Pistons their best chance to compete against the most physically overpowering teams in the East – Orlando and Dwight Howard, Cleveland and Shaquille O’Neal, Boston and its host of skilled and large frontcourt pieces – the work he put in over the summer appears to have made him the most complete player he’s been in his nine years in the NBA. “We’re still discussing some of that,” Kuester said Sunday in talking about the frontcourt rotation. “We will have a better handle in the next two days. We have a number of guys who have been in the bigs position who have played well, but Ben, with the energy he showed against Milwaukee (in Friday’s road win to close the preseason), was awfully impressive and set the tone for us defensively in the beginning. “Kwame has had a very good preseason.

I think he has a chance to – I don’t know if you want to use the word ‘surprise,’ because I have expected it all preseason – (continue) playing the way he is. His shot selection and ability to handle the basketball has been very good so far. He’s worked hard at that and I’m very confortable with him taking (open shots). There’s no question, his size does enable us to play some of the tougher big guys in our league.” Brown suffered ligament damage to his left hand, in the area between his ring and pinkie fingers, when it got whacked early in training camp. Strength coach Arnie Kander has been taping it ever since, which forces the hand to stay in a straightened position, and Brown said last week the injury had begun bothering him more. He sat out the final two preseason games, X-rays were negative and Brown said Sunday that the hand feels improved. “It’s like a bull’s-eye,” Brown said. “(Kander) keeps saying it’s going to take a long time, because I keep getting hit on it every day. Just trying to pad and protect it as much as I can play through.” Kander said Brown will probably feel the effects of the injury for three months and expects it to keep getting hit because, as his guide hand on shots, it frequently will get slapped by defenders.

But Kander doesn’t believe there’s any danger of doing further damage by playing and, in fact, says the injury in some ways helps Brown because at times he has a tendency to try to grip the ball too tightly and fumble it. Learning to play with his left hand heavily taped set Brown back a little after a very strong start to the preseason, when he showed scoring ability he hadn’t last season, his first with the Pistons. He spent hours over the summer working on his face-up jumper from the free-throw area and on mid-post bank shots, a la Tim Duncan, and hit a handful in preseason games that even had his teammates talking. The reason Brown had a more productive summer? The past two, he couldn’t get in the gym because he was rehabbing, first a foot injury and then a shoulder. He took only two weeks after last season ended before getting back to work and was in the gym a minimum of three days each week, splitting his time between the court and the weight room. The Pistons play 11 games against Boston, Orlando and Cleveland – that’s 13.4 percent of their 82-game schedule – and Brown knows what to expect against Shaq, Howard, Kevin Garnett and Rasheed Wallace. “Get the ice bags,” he said.

[nasty daddy]

http://www.nba.com/pistons/news/trueblu ... 91025.html

With rookies Austin Daye and Jonas Jerebko unavailable for Wednesday’s opener with Milwaukee, the result of one-game suspensions handed down to each for preseason incidents, Kuester said his rotation would go about “eight or nine” deep against Memphis. The major question would be if Jason Maxiell or Chris Wilcox is the first big man used after Brown, Wallace and Villanueva, but Kuester said only that “there’s a lot of debate still going on (regarding) all of those guys, but I will tell you this: It’s always good to have confidence in each and every one of them.”

[nasty daddy]

http://www.nba.com/pistons/news/trueblu ... 91025.html

Kuester said Tayshaun Prince looked spry in practice and is good to go for Wednesday’s opener. Prince suffered a cut and sprained right big toe Oct. 13 in the Grand Rapids game with Washington and sat out three of the final four preseason games.

[nasty daddy]

http://sports.espn.go.com/chicago/nba/n ... id=4594175

All Bulls active players practice
For the first time in three weeks, all the active players were healthy enough to participate the entire time -- including Derrick Rose [ankle], Kirk Hinrich [elbow] and Jannero Pargo [back], who all sat out Friday's final preseason game. "Everyone practiced. Let's see how they feel in the morning, but we had a full group today which was great to get that," Bulls coach Vinny Del Negro said.

Del Negro must feel especially relieved that Rose is back. The Bulls point guard practiced without any restrictions and reported no pain afterward. "Right now I'm feeling good," Rose said. "Just have to get back in condition."

Despite the good news, Rose admitted that he is still not close to being 100 percent."That's far away still," he said. "Out there, it's still kind of stiff. I told Lindsey [Hunter] I know how they feel when they have to stretch now. Usually I'll just go out there and run, but now I really gotta take stretching into consideration."

[nasty daddy]

http://www.mlive.com/pistons/index.ssf/ ... e_bro.html

Pistons will lean on Kwame Brown against NBA's biggest bodies
It might take Kwame Brown’s sore left hand a while to heal as he bangs against the big bodies of the NBA. The Detroit Pistons, 4-4 in the preseason, caution it may take a while to develop their team. Either way Brown, the 6-foot-11, 270-pound center with eight years of league experience, will be in the middle of it. The Pistons will face Shaquille O’Neal four times as a member of the Cleveland Cavaliers. Orlando and Dwight Howard will also be on the schedule four times, and Boston is on it three times with a host of big bodies. Pistons coach John Kuester, who has yet to commit to the big men in the playing rotation even as Wednesday’s season opener at Memphis looms, said no question Brown will be important, especially against the bigger teams.

Kuester also hopes the short jump shot Brown has been banking in during preseason games will be something the Pistons can bank on in the regular season. “His shot selection has been very good,” Kuester said. “He’s obviously been working on it, and is trying to be a more complete player offensively and defensively.” Brown attributes it to hard work, including a regimen of workouts and shooting drills through the summer months. “Just repetition,” he said. “I kept working the jump shot over and over, working in the paint. Now, I feel comfortable actually taking a shot when I’m open.” Of more importance is the hand at this point because it hurts when he pushes on bodies while playing defense. Tests show the hand wasn’t broken, and at first he was having trouble stretching his fingers to hold the basketball. “That part is better,” Brown said. “It’s stretched ligaments, and now it’s just sore. It’s like a bulls-eye because I keep getting hit on it every time I play. So I’m just trying to pad it and protect it as much as possible. I just have to fight through it.”

When the Pistons signed Ben Wallace as a free agent, it was about more than just nostalgia for a former championship player. It was to help the defense, and help the other younger players learn the commitment to defense Kuester requires. Brown, who averaged 7.7 points and 6.5 rebounds in 22 minutes per game in the preseason, said he keeps an eye on Wallace. “The way he has stepped up on defense has made everybody rally around him,” he said. “Ben kind of leads by example. I’m just watching and trying to learn the stuff he is doing. Just watching how he prepares to play has made a difference.” Brown has noticed that O’Neal now is playing for Cleveland. He has also noticed the bigger teams of the East also happen to be the better teams, as in Cleveland, Orlando and Boston. “That means some more wars with Shaq,” he said. “And a lot of ice bags."

[nasty daddy]

http://nba.fanhouse.com/2009/10/25/repo ... ce-report/

Report: Delonte West's Wife Files Domestic Violence Report
First, the guns. Then the unexcused absences. Now we can add a domestic violence report to the recent events section of the Delonte West dossier. WOIO.com reports that Saturday night, West drove his wife to the Cleveland airport where an "incident" occurred. Reportedly the incident started at the couple's home where the Cavs' small guard tried to take her wedding ring off. After the argument continued to the airport, West's wife filed a domestic violence report with authorities. Police told the station there were no signs of abuse or injury.

Well, then. As long as he's managed to put all that trouble behind him. There are two realities that are coming to clarity from all this. The first is that Delonte West's issues extend beyond the prototypical troubled NBA player getting tagged for DUI after a late night at the club. In a very short time he's exhibited a pattern of personal turbulence that spans multiple time zones, and that branches across unrest with the law, with his team, and now with his home life. Many said he needed help before this incident, but this just reinforces the point and it at least appears that he's not headed in the right direction.

The second reality is that the Cavs are going to have to start evaluating whether or not West is worth the headache, and if they can afford it this season. Make no mistake, they've got to make a locker room that suffered from hubris last season mesh with the largest ego (and posterior) in the NBA, get through Boston and Orlando, and then win a championship in order to secure the biggest star their entire state has ever had. So there's a little bit resting on this season. And while the team has bonded with West and has demonstrated patience and diligence in trying to help him resolve his issues, as the saying goes, it's a business. At some point these distractions are going to become too much for Cavaliers. They may not be at that point yet, but they can see it from there.

[nasty daddy]

http://twitter.com/dsummers35

Im chillen in the house... slightly bored.. trying to find another good movie to watch of course...

[nasty daddy]

http://www.detnews.com/article/20091026 ... 1127/rss13

Feeling better
The results on Kwame Brown 's left hand came back negative, no breaks or fractures of any kind, and Brown will play Wednesday in the season opener in Memphis.

Brown sat out the last two exhibitions as a precaution. After Sunday's practice, he said the hand felt better. Brown doesn't think the hand will impact him early in the season. "Maybe I'll fumble a few passes here and there, but I do that anyway," he said with a smile. "I'll tape it and protect it as much as I can, and hopefully it'll get stronger."

When asked if Brown could be a surprise player in the league this season, Kuester said it was more of a given. "I've expected it all along (considering) the way he's played all preseason," he said.

[nasty daddy]

http://www.detnews.com/article/20091026 ... 1127/rss13

Rodney Stuckey shows he's coming along
For the Pistons to have a good season, it'll be important for Rodney Stuckey to be a good point guard. The Pistons need to see continued development from their third-year player, a player who has shown great promise at times, but has frustrated the Pistons and their fans by not showing it consistently enough. The Pistons want to see consistent, effective results. Which is why Stuckey's all-around play the final two exhibition games was so pleasing for coach John Kuester.

Stuckey had 16 points and six assists and supplied shutdown defense in the Pistons' 95-93 victory Friday in Milwaukee. Heading into Wednesday's season opener, the Pistons hoped it would signify big things ahead. "It was neat to watch him develop as a point guard the last two games," Kuester said. "He ran the team, he put people in positions, and his offense just flowed in regard to not looking for his offense -- it just happened. "That was the thing that was impressive."

But it was on defense that Stuckey may have been most impressive. He made Michael Redd work for 23 points, and gave Kuester further evidence that Stuckey could prove to be a defensive stopper in certain situations, such as when the Pistons go to a three-guard lineup. "Watching him on tape defensively, truthfully, when he wants to clamp down, he's as good defensively as there is in the league," Kuester said. "He has a chance to be special defensively. I'll tell you right now, he did a number of things defensively in regards to guarding the best two-guards, (including) Michael Redd, and he doesn't shy away from any competitive situation."

[nasty daddy]

http://www.detnews.com/article/20091026 ... 1127/rss13

Slam dunks
Tayshaun Prince (right toe) was held out of the Milwaukee game as a precaution, but he practiced hard Sunday and will be ready for the season opener, Kuester said.