'Nasty News - Traversing Time & Space' Vol: 58

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http://www.motownstringmusic.com/2009/1 ... ds-pistons

Post game quotes
Peachtree Hoops recap -- Hawks were lousy.
Box score
Highlights:

All the above in the link above^.

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http://www.motownstringmusic.com/2009/1 ... ds-pistons

Pistons kept Joe Johnson in check today, which will probably get overlooked in determining what went wrong for the Hawks today. He shot just 5-19 and finished with 10 points. If he hits a few more shots, the Hawks might walk away with an undeserving victory.

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http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2996 ... it-pistons

Joe Dumars: How The GM Can Solve The Detroit Pistons
I think if I were on the Pistons staff, I would construct this team to Joe Dumars' liking. As far as I know, Joe D likes to make his team with cast- offs. He doesn't really like having a big name player like Dwayne Wade or Lebron James. Dumars likes his team to have teamwork, chemistry, and tough players. Throughout the Pistons' history, they always won with those things I've mentioned. So if your a Pistons fan, don't expect for Joe Dumars to get a superstar player. This is what the organization needs to do. The Pistons need a point guard who can shoot and pass the ball and a big man who can get rebounds block shots and score when he needs to. As far as I know, Rodney Stuckey has not been getting the job done for the team. He has a score-first mentality; he really doesn't make his team better, and he can't shoot the basketball. So how to solve this problem? If I were Joe Dumars I would trade him.

If this is the solution, who do you get for Stuckey? I would trade him for Jose Calderon from the Toronto Raptors. I would give Stuckey and Jason Maxiell, another player who is a disappointment, to get this guy. Calderon is a much better shooter than Stuckey and can make his team better. With Calderon at the point, now you need a two guard who also can shoot and defend other guards. I think the Pistons offense is way too much involved around Richard Hamilton. I've noticed that if he plays with a point guard he doesn't like, he plays horribly and it messes up team chemistry. The Pistons need to seriously trade Hamilton. I would trade him for Raja Bell and Ronny Turiaf. Bell is a perfect—I mean perfect—two guard for the Pistons. He is a veteran, can shoot and can also defend at a high level. Ronny Turiaf brings spark off the bench and is much better than any other big man on the Pistons bench right now. The Pistons have Colderon and Bell in the backcourt. For Ben Gordan fans, he needs to come off the bench to make the team deeper.

Now you need frontcourt players who plays good defense, rebound the ball, and can score. I would keep Tayshaun Prince—he is a good leader for the young players and is a good small forward on the team so no problems there. Charlie Villanueva is pretty good at the PF. He can score, but just needs to rebound and play defense better. I think he will learn that as the season goes by, so no problems at the four spot.Now to look at the center position. Ben Wallace is a great center for the team, but he is getting old and will probably retire soon. Joe Dumars, why are you keeping Kwame Brown? This guy is just horrible— nothing more needs to be said. Drop Kwame Brown immediately. At the center position I would get Chris Kaman from the Clippers. He is an underrated player, but he is a big man who can score, rebound, and defend. That is how I would construct the Pistons. I think that with the right parts, this team can compete in the Eastern Conference and eventually for the NBA title.

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http://twitter.com/CV31

YouTube clip of the broken nose incident: http://www.youtube.com/watc... Recap: Charlie V stayed in... http://bit.ly/7rueBZ

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http://www.detnews.com/article/20091130 ... 1127/rss13

Steve Nash has happy homecoming
Nash had 20 points and 16 assists, Jason Richardson scored 22 points and the Phoenix Suns won their fourth straight game, 113-94 over the Toronto Raptors on Sunday.

Amare Stoudemire had 18 points and Leandro Barbosa added 17 before leaving with a sore left ankle. Channing Frye scored 15 as Phoenix won its 12th straight over Toronto.

Chris Bosh had 30 points and 17 rebounds for Toronto, which has lost three straight and seven of nine. Andrea Bargnani had 24 points and DeMar DeRozan had 14.

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http://www.detnews.com/article/20091130 ... 1127/rss13

Chucky Atkins' calming influence makes a difference
Chucky Atkins understood his role coming into this season: He wasn't going to play much. Atkins was essentially the last man on the bench, providing a veteran influence to the Pistons' relatively inexperienced point guards, Rodney Stuckey and Will Bynum. Oh, one other thing to provide -- leadership. "He has been somebody since day one that has tried to do things the right way every time in practice, every time when he's been sitting on the bench," said Pistons coach John Kuester, who raved about Atkins' subtle influence in Detroit's 94-88 victory over Atlanta on Sunday.

Atkins had two points and one assist in 19 minutes. But he seemed to calm things down when needed, encouraged when necessary and cheered when the Pistons were rolling. "I tip my hat off to him," Kuester said. "He did a wonderful job for us and kept that energy up. "He's going to be a coach in this league someday."

Atkins was quick to credit others for the Sunday's victory: Stuckey's offense, the Pistons' big men, the points off the bench from Bynum. Typically, Atkins didn't credit Atkins. "My role is to, regardless of what I do, whether I come off the bench or starting, is just to be an energy guy and a mentor to these younger guys," Atkins said. "Today I was able to start. I wanted to come out and set the tone for our team defensively, get out and make some things happen."Obviously I didn't play a lot of minutes all year, so I was a little out of rhythm. But it felt good and guys responded really well."

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http://www.detnews.com/article/20091130 ... 1127/rss13

Slam dunks
Ben Gordon (sprained left ankle) missed his second consecutive game.

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http://www.detnews.com/article/20091130 ... 1127/rss13

Villanueva hurt
Charlie Villanueva suffered a broken nose with 9 minutes, 30 seconds left in the game when he smashed into Ben Wallace 's hip driving to the basket.

After a timeout to stop the bleeding, Villanueva came back to shoot and make two free throws, then left for good.

He will be re-evaluated today. "Let me tell you, that guy got popped pretty good," Kuester said. "He had blood everywhere. He was very courageous in regard to going back and knocking down those foul shots."

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http://www.detnews.com/article/20091130 ... 1127/rss13

Ben Wallace had a season-high 10 points and 18 rebounds.

"Ben Wallace was the difference," Hawks coach Mike Woodson said.

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http://www.detnews.com/article/20091130 ... 1127/rss13

Jonas Jerebko had 10 points and a season-high 11 rebounds, and made a big defensive stop on a 2-on-1 Hawks fast break with less than two minutes left and the Pistons up six..

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http://www.detnews.com/article/20091130 ... ed-victory

Pistons get much-needed victory
Coming into his postgame news conference Sunday, Pistons coach John Kuester went onto the podium, only to realize his customary chair wasn't there. It typified the way things have been for the Pistons and their first-year coach. Kuester cracked a smile and joked about what happens when you're in a seven-game losing streak. A chair was quickly found -- problem fixed. They got a much-needed 94-88 victory over the talented Atlanta Hawks -- problem fixed. Kuester hopes. "It is frustrating, don't kid yourselves," Kuester said of the losing streak. "The guys are working so hard, you want to see some type of reward at the end. It's healthy for them to get a win today, especially against a quality team like Atlanta. "We held everybody accountable in practice, in the games, and the guys responded."

To that end, Kuester initiated the reward by tweaking the starting lineup. The changes worked. Looking to instill a bit more defense and energy at the start of the game, Kuester sat Charlie Villanueva and Austin Daye and started Chucky Atkins and Jason Maxiell. The moves worked. Maxiell had seven points, six rebounds and two assists in 29 minutes, while playing robust defense. Atkins had just two points in 19 minutes, but settled down the offense with his calming influence.Villanueva had 13 points and six rebounds in nearly 19 minutes before breaking his nose in the third quarter in a collision with Ben Wallace's hip. Villanueva is to be reevaluated today, but isn't likely to miss any games because of the injury. There was no pouting from Villanueva about going to the bench. "I'm proud of the way Charlie responded. He's a total team player. Whatever it takes to win," Kuester said. "He's been that way from Day One. Maxiell came in and did a great job on the boards, contesting all their shots. "We made the changes because sometimes when you go through a stretch like that, you have to make adjustments -- just to make a change itself. "It was a healthy change for us."

One added bonus from the changes: The Pistons outrebounded the Hawks, 53-27. The 53 rebounds were a season-high. By starting Atkins, Rodney Stuckey was freed from running the offense and responded with 23 points (he still led the team with eight assists) while looking a bit more liberated. "It really doesn't change," Stuckey said of his role playing off the ball instead of handling it. "If I don't have the ball, I'll get it at some point (in the offense). Chucky came in and led us, got us into position. I can rest a little bit (playing off the ball). I'm just out there being aggressive." A postgame locker room that was becoming deflated suddenly regained a little pep. Each time the Hawks rallied Sunday, it was the Pistons, for a change, who responded and regained control. It made for a nice afternoon for Kuester. "Our guys came in and were focused, understood that we'd been in a tough (injury) situation but we didn't lose focus in what we wanted to get accomplished," Kuester said. "Good win."

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http://www.freep.com/article/20091130/S ... 4-Hawks-88

Recap: Pistons 94, Hawks 88
WHAT HAPPENED: The Pistons (6-11) snapped a seven-game losing streak with surprise starters Chucky Atkins and Jason Maxiell. Atkins contributed little on the stat sheet but did allow the Pistons to run their offense efficiently at the point. Maxiell helped the Pistons crush the Hawks (12-5) on the glass by a 53-27 margin as the Pistons scored 60 points in the paint. Ben Wallace led the way with 10 points and 18 rebounds. Rodney Stuckey had 23 points and eight assists. Will Bynum came off the bench for 19 points and four assists, and Jonas Jerebko battled for 10 points and 11 rebounds.

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http://www.freep.com/article/20091130/S ... 4-Hawks-88

TURNING POINT: When coach John Kuester decided to put the energy guys (Jerebko, Maxiell and Wallace) in the starting lineup.

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http://www.freep.com/article/20091130/S ... 4-Hawks-88

THE BIG NUMBER: 24 -- the number of offensive rebounds for the Pistons. The Hawks had six.

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http://www.freep.com/article/20091130/S ... 4-Hawks-88

THE OTHER SIDE: Josh Smith might have been the best player on the floor with 23 points, seven rebounds and five blocked shots.

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http://www.freep.com/article/20091130/S ... 4-Hawks-88

OLD BIG BEN? Wallace is averaging 17 rebounds per game over his past two contests.

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http://www.freep.com/article/20091130/S ... 4-Hawks-88

KEY PLAY: The Hawks might have caught the Pistons if it weren't for a great defensive play from Jerebko. With less than 2 minutes left, the Hawks had a 2-on-1 fast break and Jerebko was the only Piston back. He not only thwarted the break, he came up with the steal from former Michigan star Jamal Crawford. "I was just going to foul him, but he was just trying to pass it, and I got the steal, so it was nice to get that," Jerebko said.

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http://www.freep.com/article/20091130/S ... 4-Hawks-88

UP NEXT: The Pistons take to the road Wednesday night for a game at the Chicago Bulls.

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http://www.freep.com/article/20091130/S ... 4-Hawks-88

INJURY REPORT: Rip Hamilton (right ankle sprain) missed his 16th straight game, Tayshaun Prince (back) missed his 14th straight and Ben Gordon (left ankle sprain) missed his second consecutive game. No word on Charlie Villanueva's status after he suffered a broken nose with 9:30 left.

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http://www.freep.com/article/20091130/S ... 4-Hawks-88

TWO CENTS: A much-needed win, but there is a lot of work still left.