'Nasty News - Traversing Time & Space' Vol: 27

[nasty daddy]

http://www.nba.com/pistons/news/truebluepistons.html

As of today, the Pistons have four picks among the top 46 in the 2009 NBA draft. While it’s true that a No. 2 pick in the NBA doesn’t produce players at the same rate it would in the NFL or Major League Baseball, second-rounders aren’t exactly the afterthoughts they’re widely considered to be. You could put a pretty good NBA team together from second-rounders of the past decade. How about a starting lineup of Gilbert Arenas, Michael Redd, Mehmet Okur, Carlos Boozer and Rashard Lewis? How about a bench of Paul Millsap, Monta Ellis, Stephen Jackson, Louis Williams, Carl Landry, Rasual Butler, Matt Bonner and Leon Powe? Your chances to find a diamond in the rough go up pretty dramatically when you have four shots to grab one.

[nasty daddy]

http://www.nba.com/pistons/news/truebluepistons.html

There’s still a lot of mileage left in the nucleus here. Sure, Rasheed Wallace and Antonio McDyess are 34 and both are pending free agents. There might not be room to bring both of them back, and if there is, a reduction in their burdens is probably due. But look at the way contenders were eager to sign Mikki Moore and waiting to see if Joe Smith would be bought out. They’d be lined up around the block for a shot at Wallace or McDyess. Rip Hamilton and Tayshaun Prince are still solidly in their primes and have the types of games that will translate well to virtually any direction the Pistons go over the summer with Stuckey and the expected off-season additions as centerpieces of the future.

[nasty daddy]

http://www.nba.com/pistons/news/truebluepistons.html

Fans are an asset in their own right, and Pistons’ fans are on a very short list of the NBA’s most loyal, most sophisticated and most passionate. The recent end of the sellout streak at 259 was 90 percent about the economy, 10 percent about the current team’s plight. They were filling the NBA’s biggest arena, too. Those days in the Silverdome didn’t come without their trials, but that era undeniably helped connect the Pistons to their fan base on a level only that cavernous old barn could have made possible. And that wasn’t lost on the visionaries who designed The Palace, in all of its practical elegance, as a place where the blue-collar soul of Detroit could feel as much at home as they did at Cobo, as sure it was theirs as it belonged to the corporate ladder-climbers and captains of industry sitting courtside or in luxury suites. Fans help secure the Pistons’ future, too.

[nasty daddy]

http://www.nba.com/pistons/news/truebluepistons.html

Timing is everything. It wasn’t Joe D’s intention to remake the team coincidentally to the souring of the economy, but it can now work to his advantage that other NBA teams – many of which spent recklessly when times were good – are in distress mode. New Orleans’ attempt to peddle Tyson Chandler last week – a trade aborted only because Oklahoma City’s medical staff flunked Chandler’s big toe – is the tip of the iceberg. Good players are going to be shopped this summer for pennies on the dollar, and the only teams in position to accept such largesse will be those few – it looks like perhaps seven teams will hit July 1 with cap room, some with less than $10 million – with enough space to take on their contracts.

[nasty daddy]

http://www.nba.com/pistons/news/wallace_090226.html

Free Sheed!
Any bit of good news the Pistons can get these days is welcome. And the NBA sent a healthy dose of it their way this morning with the news that Rasheed Wallace will not be suspended for Friday night’s game at Orlando. Wallace had been assessed 14 technical fouls this season going into Wednesday’s game at New Orleans, when he got slapped with two in the fourth quarter and was ejected in what would become the Pistons’ eighth straight loss.

But the Pistons were notified Thursday morning that, unbeknownst to them, two of Wallace’s earlier technical fouls – one incurred in their Dec. 23 win over Chicago, the other in their Feb. 7 overtime win at Milwaukee – have been rescinded. That reduces Wallace’s technical foul count for the season to 14. An automatic one-game suspension kicks in when a player accrues 16 technical fouls and subsequent one-game suspensions are imposed for every other technical accrued thereafter.

The timing is especially fortunate for the Pistons because their next two games are against Orlando and Boston, both on the road. Those teams are a combined 88-28 overall but an even more impressive 46-10 at home. Orlando’s Dwight Howard, the reigning All-NBA center, has had difficulty scoring against Wallace in the past. Boston, meanwhile, will be playing without Kevin Garnett, giving the Pistons an advantage in the post with Wallace now available – assuming he doesn’t get two technicals in Orlando.

[nasty daddy]

http://www.detroitnews.com/apps/pbcs.dl ... SPORTS0102

Pistons' Wallace gets reprieve
Rasheed Wallace will not be suspended for Friday's game at Orlando for surpassing the league limit of 16 technical fouls in a season. It had been thought Wallace received his 15th and 16th technical fouls Wednesday, triggering an automatic one-game suspension.

However, the Pistons were informed Thursday morning that two previous technicals -- from Dec. 23 and Feb. 7 -- were rescinded following league review. So, Wallace's season total is 14.

Wallace still might face league discipline for throwing a towel in the direction of official Bill Kennedy as Wallace was leaving the court.

[nasty daddy]

http://www.nba.com/pistons/news/practice_090226.html

First Class
When it comes to providing management, coaches and players with every tool and amenity in their quest to win games and compete for NBA titles, Pistons owner William Davidson always has been one step ahead of the field. When he didn’t think the cavernous Pontiac Silverdome gave his team enough of a home-court advantage, he went deep into his own wallet to build The Palace of Auburn Hills, which two decades into its run remains a state-of-the-art facility that still draws other franchises seeking blueprint ideas for their own buildings like a magnet. When he considered the physical grind of commercial air travel on top of a compressed 82-game schedule, he pioneered another trend that became standard operating procedure in the NBA. He bought the Pistons their own customized jet, Roundball One, in the late ’80s, which gave way to Roundball Two. Chuck Daly to this day says having their own plane was a major advantage as the Bad Boys were winning their two NBA titles. When The Palace became a must-play building for virtually every major national touring act, consistently forcing the Pistons to practice elsewhere, Mr. D spent more than $1 million in 1995 to build them their own practice facility, which sits on the same plot of land at Interstate 75 and Lapeer Road as The Palace and the world headquarters for Guardian Industries, Davidson’s sprawling international glass manufacturing business. And when the Pistons outgrew the practice facility a decade or so later, he signed off on a major facelift that dramatically increased office space and updated it to meet the demands of the NBA in the new millennium. “We were working on a mid-’90s business model and the NBA has changed so much since then,” Joe Dumars said in his spacious office that has moved from the south side of the practice facility’s nerve center - the basketball court, of course - to the north side. “There are probably twice as many people involved on the basketball side today as there were back then for NBA teams. “This right here is a major commitment again from Mr. D that gives us everything we need.”

Dramatic increases in scouting and coaching staffs and the more sophisticated use of endless video streams available today, plus the greater attention paid to year-round conditioning and additions to training staffs, have in most cases greatly expanded the size of basketball staffs in the last decade or two. Dumars and his former top aide, John Hammond, began discussing their needs a few years ago. The space on the north side of the basketball court was occupied mostly by tennis courts that spoke to Mr. Davidson’s passion for the sport he played for many years. But when he gave up tennis and a greater need presented itself, Dumars and Hammond, now the general manager of the Milwaukee Bucks, would talk about what they could do with the added room. “It’s absolutely beautiful,” Hammond said when he toured the completed project in October when the Bucks came to The Palace for a preseason game and work was just being finished in time for the 2008-09 season. “It’s just what Joe and I thought we needed. It’s another example that whatever the Pistons and Mr. Davidson do, they do it first class.” The administrative and coaches’ offices that were crammed onto the south side of the basketball court before - along with the players’ locker room and the training room, which includes hot and cold whirlpools and a swim therapy area - all moved to the north side, leaving added space for the player areas. Split over two levels, with coach Michael Curry’s office and those of his assistants on the lower level and Dumars’ office and those of his administrative staff on the upper, the offices’ windows face the basketball court. In the middle of the first floor, a large, glass-enclosed meeting area that Rasheed Wallace has dubbed the “fish tank” has comfortable chairs to accommodate the entire team and staff. Dumars and his staff will use that as the draft “war room” among other uses.

There are also offices for video coordinator Ron Oliver and his assistant, Jason Hervey. They used to be housed in makeshift offices that were taken from a larger storage space trainer Mike Abdenour used for uniforms and equipment, along with Pistons director of basketball operations Tony Ronzone, who frequently travels the world as an international scouting guru, when he was in town. The space vacated by coaching and management staff on the south side has meant more spacious areas for the players. They have their own players’ lounge, furnished with leather chairs and sofas, plus a dedicated video room, outfitted with overstuffed leather chairs on tiered flooring as in a movie theater, for the viewing of scouting video. “It’s all great,” Curry said. “I love my office, the players love their new space, but the best part of it for me is the video room. Before, we’d do that out on the court or in the locker room. We can see the difference now in just the way it’s easier in the video room, designed just for that purpose, to hold their attention.” And Dumars’ old office on the south side? That’s been refitted to serve as the new media workroom, where print, radio and TV reporters, cameramen and technicians gather to work in a room equipped with wireless Internet access while the Pistons practice. When practice ends, they can come into the gym area to interview players and coaches.

[nasty daddy]

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/dailydime ... ime-090226

Detroit dropped to 27-29 on Wednesday in New Orleans, losing its eighth straight game, 90-87. Those 29 losses are just one shy of the number of games the Pistons lost last season, including the postseason: Loss No. 29 came on May 28, in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference finals.

The worst may not be over. The Pistons play in Orlando on Friday (ESPN, 7 p.m. ET) and in Boston on Sunday (ABC, 1 p.m. ET), meaning that a losing streak of 10 games and counting looms. Furthermore, Rasheed Wallace might face suspension after getting two technical fouls, knocking a towel into the stands and throwing another towel in the direction of his coach (more on that below). For most franchises, a slump like this is just part of the game, but this is Detroit Basketball we're talking about -- one of the NBA's greatest franchises of the past 25 years, a team that prints up tickets for the Eastern Conference finals before the season starts.

To demonstrate what a remarkable run it's been for the Motor City Bad Boys and just how far they've have stumbled into unfamiliar territory, we've put together 29 facts and factoids with great help from the team at ESPN Research.

[nasty daddy]

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/dailydime ... ime-090226

29 Facts on the Pistons' Amazing Plummet
Consider this: 1. Detroit has lost 17 of 22 games, including 10 of 12 at the Palace of Auburn Hills, generally considered one of the best home courts in the NBA.
2. The Pistons are now 2-9 in February, with one game to go (in Orlando). In the last four Februarys combined, the Pistons lost just eight games, going 38-8 overall.
3. It's been seven years since the Pistons didn't reach the Eastern Conference finals.
4. It's been eight years since the Pistons had a losing record for the season.
5. It's been eight years since the Pistons didn't win 50 games in the regular season.
6. Before this week, they hadn't had a seven-game losing streak since 2003.
7. Their last eight-game losing streak was in the 1994-95 season.
8. Their last nine-game losing streak came as part of a 14-game losing streak in 1994 (spanning two seasons).
9. Detroit has had only five losing seasons in the past 25 seasons.
10. The Pistons' three NBA titles in the past 20 seasons puts them in the NBA's fantastic four during those two decades, with the Bulls (six titles), the Spurs (four titles) and the Lakers (three titles).

11. Overall, the Pistons have been the third-best team of the past six seasons, according to Marc Stein's cumulative Power Rankings. This week, they fell to No. 21 on Stein's ledger (before their most recent two losses) and now are No. 23 on John Hollinger's automated Power Rankings.
12. As of Thursday morning, the Pistons had only a 42.8 percent chance of making the playoffs, according to the Hollinger Playoff Odds. They had been above 50 percent until Tuesday's loss to Miami.
13. So far, the Pistons' early-season trade of Chauncey Billups for Allen Iverson has backfired. (The trade was motivated in part by a desire to clear salary.) When Iverson joined the team, the Pistons were 4-0 (1.000). Since then, they've gone 23-29 (.442).
14. The Pistons have lost the last six times they've been led in scoring by Iverson, who, incidentally, stands fifth on the NBA's all-time leaderboard for points per game.
15. Rodney Stuckey, Billups' replacement, has slumped miserably, failing to reach 20 points in each of the last 19 games, after scoring 20 or more in six of his previous 13 games. Meanwhile, Billups has led the resurgent Nuggets to third place in the West, after many expected them before the trade to miss the playoffs altogether this season.
16. Before the season, the last Pistons coach with a losing record was the immortal George Irvine.
17. Detroit has fired three coaches since starting its remarkable run of six straight trips to the East finals.
18. Those three coaches are Rick Carlisle, Larry Brown and Flip Saunders, who have now coached exactly 3,400 NBA games combined, winning 1,935 and losing 1,465 (.569) -- including a combined 384-190 record (.669) with the Pistons.
19. The current coach, Michael Curry, spent just one season as an NBA assistant, in Detroit, before taking over. His career record is 27-29 (.482).
20. The NBA's sportsmanship award winner each season is given the Joe Dumars trophy, named for the Pistons' universally admired president of basketball operations. And yet, the Pistons are perpetually among the league's most petulant teams, routinely among the leaders in technical fouls and poor sportsmanship, with Rasheed Wallace the worst offender. Counting this season, Sheed has led the NBA in technical fouls in seven seasons, and has been in the top five in technical fouls in 12 of his 14 seasons. For his career, he has 291 technical fouls.
21. On Wednesday, the Pistons seemed poised to end their losing streak, leading the Hornets early in the fourth quarter, but Wallace suffered the kind of meltdown that has punctuated his career. With the game tied 71-71, Wallace gave up an offensive rebound to Hornets reserve forward Sean Marks, allowing New Orleans to score the basket that put them ahead to stay in a game they would win by just three points. After the Marks play, Wallace complained demonstratively to get a technical foul, and shortly thereafter angrily knocked a towel from a Hornets ball boy's hand into the crowd for a second technical foul and automatic ejection. He followed that by throwing a towel in the direction of his coach, Michael Curry, who had just seconds before removed him from the game. All of this appeared to raise the possibility that Wallace would face what could have been the NBA's first-ever triple suspension -- the automatic suspension for his 16th technical foul of the season, a league suspension for knocking a towel into the crowd and a team suspension for his actions toward his coach. However, it was revealed on Thursday that the NBA had rescinded two of Wallace's previous technical fouls, giving him only 14 for the season. But instead of suspending him, might the Pistons just release him now, with only 26 games remaining on his contract? In any case, Sheed's tenure in Detroit, which began in spectacular fashion in 2004 with an NBA title (remember his championship belt?), is reaching an ignominious end.

22. Richard Hamilton has the lowest scoring (17.0 ppg) and rebounding (2.9 rpg) numbers of his career, not counting his rookie season, when he played just 19 minutes a game.
23. After the game, Hamilton complained about his demotion to the bench, and his role as Iverson's understudy for the past 16 games. "I've said I'm happy to come off the bench as long as we're winning," Hamilton said. "But we're losing. We're now 4-12 with me coming off the bench. Something's got to change." The Pistons are 17-15 with Hamilton starting.
24. In hopes of winning a title with the Pistons, Antonio McDyess forfeited almost $9 million in guaranteed salary this season and next to get free of his contract with the Nuggets after he was included in the Billups-Iverson trade.
25. Curry vowed to develop the Pistons' young players, but the process hasn't been a smooth one. In addition to Stuckey's slump mentioned above, and the 8.1 PER of Arron Afflalo, there is the case of Jason Maxiell: Though he's one of Detroit's more productive players, Maxiell's minutes have dropped this season from 21.6 to 16.3 per game. (Actually, Curry is not the first Detroit coach in recent years to show reluctance to disturb his lineup of veterans, as the careers of Mehmet Okur, Darko Milicic, Carlos Arroyo, Carlos Delfino and Amir Johnson have shown.)
26. Detroit was once Where Reclamation Projects Happen: Think Billups, Hamilton, Wallace and Wallace. The Pistons tried it to apply their Midas touch to this season's major free-agent signee, Kwame Brown, with disastrous results. Brown has started 19 games for the Pistons, but has played only 27 minutes in the last month and has a PER of 10.6, nearly a career low.
27. The Pistons' streak of consecutive home sellouts, which began in January 2004 and stood as the NBA's high at the time, ended on Feb. 4 at 259 consecutive games.
28. The date for Pistons loss No. 29 in the previous six seasons (including the postseason):
2003: April 6
2004: April 21
2005: April 29
2006: Eliminated from playoffs with 26 total losses
2007: April 15
2008: May 28
29. Despite it all, the Pistons aren't dead yet. If the playoffs started today, they would get their chance to knock off the defending NBA champions in the first round.

[nasty daddy]

http://dananbaplayoff.blogspot.com/2009 ... r-now.html

SHEED CAN PLAY - FOR NOW
The league office told the Pistons Thursday morning that two of Rasheed Wallace's technicals this season had been rescinded. That drops Wallace's total to 14, making him eligible to play Friday at Orlando. When Wallace got kicked out of Wednesday's game, he seemingly had reached the season limit of 16, which results in an automatic one-game suspension.
However, Wallace's towel-throwing incident - he tossed one into the stands and another toward official Bill Kennedy in New Orleans - is still under review. He will be fined and could face a suspension for that blowup. Stay tuned.

[nasty daddy]

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=3937425

Van Lier found dead at home
Norm Van Lier, one of the most popular players in Chicago Bulls history and one of the NBA's top defensive players in the 1970s, was found dead in his home just blocks away from the team's arena Thursday. He was 61.

The cause of death was not immediately known, authorities said.

Authorities responded to a subsequent well-being check and found Van Lier unresponsive shortly before 1 p.m. He was pronounced dead at the scene, Chicago Fire Department spokesman Quention Curtis said.

[nasty daddy]

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/b ... ref=si_nba

Detroit Pistons forward Rasheed Wallace won't be suspended after all for the team's game against the Orlando Magic on Friday night.

It appeared that Wallace would face a one-game suspension because he picked up two technical fouls in Wednesday night's 90-87 loss to the New Orleans Hornets. NBA rules dictate that a player must be sidelined for a game when he reaches 16 technical fouls.

However, technicals Wallace received Dec. 23 and Feb. 7 were rescinded, NBA vice president of basketball communications Tim Frank said in an e-mail Thursday to The Associated Press. That leaves Wallace with 14 this season.

[nasty daddy]

http://www.detroitnews.com/apps/pbcs.dl ... SPORTS0102

Commentary: Pistons need to cut Rasheed Wallace
We are watching a full-blown meltdown of the Detroit Pistons. And the blame should rest with team president Joe Dumars. Rasheed Wallace throws a towel at a referee. Rip Hamilton is chirping up, saying he should be starting again. Allen Iverson is out with a back injury and rookie coach Michael Curry has no idea what is going on. And did I mention that the Pistons have lost eight games in a row and there is no help in sight? There are a few things that need to happen. Even though the NBA is not going to suspend Wallace, the Pistons should after the latest meltdown. He lost his composure again during a 90-87 loss to New Orleans and topped it off by throwing a towel toward an official. The Pistons should suspend Wallace. It is time for Dumars to make a statement about Wallace. He is lost and there is no reaching out to him. I would not mind if Dumars decided to release Wallace and say so-long. It is time for his ride to end.

I am tired of Wallace. You are tired of Wallace, and if they were honest with themselves, the Pistons would admit they are tired of Wallace. He had his day here. He helped win a title. Now it is time for him to move on. He has worn out his welcome. Of course, it is easy to blame everything on Sheed or Iverson or Curry. But Dumars must take the greatest share of the blame for this season. He has ruined this team. He created a team with bad chemistry and one with a bad mix. People want to blame Iverson for the Pistons' woes. But Iverson is simply doing what Iverson does. The day he stepped into the league from Georgetown, Iverson was a player who demanded the ball and dominated the ball. A leopard does not change his spots.

Let me give you an illustration. If you captured a wild animal, such as a lion, and brought it back to your house and tried to make it a pet, there is a high probability that you would fail. Eventually, the lion would maul you. Now whose fault is that? It's not the lion's fault. The lion is simply doing what lions do. The same thing has happened with the Pistons. Iverson is an untamed player who demands the ball. That has not changed, nor will it change. Dumars waited too long to do a makeover of this team. That is why we are seeing a meltdown now. It will only get worse if Sheed is allowed to stay in that dressing room. It is time to cut ties now.

[nasty daddy]

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/stor ... AHeadlines

Detroit Pistons forward Rasheed Wallace won't be suspended after all for the team's game against the Orlando Magic on Friday night.

It appeared that Wallace would face a one-game suspension because he picked up two technical fouls in Wednesday night's 90-87 loss to the New Orleans Hornets. NBA rules dictate that a player must be sidelined for a game when he reaches 16 technical fouls.

However, technicals Wallace received Dec. 23 and Feb. 7 were rescinded, NBA vice president of basketball communications Tim Frank said in an e-mail Thursday to The Associated Press. That leaves Wallace with 14 this season.

[nasty daddy]

http://www.freep.com/article/20090226/S ... on++please

As for the bad news
I mentioned I'd like to fast forward the NBA season, too. In this case, I mean straight to the draft lottery selection show. That's where the Pistons are headed, right? They did little to argue that logic on Wednesday, when Rasheed Wallace imploded, Allen Iverson stiffened up and Richard Hamilton complained about his role. Oh, and the team lost its eighth straight. Eee-gads. ESPN.com put together a list of 29 facts about the Pistons demise this season. I’m not sure why they didn’t just go for 30 – the Pistons certainly aren’t lacking in reasons for their problems. Maybe they simply provided a list of the 29 other teams in the league? Actually, the 29 represents the 29 losses the Pistons have after losing to New Orleans. That loss put them two games under .500. Some of the “facts” are a little debatable. Like this one: “20. The NBA's sportsmanship award winner each season is given the Joe Dumars trophy, named for the Pistons' universally admired president of basketball operations. And yet, the Pistons are perpetually among the league's most petulant teams, routinely among the leaders in technical fouls and poor sportsmanship, with Rasheed Wallace the worst offender. Counting this season, Sheed has led the NBA in technical fouls in seven seasons, and has been in the top five in technical fouls in 12 of his 14 seasons. For his career, he has 293 technical fouls.”

Sure, Wallace deserves some criticism. But where is this ranking of poor sportsmanship he mentions? I wasn’t aware of one. Here’s the YouTube video of Wallace’s meltdown. You can’t really see the first towel throw. But the second one is clear, although I’m not sure whether it was directly at his coach or the official.Here's the New Orleans Times-Picayunes' look at the Pistons' mess: "We're not a team that can overcome many mistakes," Detroit Coach Michael Curry said. "We just got to limit our mistakes. I think we can sit here and talk about styles all day, but we have different players on this team. "Allen is better in the open style. So if you ask Allen what style you want to play, he'd probably say get up and down the floor. As a coaching staff, we're trying to put guys in position to be successful. You can't ask Rasheed (Wallace) and (Antonio) McDyess to run with Allen all the time."

So ... what's the remedy, exactly? Play one speed half the game and switch at halftime? Keith Langlois, writer for the Pistons Web site, has managed to find the good news in all of this. McDyess is rebounding more! (Hold your applause.) Hornets.com asked Langlois: "At roughly two-thirds of the way through this season, what’s been the most pleasant surprise of 2008-09 so far for the Pistons? His response? Langlois: It’s a team that’s been to six straight conference finals with seven straight 50-win seasons, so to be hovering around .500 nearing March sort of precludes many pleasant surprises. But since Antonio McDyess returned from a rib injury in early January, he’s averaging 10 rebounds a game – numbers he hasn’t touched since before the series of devastating knee injuries that cost him virtually three seasons of his prime. So they have that going for them.

[nasty daddy]

http://slamonline.com/online/nba/2009/0 ... n-numbers/

The Pistons’ Fall from Grace, in Numbers
The Motown disaster, statistically speaking: “No team has fallen off more offensively or defensively since last season than the Pistons. They’re a worse offensive team than the Timberwolves and a worse defensive team than the Bobcats. Their defensive rating over the last 21 games (112.4) is at the level the Clippers have been this season. That they’ve deteriorated so much on both ends of the floor jibes with the idea that this team is in a general malaise, suffering from a lack of chemistry and fire.”

[nasty daddy]

http://slamonline.com/online/nba/2009/0 ... man-thing/

Rip Hamilton on This Whole Sixth Man Thing
In keeping with the Detroit theme today: “I said I would come off the bench as long as we win,’ Hamilton said. ‘But we’ve been losing. We are 4-12 with me coming off the bench. Something’s got to give. Something’s got to change. I am on board with doing whatever for the team but coming off the bench and we’re not winning, that’s something totally different.”

[nasty daddy]

http://www.freep.com/article/20090226/S ... +after+all

Wallace won't get automatic suspension after all
Rasheed Wallace will be in the Pistons’ lineup after all Friday night against the Orlando Magic.

It looked like he would have to serve a one-game suspension because he picked up two technical fouls in Wednesday night’s 90-87 loss to the Hornets. NBA rules dictate that a player must sit a game when he reaches 16 technicals. But NBA vice president of basketball communications Tim Frank said in an e-mail this morning that technicals received on Dec. 23 and Feb. 7 were rescinded. That leaves Wallace with 14 for the season.

Wallace picked up the technicals in the fourth quarter and was automatically ejected from the game. He got the first one after arguing the officials should have called an over-the-back call against Sean Marks of the Hornets. He yelled at official Bill Kennedy all the way down the court, seemingly asking for the technical.Later when he was called for a foul against David West, he argued that call, too and coach Michael Curry subbed in Antonio McDyess. But Wallace argued all the way to the bench and then tossed a towel into the stands and another onto the court. That display brought the second technical. The Pistons will take today off before trying to end an eight-game losing streak against the Magic on Friday.

[nasty daddy]

http://blog.mlive.com/fullcourtpress/20 ... 29_pi.html

ESPN's Royce Webb puts together 29 depressing, but interesting, factoids about the Detroit Pistons and their recent slide.

Those 29 losses are just one shy of the number of games the Pistons lost last season, including the postseason: Loss No. 29 came on May 28, in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference finals.The worst may not be over. The Pistons play in Orlando on Friday (ESPN, 7 ET) and in Boston on Sunday (ABC, 1 ET), meaning that a losing streak of 10 games and counting likely looms. Furthermore, Rasheed Wallace faces at least a one-game suspension -- and perhaps a much harsher penalty -- after getting two technical fouls, knocking a towel into the stands and throwing another towel in the direction of his coach. (More on that below.)

For most franchises, a slump like this is just part of the game, but this is Detroit Basketball we're talking about -- one of the NBA's greatest franchises of the past 25 years, a team that prints up tickets for the Eastern Conference Finals before the season starts. To demonstrate what a remarkable run it's been for the Motor City Bad Boys and just how far they've have stumbled into unfamiliar territory, we've put together 29 facts and factoids with great help from the team at ESPN Research.

[nasty daddy]

http://blog.mlive.com/fullcourtpress/20 ... 29_pi.html

Being near the top of the best in the NBA for years has been enjoyable for Piston fans and the Piston franchise. With the Pistons going to Orlando for Friday's game without Rasheed Wallace, and perhaps also Allen Iverson, the Magic will be ready to grab one of their rare wins against the Pistons.