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

[nasty daddy]

http://smokingpistons.com/2009/10/27/br ... he-season/

10/28 – at Memphis. The season opener will be a critical one for this team’s morale. The Grizzlies got older and better in the offseason and have the benefit of playing at home. Look for them to attack the Pistons in the post via Zach Randolph, the type of player the Pistons will struggle to contain throughout the season. Pistons loss. (0-1)

[nasty daddy]

http://smokingpistons.com/2009/10/27/br ... he-season/

10/30 – vs. Oklahoma City. The Thunder have a lot of offense but are lacking defensively. The Pistons’ home-opener could turn into a shootout and will be won by the team more committed to playing defense. Pistons win. (1-1)

[nasty daddy]

http://smokingpistons.com/2009/10/27/br ... he-season/

10/31 – at Milwaukee. The Bucks figure to still be tinkering with their rotation on Halloween and appear to be the best chance for the Pistons to pick up a road win prior to December. This is the second end of the Pistons’ first back-to-back, which could make it a trap game. Look for the Pistons second unit to keep the team in it. Pistons win. (2-1)

[nasty daddy]

http://smokingpistons.com/2009/10/27/br ... he-season/

11/3 – vs. Orlando. The Pistons simply cannot matchup with anything the Magic put on the floor. Rashard Lewis will be serving his suspension, but look for Dwight Howard and his talented supporting cast to be too much for the Pistons, even at home. Pistons loss. (2-2)

[nasty daddy]

http://smokingpistons.com/2009/10/27/br ... he-season/

11/4 – at Toronto. Another back-to-back, but this time featuring two significantly more talented opponents. The Raptors will be coming back from two off days and eager to notch a win at home after facing the Cavaliers and Magic in two of their first three games. Pistons loss. (2-3)

[nasty daddy]

http://smokingpistons.com/2009/10/27/br ... he-season/

11/6 – at Orlando. The Magic won’t lose many games at home this season, and certainly not to the Pistons. Detroit can only hope that the Magic somehow look past them and they get red-hot from the perimeter. Still, that may not be enough. Pistons loss. (2-4)

[nasty daddy]

http://smokingpistons.com/2009/10/27/br ... he-season/

11/8 – vs. Philadelphia. The Pistons were an abysmal 4-13 on Sunday’s last season, and they will be eager to reverse that trend against the Sixers on the 8th. They can not be lethargic on Sunday’s again this season. But can Detroit deal with Philly’s forwards? This game will be a good litmus test for the rest of the season as both of these teams figure to be fighting to make the playoffs in April. Pistons win a close one. (3-4)

[nasty daddy]

http://smokingpistons.com/2009/10/27/br ... he-season/

11/11 – vs. Charlotte. The Pistons match up very well with Charlotte and the Bobcats only won 12 games on the road all of last season. There’s no excuse to lose this one, unless the Pistons are just bad. Pistons win. (4-4)

[nasty daddy]

http://smokingpistons.com/2009/10/27/br ... he-season/

11/14 – at Washington. The Wizards are loaded inside and out this season, but they will likely be without Antawn Jamison for this game. John Kuester will have two off days to prepare for the Wizards, but expect Flip Saunders to have his troops fired up to defend their home turf. Pistons loss. (4-5)

[nasty daddy]

http://smokingpistons.com/2009/10/27/br ... he-season/

11/15 – vs. Dallas. The Mavericks improved significantly in the offseason and the Pistons will be working the second half of a back-to-back for the third time in less than three weeks. Expect Jason Kidd and Dirk Nowitzki to teach Rodney Stuckey and Charlie Villanueva a lesson or two in this one. Pistons loss. (4-6)

[nasty daddy]

http://smokingpistons.com/2009/10/27/br ... he-season/

11/17 – at Lakers. This is the first game of a brutal four game Western Conference swing and it’s hard to imagine the Pistons getting a win at the Staples Center. They would probably better off saving their legs for the next three games. Pistons loss. (4-7)

[nasty daddy]

http://smokingpistons.com/2009/10/27/br ... he-season/

11/18 – at Portland. A night after playing in front of Hollywood’s finest, the team will head 1,000 miles north to play a deep and talented Trail Blazers squad. Their fourth back-to-back of the season will be the most difficult one. Pistons loss. (4-8)

[nasty daddy]

http://smokingpistons.com/2009/10/27/br ... he-season/

11/21 – at Utah. The Jazz have a shutdown shooting guard and a huge frontline. Basically, I’m saying they match up very well with Pistons and this one could get ugly. Pistons loss. (4-9)

[nasty daddy]

http://smokingpistons.com/2009/10/27/br ... he-season/

11/22 – at Phoenix. Of the four games on this road trip, this is the one the Pistons have the best chance in. However, as the Pistons are appearing in their third straight back-to-back, the Suns will be coming off of two days rest. Plus, Kuester has no answer for Amar’e Stoudemire. Pistons loss. (4-10)

[nasty daddy]

http://smokingpistons.com/2009/10/27/br ... he-season/

11/25 – vs. Cleveland. The good news is that the Pistons are back home and they will have two days to rest prior to their next game. The bad news is they will face LeBron James, Shaquille O’Neal and the Cavaliers. Even at home, the Pistons don’t have much of a chance, even if they can keep it close. Pistons loss. (4-11)

[nasty daddy]

http://smokingpistons.com/2009/10/27/br ... he-season/

11/27 – vs. Clippers. The Pistons will be desperate to get a win and they need to prove their mettle at home against an average team like the Clippers. Blake Griffin will likely be out for this one and there’s a good chance another vital Clipper will be hurt by this point. The Clips have a significant advantage on the inside and that worries me. Still, desperation should kick in for Kuester and his troops by this point. Pistons win. (5-11)

[nasty daddy]

http://smokingpistons.com/2009/10/27/br ... he-season/

11/29 – vs. Atlanta. Another dreaded Sunday 1 pm start in Detroit. The Hawks are the better team on paper, but went just 16-25 on the road last season. Assuming the Pistons learned from their Sunday struggles from last season, they should come out focused for this one. Good performances from Charlie Villanueva and Rodney Stuckey are a must to win this game. Pistons win. (6-11)

[nasty daddy]

http://smokingpistons.com/2009/10/27/br ... he-season/

And you know what? That may be optimistic. Aside from Charlotte, there is not an easy win on the November schedule. Is this team’s psyche strong enough to endure a bad start to the season? What about the coach? Or the city? A slow start could get Joe Dumars’ trigger finger itchy, and trade rumors could make Richard Hamilton agitated. Expect another significant trade from Dumars’ camp well before the trade deadline as things get restless in Detroit.

[nasty daddy]

http://www.pistonpowered.com/2009/10/ri ... ael-curry/

Richard Hamilton sticks ups for Allen Iverson, bashes Michael Curry
From The (Memphis) Commercial Appeal (Hat tip: Henry Abbott of TrueHoop): “M.C. lied to us a million times,” Hamilton said of Curry. “He sat me and A.I. down one time and was like, ‘I’m going to lean on both of you the whole year, just don’t go to the media. Say you’ll do whatever for the team and blah blah blah.’ This was a week before he brought me off the bench. He lied. So I feel for what Allen said.” He added: “I think the person that we had didn’t know how to take advantage of (our roster). Instead of taking advantage of it, he killed it.” Hamilton also discredited the idea that the Pistons, although upset about losing Chauncey Billups in the trade with the Nuggets, were unwilling to accept Iverson as a teammate. Asked if he ever had any problems with Iverson, Hamilton said: “Oh, no, no, no. We loved him, he loved us. We were all friends, we were all brothers. Like I said, certain people make it complicated when it shouldn’t be complicated.”

I buy that Curry screwed this up. He clearly messed up things we could see (lineups, schemes, etc.). It’s hard to give him the benefit of the doubt on this. I’m selling that everything was cool between Iverson and everyone else. It was too obvious that the Pistons played harder when Hamilton was on the court than when Iverson was. Maybe the players’ wanted to embrace Iverson. But, from the outside looking in, it appeared they resented him deep down – maybe for taking Hamilton’s spot, maybe for hogging the ball, maybe for not playing team defense, maybe for garnering so much attention, maybe a combination of those things. I don’t pretend to know.

But Iverson hasn’t stuck in Philadelphia, Denver or Detroit – and I don’t think things will work out in Memphis. He reminds me of his old coach, friend and nemesis, Larry Brown. Curry didn’t help make the Iverson-as-a-Piston experiment work, but like Brown, maybe Iverson still can’t find what makes him happy. Enough amateur psychology for now. Abbott linked this fantastic 2001 Sports Illustrated piece on Iverson. If Iverson intrigues you nearly as much as he does me, this is a must-read.

[nasty daddy]

http://www.pistonpowered.com/2009/10/ar ... -hamilton/

Are the Pistons on the verge of trading Richard Hamilton?
First, Deron Washington’s release raised a few eyebrows. A very logical explanation for cutting a player who you have room for and have to pay regardless: you want the extra roster spot for a 2-for-1 or 3-for-2 trade.

Now, as pointed about Steve Kays on Twitter (@NBAKays), Richard Hamilton missed today’s practice for personal reasons, according to A. Sherrod Blakely of MLive. Hamilton isn’t hurt.

Pistons coach John Kuester said Hamilton will be in Memphis for tomorrow’s game. Neither Blakely nor Dave Pemberton of The Oakland Press specify if that means Hamilton will play. Kuester’s way of misleading without lying, perhaps? We should know a lot more tomorrow. But Joe Dumars has shown he’s not shy about making late-summer or even early-fall trades.