'Nasty News - Traversing Time & Space' Vol: 63

[nasty daddy]

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

Lee is averaging 28 points, 14.5 rebounds and seven assists in two games against the Pistons this season. He is averaging 19.3 points, 11.2 rebounds and 3.3 assists overall.

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http://scores.espn.go.com/nba/recap?gameId=300117007

Carmelo Anthony scored 37 points and Chauncey Billups added 29 in the Denver Nuggets' 119-112 win over Utah that snapped a four-game winning streak by the Jazz on Sunday night.

Nene added 18 points for the Nuggets, whose win on this January night could mean a lot come April.

Point guard Deron Williams (sprained wrist) and forward Andrei Kirilenko (hyperextended knee) were both in Utah's starting lineup despite playing the night before in a 112-95 win over Milwaukee in Salt Lake City. Williams led the Jazz with 23 points but Kirilenko scored just seven.

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http://www.freep.com/article/20100117/S ... tar-voting

Curious picks, and a call to alter NBA All-Star voting
Unwanted by their teams, Allen Iverson and Tracy McGrady are still adored by their fans. The Memphis Grizzlies quickly parted ways with Iverson. The Houston Rockets are trying to trade McGrady. Maybe the players can swap stories of their rocky roads while covering each other at the All-Star game. Despite having little to no impact this season, both went into the final hours of voting in position to start, thanks to loyal fans who still consider them stars even though their stats say otherwise. And with fans showing signs of getting it so wrong, Boston Celtics guard Ray Allen thinks it’s time to limit their influence. The nine-time All-Star said the fan voting has made the game “watered down” and calls for a change in the process. “I like the fact that the fans get the opportunity to vote and pick who they’d like to see in the All-Star game, but I don’t think it should be 100 percent,” Allen said this week. Allen said fans should have 50 percent of the vote, with the other 50 percent being divided evenly between the media and the players. He said players know who is playing the best, and believes with his idea, “you’d look at five guys starting the All-Star team regardless of hype or highlight.” The NBA likes things the way they are. “We look at it as a great way to engage the fans,” NBA spokesman Brian McIntyre said. “We think it’s a good system.” The NBA went to fan voting for the starters in the mid-70s and this season made it even more available to its fans by allowing them to vote by text messaging. Paper balloting has already closed, but votes can be cast until 11:59 p.m.

Monday night on nba.com or by texting a player’s last name to 6-9-6-2-2 (MYNBA). Starters will be announced Thursday night. McGrady has a good chance of being passed, as his lead over Steve Nash for the second guard spot in the Western Conference was only 2,375 votes when the most recent update was released on Jan. 7. He hasn’t been able to strengthen his case since then, since he’d already been granted a leave from the Rockets while they try to find a trade. He’s played sparingly in only six games this season since coming back from knee surgery, and Allen thinks commissioner David Stern should consider a rule mandating a player appear in a minimum number of games to be eligible. “Tracy, if he played, I’m sure he’d play well enough to be an All-Star player because he’s done that his career,” Allen said. “But again, that’s taking away from another player in the Western Conference that’s having a great year, that’s been playing, that deserves to be in there.” Ex-Pistons guard Iverson had a better shot of holding on to his No. 2 spot in the East, leading Vince Carter by more than 185,000 votes. He’s listed with West players on the paper ballot after starting the season in Memphis, but his votes count in the East since he signed with the Philadelphia 76ers. He hasn’t played at an All-Star level this season, but fans may be looking at what he’s done in the past. “A lot of times voting reflects career achievement as well as yearly achievements,” McIntyre said.Allen also mentioned getting the coaches, who pick the reserves, involved in selecting the starters. Even that may not guarantee the most deserving 10 players, since coaches could have their own opinions about who belongs in the All-Star game.

During Shaquille O’Neal’s unproductive, injury-plagued final season in Miami in 2008, former Knicks coach Isiah Thomas said he planned to vote him as a reserve anyway, recalling when he played that respected older players such as Julius Erving still made All-Star teams late in their careers. That’s why former Pistons coach and current Charlotte coach Larry Brown supports Iverson’s election. “I’ve seen Willie Mays and those older guys start based on what they’ve done in their career in baseball and we’ve had that happen in basketball for years, guys that have made a contribution,” Brown said. “That’s why the fans are involved and I think it’s kind of neat that they are involved. They support the league, they vote for their favorite players. I always look at a guy’s body of work.”That’s fine for some, but it means worthy players are going to be left out. Unlike baseball, which mandates every team be represented in its All-Star game, the NBA has only 12 spots per conference to fill. “You figure if there’s 24 players that get named to the All-Star team, there’s always 30 that deserve it, and you figure that’s six that should be on the All-Star team,” Allen said.Toronto forward Chris Bosh had little chance of starting the game in his hometown of Dallas, sitting well behind LeBron James and Kevin Garnett despite a terrific first half. Yet he doesn’t want to change the voting format. “It’s all about the fans,” he said. “It’s all about who they want to see because they generate the dollars, they’re going to watch the game, so they’re going to vote for their favorite players and that’s probably how it should be.”

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http://twitter.com/dsummers35

New York!

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http://twitter.com/detroit_pistons

Freep: Curious picks, and a call to alter NBA All-Star voting: Unwanted by their teams, Allen Iverson and Tracy Mc... http://bit.ly/8nmy1o

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http://twitter.com/detroit_pistons

MLive: 'Warrior' Ben Wallace impresses Pistons' John Kuester, teammates with weekend effort: The message is clear:... http://bit.ly/82nPuC

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http://twitter.com/detroit_pistons

FullCourtPress: Could the Detroit Pistons be for sale?: Reports suggest Karen Davidson might sell the Pistons and ... http://bit.ly/6kNddo

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http://www.detroitnews.com/article/2010 ... -Mavericks

Chris Bosh scores 23 in Raptors' blowout victory over Mavericks
Chris Bosh had 23 points and 13 rebounds, Andrea Bargnani scored 22 and the Raptors used a big second quarter to beat the Mavericks 110-88 on Sunday.

Jose Calderon had 15 points and Jarrett Jack scored 11 for the Raptors, who took the lead early in the second and never trailed again, leading by as many as 26. Toronto won for the seventh time in eight home games, reaching the midpoint of its season at 21-20.

Dirk Nowitzki scored 19 points and Terry had 18 for the Mavericks, who have lost three of four. Shawn Marion scored 15 and Jason Kidd had 12 points and nine assists.

[nasty daddy]

http://www.detroitnews.com/article/2010 ... Pistons-up

Pistons at Knicks
Tip-off: 1 today, Madison Square Garden, New York
TV/radio: FSD/WXYT 97.1
Outlook: The team plays the back end of a home-and-home series

[nasty daddy]

http://www.detroitnews.com/article/2010 ... Pistons-up

Win streak firing Pistons up
Look around the Pistons locker room these days, there are no signs of a 13-game losing streak.That's way in the past, long gone except for the actual standings, where that long losing streak sunk the Pistons deep in the Eastern Conference. But a three-game win streak helps. Both moving up in the awfully mediocre East, and in a team's confidence. With a chance to make it four wins in a row this afternoon in New York, the Pistons are feeling good about themselves. "We're having fun, we're starting to see some chemistry," said Charlie Villanueva, who had 19 points in Saturday's victory over the Knicks. "Guys are beginning to jell. We have to keep it going."

The Pistons are doing a better job of moving the basketball during these three victories. They're exploiting mismatches and finding open players. "You try to put our guys in positions sometimes and you can also over-coach and that's what you've got to be careful about, making sure you have solid movement anytime you play a team like (the Knicks)," coach John Kuester said. "As with most teams, you have to work your drive-and-kick and you have to be efficient in regards to taking the ball to the basket. Our effectiveness for the first three quarters (Saturday), that was a result of taking the ball to the basket. Said Rodney Stuckey: "We're playing harder, playing as a team, sharing the ball. That's pretty much it. If we come out and share the ball, help each other on defense, we give ourselves a chance to win a basketball game."

Those chances were few and far between just a week, or two, ago. The Pistons simply weren't playing a winning brand of basketball. They're better now. They're giving themselves a chance. And with a favorable schedule -- after today's game, they have six consecutive games at The Palace -- the Pistons have an opportunity to feel real good about themselves. "Things change quickly," Chucky Atkins said. "One game can lead to a streak. With us, it was just important for us to get that confidence. Guys are sharing the ball. It's a lot more fun to play now."

[nasty daddy]

http://www.detroitnews.com/article/2010 ... Pistons-up

Gutsy effort
Rodney Stuckey found himself in a hospital after Friday's victory over New Orleans, hooked to an IV after playing that game with flu-like symptoms.

Stuckey played another 42 minutes on Saturday with 20 points. "I will fight through it," Stuckey said. "(Friday) I did not get home until about 4 o'clock from the hospital, because I had to get an IV. I'll just fight through it. When BG (Ben Gordon ) and Will (Bynum ) will get back, maybe I will get some rest." Said Kuester: "He was phenomenal. He did a great job helping us, especially setting the tone early on."

Gordon (groin) is expected to return this week.

[nasty daddy]

http://www.detroitnews.com/article/2010 ... Pistons-up

Big lift
Chris Wilcox continues to provide an underrated lift.

Against the Knicks, Wilcox had 14 points (7-of-9 shooting) and 10 rebounds in only 16 minutes.

Wilcox has said it's his mission to provide an energy boost for his team right from the opening tip. He's doing that. "Playing the amount of minutes and him starting is giving us that type of energy, that's awfully impressive," Kuester said. "He comes in and plays as efficient as that? Boy, we've got a heck of a player down the road."

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http://apps.detnews.com/apps/blogs/pist ... logid=2003

3 questions
Couple of responses to readers' e-mails: 1) Dan, no, I doubt we'll see DaJuan Summers play much anytime soon. He's the furthest behind of the three rookies. Simply too many people in front of him in the rotation, too. 2) wallyworld, the Pistons will win over 30 games. How much over 30...we'll let's say slightly over 30. The playoffs aren't likely. 3) AJT....I don't consider Stuckey the long-term answer at the point. At the 2-spot, yes. But not point.

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http://twitter.com/detroit_pistons

DetNews: Chris Bosh scores 23 in Raptors' blowout victory over Mavericks: Bosh also had 13 rebounds, Andrea Barg... http://twurl.nl/ygdqml

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http://twitter.com/detroit_pistons

DetNews: Win streak firing Pistons up: Look around the Pistons locker room these days, there are no signs of a 1... http://twurl.nl/dfzja6

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http://www.nba.com/pistons/news/prereport_100118.html

Pistons at Knicks
The PRE Report
Broadcast Schedule:
12:00 p.m. - Pistons In-Focus
12:30 p.m. - Pistons Live
1:00 p.m. - Watch Live on FS Detroit
1:00 p.m. - Join the Chat and Listen Live
The Pistons’ 94-90 victory over the Knicks Saturday night was a 100 percent improvement over their previous meeting, but only 75 percent of the concentration John Kuester is looking for. The players will have a chance to make amends – and extend their three-game winning streak – Monday when they face the Knicks again at Madison Square Garden. The Pistons built a 21-point lead in the third quarter Saturday but let the Knicks come within two points in the final minute before holding on, 94-90. “We’ve got to be focused and understand, don’t take anything lightly,” Kuester said. “First three quarters, I thought we were playing the way I wanted us to at the pace I wanted us to. And then the fourth quarter we became more of watching the clock.”

The Pistons nonetheless looked nothing like the squad that sleepwalked through a 104-87 home loss to the Knicks on Dec. 29. Most of the improvements came on the defensive end, where the Pistons held the Knicks to 40% shooting (down from 51%) and forced 19 turnovers (up from 13). Detroit also enjoyed a 22-board swing in rebounding differential and nine turnovers, seven fewer than on Dec. 29. “Lack of energy, lack of focus and lack of urgency,” lamented Knicks head coach Mike D’Antoni. “I don't think the main guys that were playing came out with any kind of desire to win. It's too bad.”One Knick likely exempt from his coach’s critique is center David Lee, who came up one assist shy of a triple-double for the second straight game. He had 26 points, 17 rebounds and nine assists. Lee was 7-for-10 in the first quarter for 16 points, but just 2-for-9 the rest of the way, for which Kuester credited Jason Maxiell and Ben Wallace. Lee scored a season-high 30 at The Palace Dec. 29. “Max did a great job, as did Body [Wallace],” he said. “But he was taking it to us early on and then all of a sudden we were fortunate enough to do a better job in the post area and I think that’s something important for us. I was pleased with the pace of the game for the first three quarters.”

Kuester was less pleased with the fourth. The Pistons shot 3-for-18 as the Knicks outscored Detroit, 30-17. New York’s rally did provide one benefit – video of the plays D’Antoni would likely call if Monday’s game were close in the fourth quarter. “Well, it was one of those things where we saw some of the things they’re going to do at the end of the game, that’s for sure,” Kuester said. “They’re a team that plays so much better at home, everybody understands that.” The loss dropped New York to 7-13 on the road; they are 9-11 at Madison Square Garden. Conversely, Saturday put the Pistons over .500 at The Palace (10-9). It’s the 4-16 road record that has put Detroit outside the East’s top 10 teams. This is the Pistons’ fourth and final 1 p.m. tip-off. They won the first two at home (Nov. 8 vs. PHI, Nov. 29 vs. ATL) and lost at Toronto Dec. 27. The Pistons also had a 1 p.m. tip off in New York last season. They trailed by as many as 29 points in a 104-92 Knicks victory.

[nasty daddy]

http://www.nba.com/pistons/news/prereport_100118.html

Key Matchup
Wilcox
25
4.9
3.6
0.4
.568 Games
PPG
RPG
APG
FG% 39
4.5
4.1
1.5
.430
Jeffries

The power forward matchup between Chris Wilcox and Jared Jeffries isn’t very intriguing. But maybe that’s what makes it so important. The eighth-year forwards aren’t expected to score a lot, so when one of them has a breakout game – as Wilcox did Saturday with 14 points and 10 rebounds, both season highs – that team’s chances of winning are pretty good. “Coach talked to me before the last game, and I told him I’m going to try to bring more energy, so tonight I just came out from the beginning, started playing hard,” said Wilcox, who entered the starting lineup four games ago. Wilcox did most of his damage in the first quarter, making four of his first five shots for eight points and six rebounds. He is averaging 8.8 points as a starter, double his season average. “That’s awfully impressive,” Kuester said of Wilcox’s performance. “[If] he comes in and plays as efficient as that, boy, we’ve got a heck of a player down the road.”

Wilcox routinely produced such numbers as recently as two years ago when he averaged 13.4 points and 7.0 rebounds with Seattle in 2007-08. “He was fantastic, gave us that lift that we needed,” said Charlie Villanueva. “We need to see more of that of him.” The Knicks could ask the same of Jeffries, who had a season high 15 points and nine rebounds just two games ago – New York’s last victory. Jeffries has been nonexistent offensively against Detroit; he’s scored nine points and taken just seven shots in the first two meetings. His value has been on the defensive end, where he has five blocks and four steals. Wilcox is used to getting the better of Jeffries. He had 10 points and seven rebounds in the 2002 NCAA championship game, helping Maryland upend Indiana. Jeffries, the Hoosiers’ leading scorer, was held to eight points.

[nasty daddy]

http://www.freep.com/article/20100118/S ... to-lineup-

Wilcox's athleticism injects energy into starting lineup
Chris Wilcox was the under-the-radar signing of the Pistons in the off-season. Acquiring Ben Gordon and Charlie Villanueva early in the free-agency period and the later return of Ben Wallace garnered the headlines last summer. And after Wilcox, an eight-year veteran power forward, was benched for 13 of the first 26 games, it looked as if he wouldn't have an impact on this season. But Wilcox has helped the Pistons to a 3-1 record since coach John Kuester put him in the starting lineup. And with a 14-point, 10-rebound effort in Saturday night's victory over the Knicks, Wilcox proved that his athleticism and shooting touch could be a boon to the Pistons the rest of the season. "I thought in the third period he did some great things," Kuester said. "Playing the amount of minutes (16) and him giving us that kind of energy ... that's awfully impressive."

Kuester was talking about four offensive rebounds and an array of acrobatic lay-ups during a Pistons' surge. Wilcox also got the crowd going with an emphatic blocked shot. "A blocked shot can get a team going," Wilcox said. "Running the floor, getting dunks and different things like that is all energy. "I just go out there and try to be aggressive and try to be physical around the boards."

Wilcox admitted it was tough when he wasn't getting minutes, although he faced a similar situation last season when he was traded from Oklahoma City to the Knicks. "It's tough because you look at the situation like I should be playing and I need to be on the court and different things like that," Wilcox said. "And then you just got to stay professional, as hard as it is. "You just got to keep working out, keep working out and then you got to prove yourself in practice and then eventually things wasn't going well with us and we needed an extra spark. He changed the lineup and I tried to be that extra spark."

[nasty daddy]

http://www.freep.com/article/20100118/S ... to-lineup-

Tonight: Knicks
Matchup: Pistons 14-25; New York 16-24.
Tipoff: 1, Madison Square Garden, New York.
TV/radio: FSD; WXYT-FM (97.1).

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http://www.freep.com/article/20100118/S ... to-lineup-

NOTEBOOK: Will Bynum (left ankle) and Gordon (right groin) are unlikely to return for today's matinee vs. the Knicks at Madison Square Garden. Tayshaun Prince (left knee bruise) is questionable.