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

[nasty daddy]

http://www.nba.com/2010/news/powerranki ... index.html

25 Detroit (29) 14-25 Pace: 90.9 (29), Off: 100.2 (24), Def: 106.9 (22)
Thanks to some improved defense and some weak opponents, the Pistons have followed their 13-game losing streak with three straight wins. After Monday's visit to New York, they have a six-game homestand, but five of the six are against winning teams.

[nasty daddy]

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/powerrank ... 10&week=12

1: Cleveland Cavaliers
2: Los Angeles Lakers
3: Denver Nuggets
4: Atlanta Hawks
5: Boston Celtics
6: Portland Trailblazers
7: Orlando Magic
8: Dallas Mavericks
9: San Antonio Spurs
10: Phoenix Suns
26: Detroit Pistons

[nasty daddy]

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/powerrank ... 10&week=12

26 (29) Pistons 14-25 : I would never, ever dare to overstate the impact of these rankings, but you tell me: Is it a coincidence that the Pistons started to show a pulse again after slipping all the way to the depths of No. 29? I think not.

[nasty daddy]

http://espn.go.com/nba/hollinger/powerrankings

1: Cleveland Cavaliers
2: Los Angeles Lakers
3: Utah Jazz
4: San Antonio Spurs
5: Orlando Magic
6: Oklahoma City Thunder
7: Atlanta Hawks
8: Boston Celtics
9: Denver Nuggets
10: Charlotte Bobcats
28: Detroit Pistons

[nasty daddy]

http://www.nba.com/2010/news/01/19/celt ... ef:nbahpt2

Garnett returns to practice, targets Friday return
He hopes to provide it Friday night against the Portland Trail Blazers. Garnett is expected to miss his 10th straight game with a hyperextended right knee Wednesday night on the road against the Detroit Pistons, but barring a setback, Rivers said Garnett will play the next game.

[nasty daddy]

http://espn.go.com/blog/truehoop

Michael Rosenberg of the Detroit Free Press: "If you assume (as I do) that the Red Wings will stay within the Ilitch family, that still leaves the question of where they will play. It will take savvy ownership and creativity to build a hockey arena in this economy. And this brings us back to the Pistons. They were Bill Davidson's baby. Karen Davidson inherited them, and she might not want to keep them. They have been wildly successful over the past decade under the ideal modern sports model: They are the centerpiece of an entertainment conglomerate, their owner also owned their arena, and the businesspeople (mostly) let the basketball people do their jobs. It seems simple, but many cities have struggled to build that model. If you are a sports fan in this town, you have to hope that Karen Davidson keeps the model, or finds somebody who will. And that the Tigers and Lions end up in safe hands, too."

[nasty daddy]

http://need4sheed.com/2010/01/talking-p ... rmers.html

Talking Pistons on The Benchwarmers
With the Pistons losing streak behind us, Jim Kushlan, Don Zellers and “Shaggy” Matt Culbreath were nice enough to ask me back on their show again to talk Pistons.

If your in the Toledo area you can check out the show Sunday nights on News Talk 1370 WSPD. The Benchwarmers cover our the Pistons, Tigers, Lions, as well as Ohio based teams. The Benchwarmers is what you get when you put a Pistons fan and a Cavs fan on the same radio show.

Listen to the Interview

Audio interview in the link above^.

[nasty daddy]

http://www.nba.com/pistons/news/trueblu ... 00119.html

Rip's Role
For a guy who doesn’t control the basketball all that much, Rip Hamilton sure seems to have a profound effect on ball movement within a Pistons’ offense that has often gone flat without him – and it’s been without him far too much in this injury-cursed season. The Pistons got another reminder of Hamilton’s value to the offense, which goes beyond his uncanny knack for finding open creases and sticking 18-footers like clockwork, when he wasn’t available Monday in New York. That marked his 27th game missed this season – 21 with a sprained ankle suffered in the season opener, five more with a hamstring strain incurred two games into his first return, and the loss to the Knicks when Hamilton was dealing with a stomach virus. Hamilton, who’s led the Pistons in scoring in each of his seven seasons and last week ascended to No. 6 on the franchise’s all-time scoring list, is expected back Wednesday when Boston comes to The Palace. So is Chris Wilcox, the latest addition to the injured list after sitting out the second half in New York with a bad back. Ben Gordon (right groin) and Tayshaun Prince (left knee) worked out extensively Tuesday and both could play against Boston. Will Bynum remains out, but he, too, was back on the court getting up lost of jump shots and testing his left ankle with hard cuts and lateral movements. If Hamilton, Gordon and Prince are all back, that will mark the second time this season the same trio returned from injury (or illness) absences all at once – and forgive John Kuester if he has tiny misgivings about that. When they came back on Dec. 27 at Toronto, the Pistons were on a six-game losing streak and delighted for their en masse return. But it was far from a panacea. The Pistons would lose their next seven games – and see Gordon and Prince go down again in the process – as their influx resulted in a largely disjointed offense with the returnees struggling to regain form and those who’d held down the fort faced with adjusted roles. “First of all, you like to get them back,” Kuester said after Tuesday’s practice, which didn’t last much longer than an hour with the full group, but that long again with all the individual and small group workouts being staged around the practice facility. “Second of all, you’re concerned about them getting their legs and understanding what game pace is all about.

Our biggest concern right now is how we’re going to defend Boston and whoever is ready is the guys we’ve got to go with.” Prince and Gordon engaged in a series of one-on-one activities with rookies Austin Daye and DaJuan Summers, then mixed baseline-to-baseline running with walking under the direction of Kuester assistant Steve Hetzel. Bynum worked with player development coach Ryan Hoover in extensive shooting drills. All were drenched in sweat. So it at least appears a return to health for the full roster is imminent, however long it lasts this time, and Kuester can only hope continuity leads to greater offensive potency. Actually, he can do more than hope. Because the numbers with Hamilton in and out of the lineup give him fairly compelling evidence of his value alone to the offense, and your eyes tell you that when Hamilton is out, ball movement usually suffers. “He’s huge,” Ben Wallace said Tuesday. “When Rip’s on the floor, he’s one of those guys who doesn’t need the ball in his hands to make plays. He makes plays with his legs. He’s running all around. No matter what side he goes, the defense has to shift. He’s huge for us with ball movement. Even though he’s not handling the ball, he’s just moving the defense because he’s always running around.” The Pistons, expected to be a potent team offensively and suspect defensively coming into the season, instead are bringing up the rear in several key offensive categories. They’re 29th in points per game at 92.2, ahead of only New Jersey, 30th and last in assists at 17.33 and 27th in field-goal percentage at .434. No surprise that the Pistons are better across the board when Hamilton plays. In his 13 games, the Pistons score 94.9, shoot at a .440 clip and average 19.4 assists. But throw out the seven games Hamilton played upon returning from his hamstring strain, when Gordon and Prince also returned and the equilibrium got thrown out of whack, and the numbers are starkly different.

In those other six games – the season opener at Memphis, the two-game return in mid-December and the three games last week the Pistons won on the heels of their 13-game slide, when Hamilton said he finally felt like he had his legs back – the Pistons are a slightly better than average offensive team. They’re also 5-1 in those games, the only loss coming at Houston. The NBA norms in those categories are 99.9 points and 20.9 assists on .458 shooting. In the six-game sample with Hamilton at his peak, the Pistons’ numbers are 99.8, 21.7 and .462. And only in the season opener among those six games were Gordon and Bynum in the lineup. “Any time you take a player of his caliber out of the equation, it makes things a little more difficult,” Kuester said. “His energy is usually so contagious. He comes off screens the way we want people to come off screens. If he doesn’t have the shot, he’s able to get other people involved. And that was sorely missed, as you could tell yesterday.” The game with Boston, which has lost three of its last four while going with Kevin Garnett for all of those games and ex-Piston Rasheed Wallace for the first three, marks the start of a six-game home stretch to close January. If the Pistons, 11th in the Eastern Conference and five games behind No. 8 seed Chicago in the loss column, are going to make a move at the postseason, now is the time. Getting Rip Hamilton back and keeping him in the lineup – and Ben Gordon, Tayshaun Prince and Will Bynum along with him – will go a long way toward giving the Pistons the offensive firepower they need to rack up the wins it’s going to get to step over those teams standing in their way.

[nasty daddy]

http://www.nba.com/pistons/index_main.html

Know Your Black History
High school students may enter a written or art-focused submission on an aspect of Black history that could qualify them to win a $1,000 scholarship for higher education. All submissions must be received by 12 p.m. on Tuesday, February 16, 2010. Enter Online

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http://www.971theticket.com/pages/3824327.php

Ben Wallace says Rasheed Wallace can expect boos, cheers at the Palace
The opinion at Detroit Pistons practice today was that Rasheed Wallace, who is expected to start for the Boston Celtics on Wednesday at the Palace, will get a mix of boos and cheers when he’s announced.

[nasty daddy]

http://www.971theticket.com/pages/3824327.php

Pistons report: Getting inside
The Pistons could be for sale. The Detroit News reported Monday owner Karen Davidson is considering selling the team. Davidson inherited the Pistons and the arena the team plays in, The Palace, from her late husband Bill Davidson.

[nasty daddy]

http://www.freep.com/article/20100119/S ... oos-cheers

Ben Wallace says Rasheed Wallace can expect boos, cheers at the Palace
The opinion at Detroit Pistons practice today was that Rasheed Wallace, who is expected to start for the Boston Celtics on Wednesday at the Palace, will get a mix of boos and cheers when he’s announced.

Wallace played for the Pistons in 2004-09. “I look forward to going back there and grabbing a bite to eat with a couple of the guys and catch up on some old times," Wallace told reporters after Monday’s loss to Dallas.

Pistons forward Ben Wallace said: “He’ll get some cheers, and he’ll get some boos. It’ll make for some exciting basketball, since he’s one of those guys who had never fouled anyone since he has been in the league. "He leads by example. He’s always telling guys where they need to be, making sure everyone is on the right page and always talking; letting you know where the help is coming from and where to send your man so you can get help. I think Boston is a great fit for him."

[nasty daddy]

http://67.72.16.166/wxyt/2170953.mp3

Ben Wallace talks about Rasheed Wallace's return to the Palace
Ben thinks Sheed will gets boos and cheers

Audio in the link above^.

[nasty daddy]

http://www.emptythebench.com/2010/01/19 ... contracts/

Richard Hamilton, G, Detroit Pistons
When the Pistons signed Hamilton to a 3-year, $35 million extension to his existing deal back in November of ‘08, the team was still riding high off 6 years of Eastern Conference domination and, with Chauncey Billups also locked up through the 2011-12 season, looked to have its All-Star backcourt wearing Pistons’ blue and red all the way through their respective golden years. Then Billups was suddenly traded, the team shifted gears towards rebuild mode, and Hamilton was left in the lurch, to some degree, as the stalwart veteran used to winning who now had to deal with inexperienced head coaches (Michael Curry and now John Kuester), a young, in-flux roster, and mounting losses.

After the team signed Ben Gordon to a semi-lucrative free-agent deal last summer, Hamilton became largely expendable… and may have already been traded if not for that extension. Few teams are willing to add payroll this year, and though Rip’s production has slipped a little and he’s been battling injuries almost all season long, at 31 years old there’s still plenty left in the tank. No, it’s that $35 million pricetag, once thought to be reasonable, that’s the main obstacle standing in the way of GM Joe Dumars finding a new home for his starting SG who no longer fits the long-term direction the team is moving in. And that’s what makes this contract so cumbersome for Detroit.

[nasty daddy]

http://wdfn.com/pages/DETROITPISTONS.html

Streak's over as Hamilton-less Pistons lose matinee
Nate Robinson showed his game is much more than dunks, scoring 27 points today to lead the New York Knicks to a 99-91 victory and a split of a home-and-home series with the Detroit Pistons.Chosen earlier in the day to defend his slam dunk title at All-Star weekend, Robinson made five three-pointers, one during a 7-0 spurt that started the fourth quarter and gave the Knicks the lead for good. Fellow reserve Al Harrington and Wilson Chandler (Benton Harbor) each added 17 points as the Knicks bounced back from consecutive losses, including Saturday’s 94-90 defeat in Detroit, and improved to 18-6 on Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Rodney Stuckey scored 22 for the shorthanded Pistons, who had their three-game winning streak snapped. They led after three quarters with a gutty effort but simply didn’t have enough firepower with four of their top six scorers out. Already missing guard Ben Gordon (strained right groin), forward Tayshaun Prince (sore left knee) and guard Will Bynum (sprained left ankle), the Pistons were even further weakened when guard Richard Hamilton came down with an upset stomach.

Detroit hung around into the fourth quarter, but Stuckey appeared to run out of gas, scoring his only two points of the period in the final minute. Ben Wallace scored a season-high 16 points and grabbed 14 rebounds, and Austin Daye and Charlie Villanueva also had 16 points for the Pistons. Daye started in place of Hamilton.Robinson did most of his damage in his 13-point second quarter from the perimeter, though he thrilled the crowd late in the period with a dunk off an alley-oop pass from Chris Duhon for a 12-point lead. The Knicks led, 57-43, at the half. Detroit turned it around by holding the Knicks to 11 points in the third, their worst quarter of the season, and led, 70-68, going to the final period. The Pistons were down only one with 10 minutes left before Harrington, Danilo Gallinari and Robinson made three-pointers in a 13-4 spurt that gave the Knicks an 88-78 lead, and they held on from there. Gallinari finished with 16 points, and David Lee had 11 points and 15 rebounds for New York. The Knicks missed their first six shots in falling behind, 7-0, made five of their next six to grab the lead, and it was tied at 23 after one.

Notebook: Eddy Curry is expected to miss about six weeks after knee surgery, the latest setback for the injury-plagued Knicks center. The team said he would have an arthroscopic procedure today to remove loose cartilage in his left knee and begin rehabilitation within a week. Curry has played only seven games this season. ... Robinson will compete against Gerald Wallace, Shannon Brown (Michigan State), and either DeMar DeRozan or Eric Gordon on Feb. 13 in Dallas. ... Stuckey came in averaging 21.9 points when Hamilton and Gordon are out.

[nasty daddy]

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/3286 ... -situation

Detroit Pistons: Fans Facing a Tough Situation
They came, they saw, they let a first-quarter lead turn into a double-digit halftime deficit. That was the story on Martin Luther King Jr. Day for the Detroit Pistons in New York, and that basically has been a microcosm of the entire season so far: the Pistons take two steps forward and then five steps back. Actually, for the Pistons, it has been more like five steps forward, 13 steps back, three steps forward, and at least one step back (judging from their upcoming schedule, it likely will be four steps back, but that's another story). For Pistons fans, it might be easy to lose interest in this team, and treat them like they did during the era between the Bad Boys and this past decade, when the franchise had its two most successful runs. Seriously, who could blame you? This team is inconsistent, often injured and comprised of many faces that will likely not be back next season. To someone that has not been following this team, it would be easy to tune into this afternoon's game and wonder who the heck Chris Wilcox is and when did Detroit pick him up?However, I come from a long line of optimists, and it just is not in my nature to give up on a team. So, let's look at the bright side. For one, the rookies look a lot better than many thought they would. Before the season, I thought Austin Daye would receive the same treatment that Tayshaun Prince received his rookie year: spot duty in blowouts and occasional calls to solve a matchup problem on defense. But Daye has proven to be much further developed than previously thought, and ironically could make Prince expendable. Dajuan Summers has looked solid in the few games he has been called upon, however, if I hear another commentator refer to his "NBA-ready body" I am going to start to wonder when Skinemax started showing games. The real gem has been Jonas Jerebko, who could just turn out to be a poor man's version of New York's David Lee. He plays with a high motor and has a nose for the ball. While only Daye appears to have the potential for stardom, each of these players should provide the Pistons with solid depth over the coming years.Rodney Stuckey, depending on how you look at him, has also been a bright spot for this team. Okay, before you jump out of your seat and berate your laptop or burn a picture of him in effigy, let's talk about this. First, Stuckey is not a point guard and I think everyone, Joe Dumars included, knows it. When Stuckey has the opportunity to play off of the ball, he looks confident and aggressive, using his athleticism and size to slice to the hoop or nail a mid-range jumper. When Stuckey is forced to man the point, he looks tentative, and a step slow, constantly trying to will himself to be the leader he wants to be.

The problem is that he is not that leader, not at this point in his young career. That really is not a big deal—he can still be a successful player without being a team-leading point guard.The good news is that he is getting lots of playing time right now, and that can only be a good thing. But until he can develop the ability to hit the three, he will never uncover his true potential. Ben Wallace has been a revelation this year, and is deserving of another contract. Dumars and coach John Kuester must be ecstatic over his play and leadership, and he could continue to help next year in setting a defensive tone. Charlie Villanueva has also looked good in spots, and his contract is very reasonable for what he brings to the table. The best thing about him so far seems to be his willingness to come off of the bench. With the right players around him, he could be a Sixth Man of the Year candidate, and a real offensive spark off the bench. Will Bynum and Ben Gordon both looked good at times before injuries derailed their seasons, and I think Detroit is playing it smart by allowing them to both get healthy on their own schedules, rather than rushing two very talented players to a season that is likely heading towards lottery balls. This brings us to what the future holds for this team; it will require some patience and, not surprisingly, some optimism (not to mention luck). This team is likely not heading to the playoffs this year. While they are only 5.5 games out of the eighth seed in the East, this team is just not built for a playoff run. The frontcourt is woefully thin, and the backcourt situation is incredibly inconsistent. It is way too early to begin talking about the draft, but this is likely the single most important draft that Detroit is facing since they picked up Grant Hill in the 1990s. Not only will they have a great pick, but they will need to pick a winner. Dumars has been known for doing great with late first-rounders and second-rounders, but not so well with lottery picks. This will have to change this year. He needs to draft a game-changing point guard or a dominant big man. Since a big man is likely a long shot, he will need to do all he can to get a point guard. The best point guard that will likely be in this draft is Kentucky's John Wall. Obviously, a lot can happen between now and the draft, with the NCAA tournament always the perfect stage for showing off talent. However, if there is any way that Dumars can swing Wall, he needs to make that happen. I don't care if he has to trade Daye, Gordon and Hamilton—he needs to get his point guard.

Secondly, he needs to figure out what this team is going to be. Right now, it is a team without an identity.They want to score, but so far have been inconsistent in doing so, ranking second to last in the league. They are a top-10 defensive team, but they don't seem to have any stoppers, and when they need to shut a team down, they have a hard time doing so. More than likely, their defensive ranking has more to do with their slow offensive pace than their defensive prowess. Personally, I think Dumars is waiting for a team to blow him out of the water with a trade proposal for one of his veteran players. This likely will not happen, as Rip Hamilton's contract is too big to move, and Prince has been too injured to prove useful to a contender. He could trade Bynum or Jason Maxiell, but those would be minor moves in order to free up cap space. I don't think Dumars will settle for a weak deal for one of his vets, opting instead to wait until the draft to make a move. That being said, there continues to be a lot of trade chatter involving Prince, and I would not be shocked if he was dealt. But Pistons' fans need to come to grips with the fact that a season-saving messiah like Chris Bosh or Amare Stoudamire is not heading to Detroit this year. However, there are a lot more reasons for optimism than pessimism with this team. Listen, this club is young and talented, and likely only two players away from being a contender. Personally, I have been proud of this team. They do not seem to quit, battling each game to the bitter end.For fans of this franchise, this represents our karmic responsibility. For the better part of a decade, this team coasted along and underachieved, relying way too much on the idea that they could "turn it on" when they needed to, usually leading to a loss in the playoffs against teams that they were better than.This is the cleansing of our proverbial basketball soul, the rebirth of the franchise in a stronger standing than it was before. Why not watch, develop a relationship with these players, and be on the ground floor of something special?But then again, I am an optimist.

[nasty daddy]

http://www.pistonpowered.com/2010/01/ma ... press-row/

Maybe the writers are talking a little too much on press row
Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press: You don’t expect Hakeem Olajuwon impersonations from Ben Wallace. But that’s what you got midway through the third quarter Monday when Wallace nailed a turnaround, fade-away jumper along the left baseline over a Knicks defender.

Ted Kulfan of The Detroit News: Late in the third quarter, with the Pistons on an 8-0 run that gave them the lead, Wallace was calling for the ball on the low block. With a defender on his back, Wallace made a strong move, stepped back and arched a beautiful jumper that gave the Pistons a 68-64 lead. Someone remarked about how that particular play looked like something from Hakeem Olajuwon’s heyday.

[nasty daddy]

http://www.bostonherald.com/blogs/sport ... ay-friday/

KG wants to play tomorrow; Celts still say Friday
Doc Rivers said that Kevin Garnett will not play tomorrow night against the Pistons, but Garnett will make the trip and will campaign for minutes. “It wouldn’t be me if I didn’t,” he just said when asked if he’d try to talk his way onto the floor tomorrow night.

Rivers is still looking at Friday’s home game against Portland for a return, and he said even that is not set in stone.

According to Rivers and Paul Pierce, Garnett looked very good while going through the full session today. Rivers explained that conditioning is the only issue. KG said his right knee (hyperextended in the Golden State game on Dec. 28) feels fine.

[nasty daddy]

http://pistonsnationblog.com/2010/01/19/2900/

The numbers say the Pistons cannot score the basketball, and numbers don’t lie. Yesterday the Pistons went 0-12 from beyond the arc against the Knicks. At .290 the Pistons rank 29th in 3pt shooting. They’re also next to last in free-throw shooting (.721) and scoring (92.17). Detroit ranks dead last in assists at 17.32 a game.

[nasty daddy]

http://pistonsnationblog.com/2010/01/19/2900/

Jonas Jerebko won a national sports federation rookie of the year award back in Stockholm, Sweden Monday. Jerebko’s mother accepted the award on his behalf.