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

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http://twitter.com/DETPistons

Same starting lineup for Pistons vs. Portland. Ben Gordon, Will Bynum still out. Tip at 7:30. TV is FS Plus. Radio is 104.3-GM WOMC.

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http://www.detroitbadboys.com/2010/1/23 ... ht-blazers

Forgetting Last Night: Blazers @ Pistons
Portland Trail Blazers at Detroit Pistons, Jan 23, 2010 6:30 PM CST
Game tips at 7:30 pm ET (note: NBA League Pass is Offering a Free Trial through January 24)
Detroit Pistons: 15-27 (11-10 home, -4.8 margin)
Portland Trailblazers: 26-18 (10-11 road, +3.3 margin)
Oppo Research
Tonight's matchup features two teams coming off of heartbreaking losses. Portland suffered an OT loss when Juwan Howard more or less kicked the ball up to Ray Allen for three to put Boston up by one. The Pistons suffered an embarassment at the hands of a mediocre Pacers squad. Both were reflexive of the ills plaguing each team. Portland, which has lost Greg Oden and Joel Pxczhsdba for the season to knee injuries, is relying on LaMarcus Aldridge for toughness up front, and it shows. Their offensive rebounding rate, the centerpiece of last year's offense, has dipped to 4th in the NBA, and continues to decline. To add insult to injury (or, really, injury to insult), Brandon Roy will have plasma injected into his shoulder (it's all the rage). Shoulder injuries tend to heal nicely in the long run, but players have a tendency to return to action from them too quickly, which can cost them their entire season.

Pistons Retro Moment
Gotta go with Vinnie Johnson's 007.
Keys for Detroit
Mind the outside game - One thing that hasn't changed is Portland's ability to hit from outside. Their percentage is down from last year, but this accords with what's happening around the league.
Feed it to Charlie V. inside- I've got a feeling I can just cut and paste this one for the rest of the season. In particular, I don't think Aldridge can hang with him.
Find the offensive weapon - Charlie V. and Stuckey combined for a 4-22 performance last night. At a certain point, it's time to find other options, though that's easier said than done with a shortened bench.
Valuable Links
Step away from the cliff for a moment and visit Blazersedge.

[nasty daddy]

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

John Kuester on exchange with Tayshaun Prince: 'Basketball is a passionate game'
A day after Detroit Pistons coach John Kuester and forward Tayshaun Prince had a heated verbal exchange during a game, Kuester wrote it off as an emotional discussion between two people who share the same goal: winning. “This is a passionate game,” Kuester said about 90 minutes before the Pistons played the Portland Trail Blazers on Saturday night. “You’ve got to play this game with emotion. Emotions do carry over sometimes, but you’ve got to be poised also. You’ve got to understand how you need to express that emotion, whether it be in a game or practice. “Hey, listen, you’d rather have guys that want to win, and that’s what I know Tayshaun wants to do is win.”

Prince and Kuester exchanged words as Prince made his way to the bench after Kuester substituted four players into the game with 7:16 left and the Pistons trailing 97-74. The Pistons played with a lack of emotion during most of what turned out to be a 105-93 loss to the Indiana Pacers that came two days after Detroit had upset the Boston Celtics. Kuester was not asked about the incident Friday night during the post-game press conference, which ended abruptly after less than a minute. Prince refused to address the issue after the game.“Don’t ask me that question,” he said, “because if I speak on it, y’all are going to do nothing but change my words on it, so I’m not going to answer that.”

Later, Prince was asked whether he and Kuester were “cool going forward.” “Of course,” said Prince, who then walked away from media members and left the locker room. Prince was not in the locker room when it opened to the media prior to the game Saturday, which is not uncommon.Kuester said he and Prince talked Saturday but wouldn’t discuss details of the discussion.“We just talked,” Kuester said. “We just talked about what it’s going to take for us to win. That’s all that matters.”

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http://www.pistonpowered.com/2010/01/ga ... l-blazers/

Game Preview: Detroit Pistons vs. Portland Trail Blazers
Essentials
Date: Jan. 23, 2010
Time: 7:30 p.m.
Television: Fox Sports Detroit Plus
Records
Detroit: 15-27
Portland: 26-18
Probable starters
Detroit:
PG
SG
SF
PF
C
Rodney
Stuckey
Richard
Hamilton
Tayshaun
Prince
Chris
Wilcox
Ben
Wallace
Portland:
PG
SG
SF
PF
C
Andre
Miller
Rudy
Fernandez
Martell
Webster
LaMarcus
Aldridge
Juwan
Howard

Las Vegas projection
Spread: Detroit -3
Over/under: 183
Score: Detroit wins, 93-90
Statistical projection
Detroit offensive rating: 103.3 (24th)
Detroit defensive rating: 108.7 (21st)
Detroit pace: 88.88 (29th)
Portland offensive rating: 110.7 (5th)
Portland defensive rating: 107.0 (17th)
Portland pace: 87.3 (30th)
Score: Portland wins, 97-93

Outlook
The Pistons are favored? Really?
The Trail Blazers lost in overtime to Boston last night. This their fourth game in a four-game roadtrip. There’s a good chance they come out flat tonight.
Brandon Roy will miss the game due to injury.
Detroit is the league’s second-slowest team. Portland is slowest.
Keep an eye on how Tayshaun Prince and John Kuester get along.

[nasty daddy]

http://pistonspoint.blogspot.com/

Kuester, Prince moving on from incident
A day later, Pistons coach John Kuester and forward Tayshaun Prince have put their heated argument Friday night behind them. Prince and Kuester got into a shouting match during a fourth quarter timeout Friday in a lopsided loss the Pacers. Kuester had just sent four reserves to check in the game, which the Pistons trailed by 23, when a timeout was called. Prince began shouting at Kuester, who fired back before going back into the huddle to give instructions to the players going into the game. “It was nothing that was out of the ordinary,” Kuester said. “He expressed a couple thoughts and I expressed a couple thoughts. That was it.”

Kuester chalked the moment up to emotions and said more was made of the incident then needed to be. “This is a passionate game,” Kuester said. “You’ve got to play this game with emotion. Emotions do carry over sometimes, but you’ve got to be poised also. You’ve got to understand how you need to express that emotion, whether it be in a game or practice. Hey, listen, you’d rather have guys that want to win, and that’s what I know Tayshaun wants to do is win.” Kuester said him and Prince spoke before Saturday’s game and everything was fine going forward.“We just talked about what it’s going to take for us to win. That’s all that matters,” Kuester said. “You know what? This is an emotional game and we’ve just got to make sure we understand what it’s going to take to win basketball games, but I’ll tell you, Tayshaun understands what needs to be done.”

Prince refused to comment on the situation after Friday’s game and was not available for comment before Saturday’s game, which is not uncommon. Prince traditionally does not talk before games. Friday’s game was Prince’s first back from a left knee injury that kept him out of six games. Prince had seven points, six rebounds and three assists in 24 minutes in the loss to the Pacers and admitted they will continue to monitor his minutes as he recovers from the injury.“It’s a situation where you got to ease into this,” Prince said after Friday’s loss. “I had a good span in the second quarter where I played a lot of minutes and got my wind going real good and things felt OK. For the most part I think it will build as the games keep coming.”

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http://pistonspoint.blogspot.com/

Difficult to deal
The more the Pistons struggle, the more trade rumors seem to heat up. Most of the rumors are just that rumors, but one name that is constantly brought up is Richard Hamilton.

The odds of Hamilton going anywhere are pretty low at least according to Tom Ziller of Fanhouse.com. Ziller named Hamilton the fourth most difficult player to trade. “Hamilton’s contract would have expired in 2010, but (Joe) Dumars decided to tack on additional three years at $34 million guaranteed ... for no apparent reason other than he wanted to prove everyone the Pistons weren't waving a white flag by swapping Chauncey Billups and Antonio McDyess for Allen Iverson,” Ziller wrote. “Age is clearly catching up with Hamilton — this season and last have been his worst as a Piston, and he turns 32 in February. He could start for a handful of teams, but you could get a much better player on the open market for what Detroit's paying Rip.”

Ziller named Gilbert Arenas, Baron Davis and Elton Brand as the three most difficult players to trade.

[nasty daddy]

http://pistonspoint.blogspot.com/

Villanueva struggles
Charlie Villanueva has been up and down offensively for the Pistons this season and it’s clear Detroit is a better team when Villanueva is scoring. The Pistons are 5-1 when Villanueva scores more than 20 points this season. Villanueva had just three points in Friday’s loss to the Pacers and was just 1 for 9 from the field.

“It was tough because we wanted to get him going, especially early on,” Kuester said. “We have a lot of confidence in his offensive decisions. When he’s struggling it just put us in a huge hole. That happens at times.”

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http://pistonspoint.blogspot.com/

Injury update
Piston guard Ben Gordon (strained right groin) missed his seventh straight game and Will Bynum (left ankle sprain) missed his 13th straight game.

The Blazers were without Brandon Roy (right hamstring), Jerryd Bayless (left ankle), Greg Oden (left knee), Joel Przybilla (right knee), Travis Outlaw (left foot) and Nicolas Batum (right shoulder) Saturday night.

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http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=4851917

Cavs sign G Jackson to 10-day contract
The Cleveland Cavaliers have signed point guard Cedric Jackson to a 10-day contract.

The move Saturday was prompted by injuries to Mo Williams and Delonte West in the past few days. The team lost Williams to a sprained shoulder and West to a broken finger. Williams is out for at least one month, and the club doesn't know how long it will be without West. He was injured in Thursday night's win over the Lakers -- his first start replacing Williams.

Jackson, who played at Cleveland State, will give Cleveland some depth behind Daniel Gibson, who will start at the point Saturday night against Oklahoma City. The 6-foot-3 Jackson averaged 14.7 points and 7.6 assists for Erie of the NBA Development League.

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http://www.freep.com/article/20100123/S ... s.-Blazers

Pistons try to recover vs. Blazers
Pistons play for the second time in as many night at the Palace, this time against the Trail Blazers.

Last night, the Pistons were embarrassed in a 105-93 loss to last-place Indiana.

The Blazers, on an East-coast trip, are without All-Star Brandon Roy, who is nursing a bad right hamstring.

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http://scores.espn.go.com/nba/recap?gameId=300123011

Elton Brand scored 23 points, and Thaddeus Young had 22 points and 10 rebounds in the Philadelphia 76ers' 107-97 victory over the Indiana Pacers on Saturday night.

Allen Iverson, recently voted a starter for the Eastern Conference All-Star team, had 17 points, five rebounds and three assists for the 76ers (15-28). Philadelphia won consecutive games for just the fourth time this season.

Danny Granger had 22 points, A.J. Price added 17 and Troy Murphy had 11 points and 12 rebounds for the Pacers (15-29), who have lost four of five after a three-game winning streak.

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http://scores.espn.go.com/nba/recap?gameId=300123030

Jameer Nelson scored six of his 21 points in overtime and the Orlando Magic recovered after blowing a big lead to beat the Charlotte Bobcats 106-95 on Saturday night for their third straight victory.

After Stephen Jackson's layup with 1.2 seconds left in regulation completed Charlotte's comeback from a 16-point third-quarter deficit, Nelson hit a jumper and two free throws in an 11-0 run to start OT.

Vince Carter added 21 points and helped hold Gerald Wallace to nine points.

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http://scores.espn.go.com/nba/recap?gameId=300123005

Daniel Gibson's 3-pointer with 8.7 seconds remaining gave the Cleveland Cavaliers a 100-99 victory over Oklahoma City on Saturday night, the Thunder's second loss in two nights in the final seconds.

LeBron James had 37 points, 12 assists and nine rebounds, and Shaquille O'Neal added a season-high 22 points to help the Cavaliers (34-11) win their fourth straight.

Kevin Durant had 34 points, and Russell Westbrook added 23 for Oklahoma City. The the Thunder (24-20) lost to Memphis on Friday night when Rudy Gay hit a 20-foot jumper with 1.3 seconds remaining.

[nasty daddy]

http://scores.espn.go.com/nba/recap?gameId=300123008

Martell Webster scored a career-high 28 points to help the short-handed Portland Trail Blazers beat the Detroit Pistons 97-93 on Saturday night.

LaMarcus Aldridge added 21 points, and Andre Miller added 11 points and 13 assists as Portland earned a split of a four-game trip despite using just eight players.

Richard Hamilton scored 25 points, and Charlie Villanueva had 17 for the Pistons, who lost their second straight and dropped the season series to the Blazers.

[nasty daddy]

http://scores.espn.go.com/nba/recap?gameId=300123014

Dwyane Wade had 27 points and eight assists before sitting out the fourth quarter, Michael Beasley added 21 points and 13 rebounds and a bizarre week of blowouts for the Miami Heat continued with a 115-84 victory over the freefalling Sacramento Kings on Saturday night.

Udonis Haslem scored 14 points, and Jermaine O'Neal added 12 for the Heat, who beat Indiana by 30 on Tuesday night, lost to Charlotte by 39 on Wednesday night and won in Washington by 24 on Friday night. Only one of Miami's last nine games has been decided by less than 10 points.

Tyreke Evans scored 15 for the Kings, who finished an 0-6 trip, have lost 12 of their last 13 overall and haven't won away from home since that stunning erasure of a 35-point deficit to prevail in Chicago on Dec. 21. Spencer Hawes finished with 14 points, and Omri Casspi had 13 for Sacramento.

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http://www.freep.com/article/20100123/S ... nal-minute

Pistons lose in final minute!
Martell Webster scored a career-high 28 points to help the short-handed Portland Trail Blazers beat the Detroit Pistons 97-93 on Saturday night.

LaMarcus Aldridge added 21 points, and Andre Miller added 11 points and 13 assists as Portland earned a split of a four-game trip despite using just eight players.

Richard Hamilton scored 25 points, and Rodney Stuckey added 10 for the Pistons, who lost their second straight and dropped the season series to the Blazers.

[nasty daddy]

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

Pistons' comeback falls short against Blazers in game that features minor on-court scrum
After an embarrassing loss Friday night to the Indiana Pacers, coach John Kuester wanted his Detroit Pistons to play with more emotion. He got his wish … but not a win. The Pistons trailed by 18 in the first half Saturday night but scrapped their way back into the game -- and even scrapped on the court with a couple opponents -- in the second half of 97-93 loss to the Portland Trail Blazers. The Pistons trailed by one and had possession of the ball with 24.6 seconds left, but a pass from Tayshaun Prince to Richard Hamilton was batted away, and the Blazers got to the loose ball. Detroit had two possessions after that where they trailed by three points, but Richard Hamilton, Charlie Villanueva and Rodney Stuckey missed 3-point shots that would have tied the game. The third quarter featured a scrum on the court that spilled into the Pistons bench area after a flagrant foul by Villanueva. The Blazers led 66-65 with 1:37 left in the third quarter when Blazers guard Rudy Fernandez broke free and was cruising in for an easy basket. Villanueva wrapped him up to prevent him from scoring easily, and Fernandez fell to the floor.

Blazers forward Juwan Howard and Villanueva ended up tangled up, with Howard holding a handful of Villanueva’s jersey. Pistons forward Jason Maxiell and Blazers forward Dante Cunningham were in the middle, apparently trying to keep Howard and Villanueva apart, as the scrum drifted into the Pistons bench area. After the referees restored calm and reviewed a video replay of the incident, Howard and Villanueva were issued technical fouls, and Villanueva was assessed a flagrant foul. No players were ejected. The incident took place shortly after Maxiell and Blazers guard Steve Blake were assessed technicals in an exchange of words on the other end of the floor.The energy the Pistons displayed in the third quarter was definitely a change from the previous night -- when they suffered an embarrassing loss to Indiana -- and even the first half, when they were dominated by the Blazers. Detroit trailed by 14 at halftime. But the Pistons used a 15-2 run in the third quarter to take a one-point lead, and it was a close game from that point forward.

Hamilton had 25 points, nine assists and five rebounds to lead the Pistons, while Stuckey had 20 points and four assists. Villanueva had 17 points. The Blazers moved the ball well and found plenty of open shots in the first half on their way to a 56-42 halftime lead. The Blazers had 20 assists on 24 baskets in the first half. Andre Miller and Blake, who started at the guard spots for Portland, combined for 17 assists in the first half. Martell Webster, who averages 10.6 points per game, made five 3-point shots and had 21 points at halftime. Webster did not score in the third quarter but came alive a bit in the fourth to finish with a season-high 28 points. LaMarcus Aldridge added 21 points and eight rebounds for the Blazers, while Fernandez had 19 points and made all 10 of his free throw attempts. Miller finished with 13 assists, while Blake had 10.

[nasty daddy]

http://stats.mlive.com/nba/recap.asp?g= ... final=true

Webster leads Blazers past Pistons, 97-93
Martell Webster scored a career-high 28 points to help the short-handed Portland Trail Blazers beat the Detroit Pistons 97-93 on Saturday night. LaMarcus Aldridge added 21 points, and Andre Miller added 11 points and 13 assists as Portland earned a split of a four-game trip despite using just eight players. Richard Hamilton scored 25 points, and Charlie Villanueva had 17 for the Pistons, who lost their second straight and dropped the season series to the Blazers.

The Pistons trailed 56-42 at intermission but got back into the game midway through the third quarter with a 15-2 run, capped by a Chris Wilcox putback that gave Detroit its first lead since early in the opening period. Portland used three starters for more than 40 minutes Friday night in a loss in Boston, but didn't look tired at tipoff. The Blazers made 59 percent of their field-goal attempts in the first half, and Webster did much of the damage with five 3-pointers and 21 points. Villaneuva and Howard were given technical fouls late in the third after Howard took umbrage at Villanueva's flagrant foul on Fernandez. They engaged in a brief shoving match before officials and players separated them. Neither player was ejected.

NOTES: Detroit was without guards Ben Gordon (right groin strain) and Will Bynum (left ankle sprain). ... Blazers guard Jerryd Bayless did not play a night after injuring his left ankle.

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http://64.246.64.33/merge/tsnform.aspx? ... W12429.htm

NBA Game Summary - Portland at Detroit
Final Score: Portland 97, Detroit 93
Martell Webster nailed six three-pointers to end with 28 points and Andre Miller provided four clutch free throws in the waning moments around a go-ahead Detroit score, as the Trail Blazers staved off the Pistons for a gutsy 97-93 win at the Palace. LaMarcus Aldridge had 21 points and eight rebounds, while Miller recorded a game-high 13 assists with 11 points as Portland concluded a four-game road trip at 2-2. Rudy Fernandez gave solid minutes off the bench to notch 19 points and Steve Blake handed out 10 assists to go with 11 points for the injury-ravaged Blazers. Without the services of Brandon Roy for a fourth time in the last five games due to a strained right hamstring, Portland prevailed without his replacement, Jerryd Bayless, who was sidelined after going down with a sprained ankle in Friday's loss to Boston. Richard Hamilton went for 25 points and nine assists as Detroit moved to 1-2 on a six-game homestand. Rodney Stuckey added 20 points and Charlie Villanueva 17 in the loss. Portland entered the fourth with a slim five-point lead and remained in front until Hamilton and Stuckey worked back-to-back baskets for a 84-83 game halfway home. Blake's three-ball with the clock winding past three minutes left broke an 87-87 tie, but a Stuckey layup knotted things at 90 with under two minutes to go.

Miller then sank two at the line, while Hamilton stuck a three-pointer from the left wing to put Detroit ahead 93-92 with 1:42 on the clock. But Miller stepped to the line again and made both to give Portland control with 24.6 seconds left. Tayshaun Prince then turned it over for the Pistons, Webster was sent to the line and hit his shots for a 96-93 affair with 17.9 ticks showing.The Blazers left the door open when Juwan Howard failed to hit either of his attempts at the line with 9.7 seconds remaining, but a Stuckey three rimmed out. The Blazers carried a 32-21 lead through to the second quarter and extended their advantage to 16 three minutes in as Fernandez poured in a quick seven points. The Pistons came back to cut the lead under double digits nearing the midway point behind an 8-0 burst capped by a Ben Wallace slam that made it 42-34. But the visitors got a big boost from Webster, who logged 10 consecutive points late in the frame, including a pair of three-pointers, and Portland held a 56-42 advantage at the break. Detroit made a game of it in the third, using a 15-2 run to turn the tables on Portland for a 63-62 lead with 3 1/2 minutes remaining. Stuckey scored six straight points during the stretch, while Jonas Jerebko added five points. Fernandez helped the Blazers cling to a 74-69 edge at the close of the frame by sinking eight straight free throws for the visitors down the stretch.

Game Notes
The Blazers have won four straight in the series, including an 87-81 win in Portland earlier this season...The Trail Blazers shot 47.9 percent from the floor, while Detroit wound up 42.7 percent shooting.

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http://scores.espn.go.com/nba/recap?gameId=300123010

Brad Miller scored 25 points in place of the injured Joakim Noah, and Taj Gibson added 16 points and 14 rebounds to help the Chicago Bulls beat the Houston Rockets 104-97 on Saturday night.

Derrick Rose scored 20 points, and Kirk Hinrich added 12 points and seven assists for the Bulls, who've won six of their last eight games. Noah was a last-minute scratch for the Bulls because of a left foot injury, but Miller set a season-high point total, going 9 for 14 from the field, including two 3-pointers.

Carl Landry scored 22 points, and Luis Scola and Aaron Brooks added 20 points apiece for the Rockets.