'Nasty News - Traversing Time & Space' Vol: 68

[nasty daddy]

http://espn.go.com/nba/dailydime/_/page ... 20/nba-jam

DETROIT PISTONS
Original 1993 NBA Jam Twosome: Isiah Thomas and Bill Laimbeer
2010 EA Sports Ballot: Rip Hamilton, Ben Gordon, Tayshaun Prince, Charlie Villanueva, Rodney Stuckey and Ben Wallace
Stein's Picks: Hamilton, Prince and Wallace
Gordon, Villanueva and Stuckey can all make a stronger case than Prince these days, but don't you prefer to remember the Pistons as they were for most of the past decade? Us, too.

[nasty daddy]

http://stats.mlive.com/nba/preview.asp? ... me=5&vis=8

Pistons-Cavaliers Preview
LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers may be on the verge of a rare sweep of the Detroit Pistons, but the wins haven't come easily. James and the Cavaliers look to complete their first season sweep of the visiting Pistons in 30 years when the Central Division rivals meet Sunday night. Cleveland (55-15) last swept Detroit (23-46) when it went 6-0 in 1979-80. The Cavaliers have won 10 straight against the Pistons, including last year's first-round playoff series. James is averaging 34.3 points, 11.0 rebounds and 8.3 assists in three victories this season, but Cleveland has trailed after three quarters in the last two this month. He was the catalyst in a 38-point fourth quarter in Tuesday's 113-101 win at Detroit. "We have a lot of history with this team," James told the NBA's official Web site. There were 10 lead changes and 21 ties, the last one with 4:44 left. James had 29 points, 12 rebounds and 12 assists for his fourth triple-double of the season, getting 15 points and four assists in the final period. "The guy's not human," Detroit guard Will Bynum said. "When he gets rolling, you just want to try to stop his teammates and hope that's enough."

Cleveland extended its win streak to six Friday with a 92-85 victory at Chicago. James had 29 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists and became the youngest player to score 15,000 points, breaking Kobe Bryant's mark by more than two years. James reached the milestone at 25 years, 79 days, and did it in his 540th game. Bryant was 27 years, 136 days and playing his 657th game. "I was born with a God-given gift," James said. "I take full advantage of it by being able to do what I do on the basketball court. Hopefully, I can continue to stay healthy, and hopefully, I'll continue to break records." Cleveland overcame 41.3 percent shooting - its lowest mark in 14 games. Mo Williams added 18 points and Jawad Williams had 10 off the bench. "Tonight we couldn't find our rhythm offensively," James said. "We were executing alright, but just missed some easy shots. That's what allowed them to stay in the game."

The Cavaliers will see a different Detroit team than they faced Tuesday since Rodney Stuckey returned in Friday's 106-102 loss at Indiana. Stuckey scored 25 points in nearly 27 minutes in his first action since collapsing on the bench March 5 in a 99-92 loss at Cleveland. "The plan wasn't to play all those minutes, but I mean it was just in the heat of the game," Stuckey said. "I've been working out. After this happened, I took a couple of days off, but after that I've just been working out. I feel fine." Detroit, which has lost nine straight on the road, rallied from a 17-point fourth-quarter deficit to take the lead with 2:51 left. Ben Gordon added 17 points and rookie DaJuan Summers had 12. "I thought our guys in the second half played the way they're supposed to. We defended and played hard," coach John Kuester said.

[nasty daddy]

http://blog.mlive.com/fullcourtpress/20 ... _to_b.html

About Last Night: It's okay to be thinking about the draft lottery
Down 24 points in the third quarter, the Detroit Pistons rallied to take a one-point advantage late in the fourth quarter. But in the end, the Pacers were able to regain control and finish off the Pistons, 106-102. It was just another tough loss in a rough season, but in actuality the loss significantly helped out the Detroit Pistons. You see, the defeat dropped the Pistons down a peg in the NBA standings, slightly improving the odds that the team could land one of the top drafts pick in the upcoming draft lottery.

In case you've never heard how it works, 14 ping pong balls - numbered 1-14 - are placed into standard lottery machine. Four numbers are then drawn at random. The order the balls are drawn does not matter. Before drawing the numbers, teams are assigned a percentage (weighted by record) of the 1,001 possible combinations, with the worst team getting 250 combinations (25 percent) and the best non-playoff team five combinations (0.5 percent).

So, each time the Pistons lose, especially to another bad team like the Pacers, they potentially increase the number of combinations they'll have for the lottery. Coming into the game the Pistons would have had 53 combinations. After the loss, that number jumped to 65. Now that we've addressed the overarching implications of this otherwise meaningless game, let's take a look at a few thingsthat happened on the court.

[nasty daddy]

http://blog.mlive.com/fullcourtpress/20 ... _to_b.html

Zip city: For the first time since November 4, 2000, Richard Hamilton did not register a point in a game. In 18 minutes of action against the Pacers, Hamilton missed all three field goals attempts and didn't attempt a free throw.

Hamilton exited the game with four minutes remaining in the third quarter. At the time, the Pistons were down 17 points. As the Pistons climbed back into the game, eventually taking the lead in the fourth quarter, Pistons coach John Kuester opted to stick with the players the players that led the rally.

[nasty daddy]

http://blog.mlive.com/fullcourtpress/20 ... _to_b.html

A few words on Stuckey: It was really nice to see Stuckey back on the court. He still flashed a few of his characteristic flaws, but he also had some success in unexpected areas.

One of the biggest surprises was how comfortable Stuckey looked taking shots beyond the arc. In 27 minutes of action, he attempted three three-point shots, knocking down two from the left wing. It was only the second time this season he's made more than one three-point shot.

Stuckey also had a nice night getting to the free throw line. His aggressive attacking style earned him seven free throws. It was the most attempts he had since getting to the line nine times against the Kings on February 10th.

[nasty daddy]

http://blog.mlive.com/fullcourtpress/20 ... _to_b.html

Pacers' hot shooting: Indiana came into the game as the third-worst shooting team in the NBA, only connecting on 43.7 of their field goal attempts this season. That didn't stop them from going off against Detroit.

Indiana shot over 72 percent in the first quarter, jumping out to a 17-point lead in the opening frame. The Pacers' starting unit was particularity impressive, shooting 60 percent from the floor (33-55) and a staggering 71.4 percent (10-14) from three.

Danny Granger continued his recent trend of abusing the Pistons, going off for 29 points in a game where he wasn't expected to play.

[nasty daddy]

http://blog.mlive.com/fullcourtpress/20 ... _to_b.html

Gordon's minutes vs. production: With Hamilton struggling, Gordon racked up 29 minutes in the loss. He still didn't have a significant impact for most of the game. He missed his six shots, and didn't score his connect on his first field goal until the first minute of the fourth quarter.

Gordon did have a productive fourth quarter. He was on the court for the entire quarter and scored 14 points as the Pistons erased a 14-point deficit. The offensive burst does support the theory that Gordon needs more time to get into a rhythm, but he remains unlikely to see these minutes regularly, so he must find a way to find his scoring touch quicker.

It was the 15th consecutive game that Gordon failed to score 20 points.

[nasty daddy]

http://blog.mlive.com/fullcourtpress/20 ... _to_b.html

Summers leapfrogs Daye: For one night at least, DaJuan Summers jumped over Austin Daye in the rotation. Daye entered the game first, starting the second quarter, but struggled with his assignment on the defensive end. Daye's man, Mike Dunleavy, had success getting off looks by using screens off the ball.

I think the play that probably got Daye the hook was when he lost track of Dunleavy on the fast break, allowing the Pacers forward to get an easy bucket in transition. Kuester pulled Daye less than two minutes into the quarter and turned to Summers. Daye didn't leave the bench the rest of the game. It was Summers that got the nod at the start of the fourth quarter and made the most of the playing time. He scored eight points, including a three-pointer that gave Detroit their first and only lead of the game. He also had four rebounds and a block in the quarter.

ummers also made a key mistake at the end of the game. With the Pistons down one with 1:25 remaining, Summers fouled Granger on a three-point attempt. Granger knocked down all three free throws and the Pistons never threatened again. Despite the mistake, it was definitely a positive night for Summers. It would be surprising if he doesn't continue to get some additional looks in the final 13 games.

[nasty daddy]

http://scores.espn.go.com/ncb/recap?gameId=300792633

J.P. Prince scored 18 points, and Brian Williams and Wayne Chism had 12 rebounds apiece on Saturday to lead sixth-seeded Tennessee to an 83-68 victory over No. 14 seed Ohio on Saturday in the second round of the NCAA tournament.

Tommy Freeman scored 23 points for Ohio, which was the lowest seed to get out of the first round. But he got little help from Armon Bassett and freshman D.J. Cooper, the guards who starred in the first-round victory over third-seeded Georgetown but combined for 23 points on 7-of-23 shooting against Tennessee.

Scotty Hopson scored 17 points, and Bobby Maze had nine assists for Tennessee, which continues its remarkable run since four players were arrested on New Year's Day -- three of them were suspended, and starter Tyler Smith was kicked off the team -- in a traffic stop that resulted in gun, drug and alcohol charges.

[nasty daddy]

http://scores.espn.go.com/ncb/recap?gameId=300792086

Ronald Nored's three-point play snapped a tie with 25.4 seconds left, and Butler narrowly evaded a second stunner by the 13th-seeded Racers in three days, advancing to the regional semifinals of the NCAA tournament with a 54-52 victory Saturday.

Nored scored 15 points and Gordon Hayward had 12 before making the decisive defensive play for the fifth-seeded Bulldogs (30-4), who extended the nation's longest winning streak to 22 games.

Isaiah Canaan scored 14 points and hit four 3-pointers for the Racers, who matched Butler's sturdy defense and outrebounded the Bulldogs 39-22.

[nasty daddy]

http://scores.espn.go.com/ncb/recap?gameId=300790222

Samhan played the game of his career on basketball's biggest stage, finishing with 32 points and seven rebounds to lead 10th-seeded Saint Mary's past Villanova 75-68 on Saturday and on to Houston for the South Regional's Sweet 16.

Scottie Reynolds, who put Villanova in the Final Four last season with a last-second basket against Pittsburgh, was a big reason why the Wildcats are heading home early. He missed 9 of 11 shots and scored eight points after a dud game in the tournament opener. He missed 13 of 15 against Robert Morris for a forgettable end to an otherwise stellar career.

The Gaels held each of Villanova's top three scorers to under double figures. Fisher and Antonio Pena both scored nine points to join Reynolds as a trio of underachievers. Corey Stokes led the Wildcats with 15 points.

[nasty daddy]

http://www.freep.com/article/20100320/S ... -Cavaliers

Ben out for Pistons' game vs. Cavaliers
Ben Wallace’s return to the Pistons' lineup lasted only one game.

After missing eight games with a sore right patellar tendon, Wallace injured both his knees in Friday night’s loss at Indianapolis and Pistons coach John Kuester said today that Wallace would miss Sunday’s game against the Cavs. Wallace watched today’s practice one night after he arguably energized the Pistons in their comeback bid. The Pistons are mired in a streak where they have lost 11 of 13 games.

Rodney Stuckey said he was OK and was a full participant in practice today, after he returned to the lineup Friday night after missing six games after collapsing against the Cavs the last time he was at Quicken Loans Arena.

[nasty daddy]

http://apps.detnews.com/apps/blogs/pist ... logid=2038

Stuckey shows guts
Good for Rodney Stuckey. That was a gutsy, gutsy, even courageous effort in my mind, coming back Friday and playing as well as he did in the loss to the Pacers. This is a guy who was wheeled off the court and taken to a hospital just two weeks ago. His basketball future was in doubt. I would say it took at least some guts to come back and play. Would it happen again? Would he feel ill? A lot of unknowns. Stuckey came back and proved to himself and others he's still a fine player in this league.

[nasty daddy]

http://need4sheed.com/2010/03/stuckeys- ... arent.html

Stuckeys’ Back – The Pistons Aren’t
When you have a DVR it give you the luxury of starting the game when you can rather than when it starts. I couldn’t catch the start of the game so my plan was to watch the game in its entirety right when I got home. I usually can’t keep myself in the dark score wise (I just need to know), so when I opened up my Pistons Blackberry app and saw that the game was 6-21 in favor of the Pacers and it was mid first quarter I wasn’t exactly rushing home to see it. To my surprise after digging themselves a substantial hole and trailing the game by double digits for most of the game, Detroit climbed back in the game taking a 95-94 lead thanks to a huge three from DaJuan Summers with 2:51 remaining. It didn’t matter however, the Pacers scored the next 8 points and won 102-106.

[nasty daddy]

http://need4sheed.com/2010/03/stuckeys- ... arent.html

Key Points:
I don’t care what you say there is some kind of issue going on with Rip Hamilton. When I guy like Rip does his best “Kobe” impression by not looking for his shot and scoring ZERO points, something is up. Rip was 0-for-3 in 18 minutes on the floor with 1 assist, 1 steal and 3 turnovers. When he was resigned to the bench….he either looked pissed off, or he was sulking. Let’s keep our eyes on this situation.

[nasty daddy]

http://need4sheed.com/2010/03/stuckeys- ... arent.html

Detroit had 7 turnover in the first quarter, but clamped down and finished the game with 13.

[nasty daddy]

http://need4sheed.com/2010/03/stuckeys- ... arent.html

Limited minutes for Ben Wallace who looked good in his 24 minutes. Ben scored just one point, grabbed 7 boards, with 3 steals and an assist. How we did miss the man.

[nasty daddy]

http://need4sheed.com/2010/03/stuckeys- ... arent.html

Ben Gordon scores 17 on 4-13 shooting with 7 boards, 6 assists and 2 blocked shots. Great game for Ben, but when it counted late in the fourth quarter he couldn’t knock down the shot.

[nasty daddy]

http://need4sheed.com/2010/03/stuckeys- ... arent.html

Sometimes I think Gordon is still getting his check from the Bulls, not the Pistons.

[nasty daddy]

http://need4sheed.com/2010/03/stuckeys- ... arent.html

If this wasn’t a statement from Rodney Stuckey than I don’t know what is. Rodney was on fire as soon as he checked into the game. Not only was it good to see him play, he didn’t look apprehensive about anything considering the circumstances. Stuckey scored 25 in 26 minutes for the Pistons with 3 assists, 3 steals and a turnover playing most all of his minutes at the 2 guard position. Stucktacular!