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

[nasty daddy]

http://espn.go.com/nba/dailydime/_/page ... daily-dime

SUNDAY'S WORST
Richard Hamilton, Pistons: Two days after going scoreless in a loss to the Pacers, he went 1-for-8 from the floor, scoring just six points as the Pistons dropped their fifth in a row, 104-79 to the Cavaliers.

[nasty daddy]

http://www.freep.com/article/20100322/S ... or-Pistons

Good riddance, no more Cavs for Pistons
After sweep, schedule looks a little bit kinder. After Sunday night's 104-79 drubbing by the Cavaliers, the Pistons have 12 games remaining. And fortunately, none of them are with Cleveland, which swept the Pistons for the first time in 30 years. Besides two dates with the Atlanta Hawks and one with Phoenix, the other games are against teams around or below .500. But coach John Kuester repeated what he has been preaching all season -- if the Pistons don't give a consistent effort, they can't beat anybody. "Every game's a challenge for us," said Kuester of his 23-47 team. "Every opponent that we play is a team that we got to be ready and locked in to play 48 minutes. "Regardless of a team's record, we're trying to get better."

By losing 12 of their past 14 games, the Pistons aren't showing much evidence of getting better. The Pistons were within eight of the Cavs at one point, but with LeBron James (15 points, seven assists) mostly distributing, Cleveland broke the game open in the third quarter.
"They were the aggressors," Kuester said. "... And the aggressive team is the team that's going to win the basketball game." Cleveland has won 10 straight against Detroit, including last season's first-round sweep in the playoffs. Cleveland, 4-0 against Detroit this season, hadn't swept the Pistons during a regular season since going 6-0 against them during the 1979-80 season.

But the rest of the schedule is dotted with the likes of Timberwolves and the Nets -- not that a Pistons fan is likely to find solace in that. That same fan might be openly cheering the Pistons to lose, since it would help their chances in the draft lottery. There was none of that talk in the locker room afterward. "We still professionals," Charlie Villanueva said of the rest of the season. "We still got a job at hand to do, and we get paid a lot of money to do it. You have to ride it out to the end."

[nasty daddy]

http://www.freep.com/article/20100322/S ... Pistons-79

Cavaliers 104, Pistons 79 -- notes and quotes
WHAT HAPPENED: The Pistons lost their fifth straight and 12th of 14 as the Cavs pulled away steadily and ran Detroit out of the gym. At 23-47, the Pistons have the fifth-worst record in the NBA. In a pathetic offensive performance, the Pistons shot 41% and Jason Maxiell, with 16 points, was the only starter in double figures.

[nasty daddy]

http://www.freep.com/article/20100322/S ... Pistons-79

The big number: 9 -- shots from superstar LeBron James.

[nasty daddy]

http://www.freep.com/article/20100322/S ... Pistons-79

The other side: James wasn't needed much as his supporting cast was more than enough for the Pistons. Seven Cavaliers scored in double figures.

[nasty daddy]

http://www.freep.com/article/20100322/S ... Pistons-79

Go to Rip: The Pistons started the game making a concerted effort to go to Rip Hamilton, coming off his first scoreless game since his second season in the league. But it didn't help much: Hamilton shot 1-for-8 and scored six points.

[nasty daddy]

http://www.freep.com/article/20100322/S ... Pistons-79

Injury report: Ben Wallace missed his eighth of nine games -- his malady this time was sore knees. Chris Wilcox was unavailable with a bad back. Shaquille O'Neal (right thumb) was out for the Cavs.

[nasty daddy]

http://www.freep.com/article/20100322/S ... Pistons-79

Court hi jinks: The Cavs fans were entertained during a time-out when the mascot poked fun at fans wearing bright maize T-shirts with the words "Go Blue." A loud cheer went out when the Ohio State logo was shown on the Jumbotron.

[nasty daddy]

http://www.freep.com/article/20100322/S ... Pistons-79

Coming up: Up first in the Pistons' last 12 games is a home date Tuesday against the Pacers, who will be seeking a four-game season sweep.

[nasty daddy]

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

Detroit Pistons Links: All it will take to keep Darko Milicic in the NBA is 35 minutes a game and a starting job ... takers?
Darko will totally return to 'Sota for 35 min. a game [SLAM]
Stuckey is being monitored closely [Pistons.com]
What Pistons should be in NBA Jam? [Marc Stein]
Update on the labor talks [NY Times]
The physics of FT shooting [Kottke]
NBA's new playoff ad [BDL]
DaJuan Summers takes heat for Hoyas [Freep]
Daye/Summers will play more [Freep]
Looking forward to the draft [Detroit News]
More with Joe D. and Keith Langlois [Pistons.com]
A cautionary tale about draft picks [SLAM]

[nasty daddy]

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

About Last Night: Cleveland Cavs bigs take advantage of Detroit's lack of mobility up front
The Pistons saw less of LeBron James than most teams do -- he played a season-low 30 minutes against Detroit -- but the Cavs still managed to win by 25. The easy thing to do is point to effort. I've written this before, but this simply isn't an effort thing, and to suggest it is about effort not only takes away from how good the Cavs are, but it glosses over some serious roster deficiencies with Detroit. We know that the team is extremely overloaded at the 2-3 spots and extremely undermanned at the 4-5 spots. But Cleveland exposed a major skill that the Pistons simply don't have: Athleticism in the frontcourt. Other than Jason Maxiell, the Pistons have none. Jonas Jerebko is great.

He hustles, he plays hard and he has some skills that are developing, but he's also kind of slow-footed defensively. He tends to react slow on rotations inside. So does Maxiell, not because he lacks quickness, but he doesn't have great instincts.Charlie Villanueva's lack of defense isn't a secret. It's not that he doesn't have the tools -- he's semi-athletic and strong, but he is perhaps the slowest to react on rotations inside. Even Kwame Brown, a decent one-on-one defender, is very slow on rotations (notice a theme?). Ben Wallace is the only one on the team who has the instincts and quickness.

The Cavs are extremely mobile up front. They play very active bigs in J.J. Hickson, Antawn Jamison, Leon Powe and Anderson Varejao who constantly move, are unselfish and have the best facilitator in the league in LeBron James. When the Cavs move the ball like they did against the Pistons as presently constructed, the Pistons will not have a good night. Powe/Hickson combined for 29 points and 15 rebounds in 47 minutes. They took and made easy shots all night. The Pistons frontcourt defenders were routinely caught cheating off their men, and James or Mo Williams or Anthony Parker found open men constantly. In a season filled with teams who the Pistons match up with poorly, the Cavs are about the worst possible matchup. It's not necessarily a terrible thing -- the Cavs are a bad matchup for most every team in the league. But mobility up front is going to be a big issue the Pistons must address in the offseason.

[nasty daddy]

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

The rookies: In a blowout loss, Austin Daye only played a few minutes while fellow rookies Jonas Jerebko and DaJuan Summers played 29 and 19 respectively. What's going on with Daye?Publicly, who knows. He's had enough game action to show some decent flashes of production and potential at times. John Kuester has praised him for staying professional even though he's not playing.

Against Cleveland, in a game that was never close in the second half, there's not an explainable reason to those of us on the outside for why Daye didn't play more -- Kuester certainly had no problem giving Summers rare extended minutes and dusting off Kwame Brown. Who knows what's going on behind the scenes. But it raises some curiosities: How hard is Daye practicing? How well does he know the offense/defense? What's his work ethic like?

Maybe all those things are good and the coaching staff is simply refusing to play him. But, judging from how most teams handle rookies and playing time, the situation with Daye is probably more complex than just screaming, "OMG, he should play, he had like four good games in December! He's earned it!"

[nasty daddy]

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

Ben Gordon isn't quick off the dribble: Twice in the fourth quarter, Ben Gordon tried to take Jawad Williams off the dribble. Twice, Williams easily stayed in front of him, forcing Gordon into tough shots that he ultimately missed. It's funny how those driving lanes dry up without Derrick Rose around, drawing the attention of the defense.

Putting it on the floor has never been a particularly strong part of Gordon's game -- when he was at his best in Chicago, his go-to move was catching it on a wing, taking one or two dribbles and then going up with a little mid-range floater. In Detroit, he's often asked to take the ball at the top of the key and create something. That's just not his game. I don't ever see Gordon bringing the ball up the court, running the offense or creating good shots in most iso situations.

Like many players this season, he's just not been used in situations that play to his strengths. Gordon can play, but hopefully the Pistons, either through roster upgrades or changes in coaching philosophy, figure out that he's better off in a slightly faster-paced tempo, making decisions on the fly rather than trying to put the ball on the floor and take players one-on-one on every possession he has the ball.

[nasty daddy]

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

Jason Maxiell's earned a chance to start next season: Yeah, I know, 10 games or so late in the season is not that long a stretch of good play, but when compared to others in the Pistons frontcourt, it's about as impressive as things get this season. Ben Wallace has obviously been the best player up front. Depending on Jonas Jerebko's future position -- whether the organization views him as more of a three or a four, Maxiell has been either the second or third best big man on the team this season.

Heading into next season, Wallace is still a question mark to come back. He could retire. He could also be presented with a surprise contract offer from a contending team that could be hard to pass up (unlikely he'd take it, but I'm sure teams will call). The Pistons may draft a big, assuming the land outside the top two in the draft. Charlie Villanueva will be back, but he hasn't won a starting job in a thin frontcourt this year, so it can't be assumed he will next year either.

We're seeing the Maxiell everyone envisioned when he was getting bit minutes from Flip Saunders three years ago. Unless the Pistons get a big upgrade in the draft, a trade or free agency, Maxiell might be their best option on the roster as currently constructed to start next season.

[nasty daddy]

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

What the blogs are saying:
Need4Sheed: "One thing I am happy about….that Fred McCleod (Ex Pistons broadcaster) is in Cleveland and is as annoying as ever, just listen to him call the block on JJ. He seems to have turned it up substantially since heading to the land of LeBron and I for one am happy he’s anywhere but here."

[nasty daddy]

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

Cavs: The Blog: "If I had to sum up what the Cavs did tonight in one word, that word would likely be POWESMASH. The Cavaliers beat the Pistons up in the paint and on the boards, and nobody was doing that better than Leon Powe. Despite barely leaving the ground, Powe was grabbing rebounds left and right and wouldn’t be denied when he got the ball in the paint."

[nasty daddy]

http://stats.mlive.com/nba/preview.asp? ... e=8&vis=11

Pacers-Pistons Preview
The Indiana Pacers are all but assured of missing the playoffs for the fourth straight season, but they don't seem content to coast to the finish. After an impressive home win over a postseason contender, the Pacers will try to snap a nine-game road losing streak by recording their first season sweep of the Detroit Pistons on Tuesday night.Barring a spectacular run, Indiana (24-46) will likely finish with its worst winning percentage since going 28-54 in 1988-89, but it hasn't let another disappointing campaign affect their recent play. The Pacers have won three of four and swept both games during a brief homestand over the weekend. After topping the Pistons 106-102 on Friday, they routed Oklahoma City 121-101 two nights later. Danny Granger led Indiana with 32 points against the Thunder and helped hold star forward Kevin Durant to 16 points - a little more than half his season average. "Teams come in here and kind of overlook us," forward Troy Murphy said. "They see our record and think it's going to be an easy 'W.' They probably figure that a team with our record would have packed it in by now."

Granger hasn't been any easier on the Pistons, averaging 28.9 points against them over the past two seasons. Two days after the team said he would be out indefinitely with a cheek injury, Granger scored 29 points in Friday's win, and he had a team-best 25 in a 105-93 victory in the previous trip to the Palace on Jan. 22. The Pacers are hoping a return there can help them avoid a season-high 10th straight loss away from home. Indiana dropped 10 in a row on the road last season Jan. 9-Feb. 18, but comes into Tuesday's game searching for a sixth straight victory over Detroit following eight consecutive defeats in the series, including five in a row in Auburn Hills. While the Pacers are making strides to end their season positively, the Pistons are laboring down the stretch with five straight losses and a 2-12 record over the past four weeks.

They also suffered one of their most lopsided defeats of the season Sunday, falling 104-79 in Cleveland. Jason Maxiell (16 points) and Charlie Villanueva (11) were the only players in double figures during the team's lowest scoring output in nearly two months. It also marked the fifth straight game the Pistons have allowed at least 104 points, and they've yielded 110.8 per game over that span. "Every game is a challenge for us," coach John Kuester told the team's Web site. "That's the one thing we understand. Every opponent we play is a team we've got to be ready and locked in to play 48 minutes, regardless what their record is." Even the return of Rodney Stuckey hasn't helped Kuester's club get back to winning. After missing six games following a collapse on the bench March 5 in Cleveland, Stuckey scored a team-best 25 points off the bench in Indiana but was held to four against the Cavaliers.

[nasty daddy]

http://www.nba.com/2010/news/powerranki ... ef:nbahpt1

1: Cleveland Cavaliers
2: Orlando Magic
3: Los Angeles Lakers
4: Dallas Mavericks
5: Denver Nuggets
6: Atlanta hawks
7: Utah Jazz
8: Phoenix Suns
9: Boston Celtics
10: Oklahoma City Thunder
26: Detroit Pistons

[nasty daddy]

http://www.nba.com/2010/news/powerranki ... ef:nbahpt1

26 Detroit (24) 23-47 Pace: 91.2 (29), Off: 101.4 (23), Def: 107.9 (26)
Ben Gordon left his clutchness in Chicago. In clutch situations this season, Gordon is shooting 7-for-31 (23 percent), including 0-for-13 from 3-point range. The good news for the Pistons is that Rodney Stuckey returned to action Friday in Indiana.

[nasty daddy]

http://espn.go.com/nba/powerrankings?year=2010&week=21

1: Cleveland Cavaliers
2: Orlando Magic
3: Los Angeles Lakers
4: Denver Nuggets
5: Dallas Mavericks
6: Milwaukee Bucks
7: Phoenix Suns
8: Oklahoma City Thunder
9: Utah Jazz
10: Atlanta Hawks
25: Detroit Pistons