SB Nation - Chris Wilcox

Injuries, What Injuries? Pistons 101, Nuggets 99

Packey — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 07:09:12 -0000

Entering tonight's game the cards were not stacked in Detroit's favor (unless you believe in curses). The Pistons were missing not one, not two, but four of their better players (Hamilton, Prince, Gordon, and Bynum) and playing the second game of a back-to-back against one of the best teams in the Western Conference (0-5 in back-to-backs entering the game).

So it's realistic that Denver was overlooking Detroit and looking forward to returning home after a four game road trip. Charlie Villanueva thought so:

(Denver was) on the last game of the road trip. They might take us a little bit lightly, seeing all the guys out. But in this room, the guys believed we could win this game.

Pistons fans better believe it, too. We are 22 games into the season and despite all the injuries, falling behind (and sometimes big) in games, and having all odds against them, the Pistons continuously put forth 100% effort and scratch it out until the very end. Thursday night against the Nuggets was no different, and incidentally it also resulted in a hard-earned victory.

In addition to the injuries and any burnout from finishing a game less than 24 hours ago, Detroit also had to overcome a superstar performance from Carmelo Anthony. Anthony was essentially unstoppable tonight, dropping 40 points on 16-28 shooting.

Which makes one wonder why the Nuggets decided to give their final shot to tie the game, or win it with a three, in the hands of former Pistons guard, Chauncey Billups. Perhaps George Karl thought it was fate for Chauncey to come up big against the team, and in building, where he was coined as Mr. Big Shot. That's a noble thought, but 'Melo is one of the best clutch shooters in the NBA and just put up a career game. Why not let him finish it out right? Thanks, Coach Karl.

Big ups are also in order for Big Ben Wallace. He is averaging nearly 13 rebounds in the last seven games and without him tonight, the Pistons lose (by double-digits). He grabbed 16 rebounds tonight, six of those coming on the offensive glass. None were bigger than the tip in he had after an ill-advised Chucky Atkins shot around the two minute mark to put the Pistons up 99-96. He also had three steals, one which came with a minute remaining and led to a Stuckey layup to put the Pistons up 101-98.

More than those two huge plays and what the box score can tell you, he forced 'Melo to miss (when he did) a few times and created many other problems for the Nuggets that led to other Pistons collecting steals and/or rebounds.

Big Ben embodied Pistons basketball for all those years back around the time they won the championship, and he's doing it again. It's not really sexy to say a guy who has 16 rebounds to go with an ugly offensive game is our MVP, but then again, neither is the Pistons style of play, nor was this win.

Rodney Stuckey had his sixth quality game in a row, dating back to when he made his first start at the two spot. Tonight, he finished 7-14 from the field (11-15 from the line), which was good for 25 points. This was the first game of the season he did not have a single rebound. Charlie Villanueva added 27 points off the bench and had a team-high five assists.

More thoughts after you click.

Pistons are on a four game winning streak.
Denver has not won at The Palace since 1995. I didn't mean to dismiss that streak in the first paragraph, but I felt the way the Pistons continue to play was the bigger story. Denver Stiffs has an entertaining recap of what they think is a curse at The Palace of Auburn Hills. Being a die-hard Lions fan, I think I believe in curses.
Nuggets had a chance to gain momentum and possibly start to pull away when J.R. Smith had a wide open break to the basket. He tried to create a highlight reel double-clutch dunk and he missed! The Pistons then hit a three to tie the game on the ensuing possession. I think Ben Wallace was the game changer, but this was as close to a game changer as they come.
Harping some more on this team's hustle, it almost makes you forget that there are guys injured. While I'm watching the Pistons grind it out, I'm so encapsulated by what's going on, these Pistons don't give a fan much time to remember that they are missing key players. It's fun to watch, to say the least.
Austin Daye gave a solid 22 minutes of action, hitting three big shots (7 points). I sound like a broken record, but I love his shot.
DaJuan Summers hit a big time three pointer after a nice across court pass from Rodney Stuckey that gave the Pistons an eight point lead with 9:30 left in the 4th quarter.
Jonas Jerebko finished with 12 points and eight rebounds. Hustled, like woah, and turned in another noteworthy game. His night included this and-one, which was Number 6 on Sportscenter's Top 10 plays ("count that baby and a foul!"):
The Pistons got to the line 41 times and took advantage of it by knocking down 35 of them.
Chris Wilcox was the only healthy DNP.
Highlights courtesy of NBA.com:
Box Score
Quotes
Pistons return to action on Saturday against the Golden State Warriors. I'll be in attendance, let me know if you will be, too.

Morning Shootaround: CV31 Playing CoD; Stuckey; Consistency; Short Guys Dunking; & the Bynumite Sobriquet

Packey — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 15:15:18 -0000

Have a shootaround the interwebs to serve as mental preparation for tonight's game against the Wizards.

Charlie Villanueva is averaging 22.5 points and a little over five rebounds over the past four games. He's coming off one of the best games of his career where he scored 30 points on 13-17 shooting against the Bobcats. How did he celebrate the win and the off-day that followed Wednesday's win? By playing Call of Duty until four in the morning. That's. Awesome.

Is this a make-or-break season for Rodney Stuckey? The Baseline seems to think so. They say that by the third year, it's clear how an NBA career will shape up. That's a bold declaration when it actually rings false for the most recent Pistons point guard, Chauncey Billups. Chauncey's career didn't take off until he came to Detroit, his sixth NBA season, when he was 26-years old. Stuckey will turn 24 this spring. So I'd have to respectfully disagree and say that this season is not make-or-break for Stuckey.

In that same article, Stuckey admits he's been inconsistent and that is something he needs to work on. Patrick Hayes looks at some of the other players from the 2007 draft class who have dealt with consistency issues.

Speaking of consistency, the Pistons front court rotation (aside from Wallace and Villanueva) has been anything but that. Dave Pemberton of Pistons Point mentions that John Kuester is looking for one of his big men to step up and make his job a little easier formulating the rotation. Right now, Chris Wilcox, Kwame Brown, and Jason Maxiell are battling for minutes, but neither has really stood out amongst the three. Kwame Brown probably has the edge, however.

Pemberton also has a piece on Kwame Brown and how he is trying to add arc to his shot. The more arc you have, the better chance you have at making shots. It's science -- just ask "Rainbow Joe" Dumars.

The Wizards recently signed 5'5" guard, Earl Boykins. As Mike Prada and Kyle mentioned to me in their podcast, Boykins could be a guy that lines up against Will Bynum tonight. [via MLIVE]

There has been a whole lot of hoopla surrounding Lebron James' comments about how he may change jersey numbers to honor Michael Jordan's number 23 and that the NBA should follow suit. Kwame Brown agrees and John Kuester says Jordan's certainly a candidate to have such an honor. I guess this resurfaces the debate, "who is the NBA's best player all-time." While majority probably agrees that Jordan is the best all-time, if there's any doubt, I don't think it should happen. Lebron certainly can do what he wants to honor Jordan, but I don't think the NBA should follow in his large footsteps.

Dan Feldman at Piston Powered asks the somewhat rhetorical question, "why did the Pistons spend so much money on Ben Gordon and Charlie Villanueva?" He suggests Dumars probably sees more in these two that most other teams did not. A few more games of them carrying the load might help people realize that.

A night after Will Bynum may have had the dunks of the year, Dwyane Wade made an awfully strong bid. Last night, Ty Lawson had a very Bynumite dunk that probably deserves to ranked up there when it's all said and done, too. Oh, yeah, we're just eight games into the season.

Speaking of "Bynumite," a Lakers fan caused a stink in the comments about my usage of the term because apparently Lakers fans have been calling ANDREW Bynum that since 2005. Natalie at Need4Sheed boasts that she coined the term and a couple other sources seem to believe that, too. I don't know who to believe (I tend to be a homer), but with all due respect to each party involved, it's not exactly a groundbreaking nickname for anyone who knows the word "dynamite." I think Lakers and Pistons fans can share it just fine, but has Andrew Bynum ever dunked like this?.

Looking ahead to Sunday's game against Dallas, the Free Press is reporting that Josh Howard may not play for the Mavericks. Howard has played the past three games after coming back from ankle surgery, but it seems like the Mavs hurried his return and he needs some more time to recover.

If you ever have any tips or questions, you can email me at Motownstringmusic@gmail.com.

Detroit Pistons 85, Orlando Magic 80

Ben Q Rock — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 04:04:18 -0000

More photos » by Duane Burleson - AP

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The Orlando Magic had yet another night to forget against the Detroit Pistons, as they suffered their first loss since Game 5 of last season's NBA Finals, 85-80, thanks to sloppy and uninspired play. The Pistons' combination of 3 diminuitive scoring guards--Ben Gordon, Rodney Stuckey, and reserve Will Bynum--combined for 65 of Detroit's 85 points on 20-of-45 shooting. More importantly for Detroit, they nullified Dwight Howard and Marcin Gortat, the Magic's only centers, by driving aggressively at them and drawing fouls. The Magic's offense was out-of-sync all night, looking as bad as it ever has under Stan Van Gundy. Vince Carter returned after a 1.5-game absence due to a sprained ankle and led the Magic with 15 points, but shot just 6-of-16 from the field and, worse yet, was unable to get on the floor in crunch time as his ankle acted up on him. With no go-to scorer available, the Magic withered with the game in the balance, and Detroit escaped with a well-deserved win.

Team	Pace	Efficiency	eFG%	FT Rate	OReb%	TO Rate
Magic	87	91.5	39.9%	15.2	22.2	17.2
Pistons	87	97.7	37.5%	43.1	22.0	11.5

Allow me to paraphrase one of my earlier Magic/Pistons recaps--I'm not sure which one it was, since all the Magic's losses to Detroit blend together in my mind--but if they aren't going to defeat Detroit when it's missing its two best players in Richard Hamilton and Tayshaun Prince, when are they going to defeat them? What's it going to take for the Magic to get over the hump against the Pistons, in general? This futility against Detroit, over the course of several seasons, has moved past the "comic" stage and into the "tragic" one.

In any case, the Magic were a disjointed, out-of-sync lot this evening. Despite their tip-to-horn poor play, they led by 3 at the half and looked to be a few made baskets away from permanently wresting control of the game from the Pistons. But "flat" doesn't adequately describe the Magic's second-half offense, which scored 39 points on 11-of-36 shooting, with 10 turnovers.

The biggest issue for Orlando, at least offensively, was its utter refusal to drive the ball to the basket. The Magic's reputation as a one-dimensional, three-point-shooting gimmick team is a bit exaggerated, thanks to the media, but tonight they played right into that stereotype. 35 of their 79 shots came from beyond the arc, while they only converted 10. Ryan Anderson was the most egregious offender, taking 11 of his 14 shots from long-range... and making just 1. Meanwhile, the Magic managed a mere 16 free-throw attempts (to the Pistons' 38). Carter and Jameer Nelson, the Magic's best perimeter scorers, took 13 threes and 0 foul shots. Just a lazy, complacent showing from the Magic, two days after they blitzed the Toronto Raptors for 17 makes in 29 attempts from downtown.

I really can't say enough about how Detroit earned this win. I've received several complaints about the officiating on Twitter, and maybe it looks bad in the box score, as the Magic committed 30 fouls to the Pistons' 17. However, none of the calls that went against the Magic were particularly puzzling, and I don't believe a few more whistles going Orlando's way would have swung the game in its favor. Tonight, the Pistons outclassed the Magic. There's not much more to it than that. And if coach John Kuester's game plan was to use his small lineup to attack the Magic's defense, get their bigs in foul trouble, and subsequently earn foul shots, bravo to him and to his team. Detroit doesn't have a credible offensive presence inside--this is a team that starts Ben Wallace at center, with noted garbageman Chris Wilcox off the bench--but counters that with aggressive guard play. It worked tonight, against the reigning Defensive Player of the Year and one of the best defensive backups in the league. Saddled with foul trouble, Howard and Gortat combined for 12 points, 12 boards, and 12 fouls this evening. The Magic might as well have just cloned Roy Hibbert twice and played those versions at center, given those stats.

As for the Magic's game plan? Didn't see much of one. Howard's foul trouble prevented them from establishing him inside, which led to an offense that stood around and looked to create one-on-one. I understand Carter's ankle isn't at full strength, but he should have at least entertained the idea of taking the ball to the cup a few times. Instead, pull-up J after pull-up J, which elicited no shortage of pithy comments from Raptors and Nets fans, who long criticized him for settling for jumpers too often.

He's hardly the only player guilty of that crime tonight, though. Stuckey and Bynum soundly outplayed Nelson, at both ends, which is worrisome. As the only star on the floor in crunch time--Rashard Lewis is suspended, Howard's disqualified, and Carter's nursing a nagging injury--and as a team co-captain, he needed to demonstrate more poise down the stretch. Poor shot selection and consecutive turnovers effectively ended the Magic's comeback bid. The loss isn't squarely on his shoulders, as nobody really played well for the Magic. But he did not acquit himself with his 7-point, 6-assist, 5-turnover outing.

I know it's only one game, out of many, so I don't want to go into "the sky is falling!" mode. But the Magic should beat any team that's missing its top 2 players, especially when it holds a 30-0 advantage on points scored from three-point range. If the Magic don't shape up offensively in a hurry, they could find themselves in a bit of a rut. Unfortunately, they don't have much time to regroup after tonight's poor performance; they return to Orlando tonight for a game against the high-octane Phoenix Suns tomorrow.

Game 2 Pre-Game: Oklahoma City at Detroit

Zorgon — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 12:02:31 -0000

More photos » by Joe Murphy - NBAE/Getty Images

Hopefully we can stop Ben Gordon's infamous scoring tonight. But, things are looking bad, as even the blindingly light-blue and shimmering "Beale Street Blue" uniforms of the Grizzlies didn't stop him from dropping 22 points.

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This also counts as an open thread, so feel free to post your thoughts during the game here.

Time: 7 PM Central Standard Time

Place: The Palace of Auburn Hills, Detroit, Michigan

TV: Fox Sports Oklahoma, Fox Sports Detroit

Radio: WWLS The Sports Animal (98.1)

Enemy Blog(s): Motown String Music, Need 4 Sheed, Detroit 4 Lyfe

The two undefeated teams of Oklahoma City and Detroit are getting ready to square off in the Palace of Auburn Hills. Both teams have unimpressive resumes. the thunder are coming off of a 23 win season and have beaten the lowly Kings, while the Pistons are clearly waiting for next seasons Free Agency, totally collapsed last year, and have only beaten the lowly Grizzlies.

But, I think the Thunder have the upper hand here. For starters, Rip Hamilton could possibly not play tonight. And even if he does play, he could be slowed down from his usual self. Second of all, their big men don't do a lot of scoring. Charlie Villanueva was sub-par last game, and Ben Wallace, as everyone knows, is not an offensively minded guy. If we can equal their scoring in the back court and drastically out score them in the front court, we can definitely win this game.

Below: Matchups, Predictions

Matchups:

Center: Ben Wallace vs. Nenad Krstic

Ben Wallace isn't want he used to be, but Nenad Krstic definitely can't tango with him in the post. I'll say that Krstic definitely scores and rebounds below average for this game, but Ben Wallaces stats won't be any better. I say Ben Wallace wins.

Power Forward: Charlie Villanueva vs. Jeff Green

There's no question who's going to win on scoring and on defense here. Jeff Green is simply a better player than Charlie Villanueva, and then though Charlie might get a few more rebounds, Jeff Green will have a far better stat sheet.

Small Forward: Tayshaun Prince vs. Kevin Durant

This will be a matchup for the ages. Some might go so far as to say Kevin Durant is a younger Tayshaun Prince. I look forward to an all out battle here that may just become the focus of the game. Tie.

Shooting Guard: Rip Hamilton/Ben Gordon vs. Thabo Sefolosha

It's unclear who will start tonight, but a huge key to the game will be how successfully Thabo can stifle the offense of Ben Gordon and/or Rip Hamilton. If he can hold them to a below average night, we'll stand a good chance of winning. Still, in any case, Hamilton and Gordon will have far better nights.

Point Guard: Rodney Stuckey vs. Russell Westbrook

Stuckey may be a point guard on the rise, but he's no Russell Westbrook, especially in the assist department. Westbrook will score less than Stuckey, but he'll have a better overall stat sheet.

Battle of the Benches

The Pistons have a pretty formidable bench even without Ben Gordon, with Jason Maxiell, Kwame Brown, and even Chris Wilcox. They're pretty thin at the guard spots though, bringing in good 'ol Chucky Atkins and former D-Leaguer Will Bynum. But, as a whole, it's much more powerful than the Thunder bench, which sports names like Etan Thomas and Kevin Ollie.

Coaching and Intangibles

The Pistons have the clear upper hand here. Deeper bench, more experienced and are at their home floor.

Bottom Line

I think the Thunder can pull out the win if the backups can come into the game without screwing it up too much, if our front court outscores their front court, and if we can hold guys like Tayshaun Prince, Ben Gordon, and Rip Hamilton to sub par nights. It looks like a tall order, but it's really not, and I'm confident we can win this game.

Prediction:

Thunder 97, Pistons 95

A closely contested battle pushes slightly our way.

How do you think the game will go? Vote in the Poll!

And, again, feel free to drop any comments you might have during, before, or after the game below. IHopefully I'll be here, commenting while simultaneously watching it on Television. Go Thunder!

Poll

Who is going to win tonight?

The Detroit Pistons

24 votes

The Oklahoma City Thunder

52 votes

76 votes | Poll has closed

NBA Eastern Conference Predictions

tenaciousT — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 18:45:51 -0000

More photos » by Michael Dwyer - AP

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I know this is late to be doing my predictions. I usually do them a bit earlier every year, but I had some last minute travel plans this month and just returned late Sunday. But I love doing them and then seeing how close I get each year. Feel free to disagree. Most are in line with conventional wisdom, with a few each year that depart from that, like Houston, Detroit, and maybe Minnesota. Anyway here they are with a few added comments…

First up are the Eastern Conference previews

Atlantic Division

1) Boston 63-19 - The Celtics’ adrenaline is up. Can they sustain it? The answer is yes, but… I expect the team to add to the roster again this season. Tyronn Lue is the obvious choice, but some teams may offer up good players by the half way point, and Danny will be watching.

2) Philadelphia 41-41 – Eddie Jordan has the same problem that DiLeo did – incorporating Elton Brand. But Jordan can offer his version of the Princeton offense as a remedy. The team is capable of better outside shooting than it has shown. Without an established point guard, Iguodala and Brand can be facilitators in the Princeton O. Jordan, not known for defense, must establish more team discipline than DiLeo did.

3) Toronto 35-47 – re-made roster. very skilled team. Let up on them and they will hurt you. Team reflects Chris Bosh. Strong wing and outside play without much inside. Bosh has bulked up to help out more in the post. Hedo helps. Bargnani continues to improve. DeRozen is a player to watch. Calderone is healthy and Jarrett Jack is a solid back up. Rasho is better than you think in this system. Lacking in toughness and defense, especially inside.

4) New York 31-51 – D’Antoni continues to coach a temporary line-up. With Curry still a mess,
David Lee will play center again. As expected the D’Antoni Knicks were 2nd in pace, terrible defensively, and 2nd only to Orlando in three point shooting as a part of their offense (32%). Unexpectedly, they were 21st in fast break points (behind the Celtics), and 8th best in ‘points in the paint’ (ahead of the Celtics). Go figure. Talented Wilson Chandler needs to be reigned in on shooting. Gallinari will be a good player with time.

5) New Jersey 26-56 – Devin Harris and Brook Lopez make a good axis to build from. Who replaces Vince Carter’s numbers? Courtney Lee and Yi Jianlian will get every opportunity to produce. Good cast of support players. Lawrence Frank’s job is on the line. Terrence Williams will impact this team this season.

The other two divisions are after the jump...

Central Division

1) Cleveland 58-24 – Like Boston, the Cavs improve with Parker, Moon, and Shaq. Offensively Shaq and LeBron attacking the rim is a scary thought. Defensively, Shaq can be had. The additions have, yet again, improved the level of role players around James. Have they finally reached the threshold to put them over the top? If not, it is time to scrap the role player thing and find a bona fide prime-of-career all star to play along side of LeBron.

2) Chicago 41-41 – they gained Boston’s respect. Can they build on it? Tyrus Thomas wants to go restricted next season. Rose and Noah will continue to get better. They must find a way to get a healthy Luol Deng involved more. Hinrich and Salmons will help make up for the loss of Ben Gordon. Talented club, but missing a true post presence. Johnson and Gibson solid draft choices.

3) Milwaukee 35-47 – Skiles will get the most from this club. Brandon Jennings will make you forget Sessions and is a future star. A healthy Bogut and Redd make this team dangerous. Some think Redd will be shopped before the year is out. Delfino is a Skiles type player and Warrick is a nice addition. OK. You know this is coming…they will be scrappy.

4) Detroit 36-46 – I don’t hold out the hope that some do about Dumars use of his freed up money. Even though I can root for three UConn alumni in Hamilton, Villanueva, and Gordon, I see this team having problems. Kwame Brown (or Ben Wallace) as your starting center is a warning sign. Chris Wilcox is a talented under achiever (i.e.- lazy). Villanueva needs to have a break out year, or Stuckey and Prince both need to have great years to change things.

5) Indiana 30-52 – T.J. Ford is finally supposed to take over, but I bet that Watson gets his share of minutes, as he always seems to do. Granger is a stud on a bad team. Murphy, and Dunleavy when he is healthy, flourish in this system. Hibbert will improve, but not enough to make a difference. Brandon Rush is solid and improving. Dahntay Jones replaces Marquis Daniels with less talent. Tyler Hansbrough will have to prove himself. We can use the term ‘scrappy’ again here.

Southeast Division

1) Orlando 60-22 – The Magic didn’t sign every available free agent. It just seemed that way. They are bent on winning a title as evidenced by matching for Marcin Gortat at a large expense. Hedo’s gone. Vince is in. Carter will be able to create his own shot in 4th quarter situations, something Turkuglu couldn’t. Brandon Bass, and Matt Barnes are solid pick ups. Pietrus surprised me in the playoffs with his clutch shooting and solid play. Poodles or pit bulls? Some see them as worse with Carter. I see them as more dangerous in 4th quarters.

2) Atlanta 48-34 – This is a very interesting situation. The time for talk is over. Joe Johnson would not go for an extension. Woodson gets no respect and this is the season he must earn his new contract. I see his future largely tied to Josh Smith’s ability to fit into the team concept. The Hawks also are committed to making that next jump and it won’t be easy. Getting Crawford and Joe Smith helps this team. Jeff Teague has talent. Will he play? This could be a 50 win team.

3) Washington 41-41 – everyone’s favorite ‘move up’ team. Flip Saunders will have a lot of talent to work with and a ‘mini big three’ in Arenas, Jamison, and Butler. Lots of good supporting players here and Haywood is healthy, too. Jamison’s out for a few weeks, and Blatchely will start in his place. Miller, Foye, McGuire, McGee, Oberto, James, Young make a talented bench.

4) Miami 38-44 – I became a believer in Dwyane Wade last season. Huge player. Unfortunately, the Heat only added Quentin Richardson. There is talent here but keeping Jermaine O’Neal healthy is a problem. Micheal Beasley should improve and Haslem is solid, but he shouldn’t have to play center. The three teams picked ahead of them all added pieces.

5) Charlotte 33-49 – hard to mark down this team after Larry Brown got them to finally play to their abilities. But Tyson Chandler in for Okafor and Raja Bell out with injury makes it hard to give them more wins. Felton is in a contract year and Augustin is a player. Gerald Henderson should play well for them. Well coached, solid starting five, little depth.

I should add that the win and loss total for both conferences total up correctly for the season =1230 of each.

Final Preseason Game: Pistons @ Bucks [Game Thread]

Packey — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 20:56:36 -0000

NBA Preseason Game 8
	@
3-4 (0-2 away)		3-4 (2-0 home)
Bradley Center Bucks Blog: Brew Hoop
October 23, 2009 8:30 PM ET
TV: FSD Radio: 950 WWJ
Probable starters:
Rodney Stuckey	PG	Brandon Jennings
Richard Hamilton	SG	Michael Redd
Tayshaun Prince	SF	Carlos Delfino
Charlie Villanueva	PF	Kurt Thomas
Chris Wilcox	C	Andrew Bogut

Detroit will end their preseason with a the second of a back-to-back against the Milwaukee Bucks on Friday night.

The end of the preseason brings about somewhat of a bitter-sweet feeling. Of course, we're all excited for the regular season to start (and for all games to be viewable), but the Pistons definitely have work to do. It's unrealistic to believe they were going to work out all the kinks before the season, seeing as they are predominantly a brand new team. However, it wouldn't hurt to have a few more "dry runs" before results started to count in the standings.

Pistons played the Bucks in the second game of the preseason and really showed off their offense in a 113-104 victory at the Palace. The Bucks starting lineup is going to look different than the lineup we saw October 7th, with three different names taking the floor for tip off. Detroit will have two different names with Villanueva most likely starting at PF and Wilcox starting in the middle for Kwame Brown, who is listed as questionable with a sore left hand.

There is no word on the status of Ben Wallace for tonight. Ben Wallace is starting tonight. He had been seeing limited time in previous games, if any at all, because Coach Q saw no reason to push the older man in the preseason when his role could very well be set in stone. He did not play on Thursday night because he bumped knees with a teammate during practice this week.

Tonight's game will be aired on Fox Sports Detroit, so hopefully, some of you will come share your thoughts regarding tonight's game and the state of the team heading into the season opener on Wednesday night in Memphis. I plan on posting a thread for commenters to introduce themselves over the weekend/Monday, so be on the lookout for that if you're interested in being apart of this community, but need a little nudging to get your foot in the door.

Go Pistons!

Kevin Durant's a team player, Nick Collison concerned about ankle, Hope for Thunder Defense, More...

Mr Pappagiorgio — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 21:26:31 -0000

So I haven't posted a Loud Links all week, and its about time I got around to it. I have to admit I'm still trying to make that adjustment back into basketball season, which can call for three or more posts per day on gamedays (Gameday, Open Thread, and Game Recap), and I haven't been able to get as much commentary and editorial type pieces up as I'd like to. I will say that there are a few ideas rattling around in my head, and although they will take some time to get up and running, I'm hoping to add another dimension to the blog as soon as the resources to do so become available. Until then, I'll do my best to try and get more original commentary up between games and on off days. But right now, lets get on with today's edition of Loud Links which features plenty of articles that might peak your interest and also a header that you might think is new, when in actuality it was rough first draft that got trimmed back down. Anyway, I felt like using it today, so there you go, not that it even matters.

First up in today's edition of Loud Links is Kevin Durant, and get used to it because a lot of today's links have to do with our boy KD, and why not? Dude is sick amazing right? Right. So anyway, Kevin wants everybody to know that he's a team player, and is also an example of an athlete using twitter in the proper way, according to the DailyCardinal.com. Hoopsworld contemplates the next step in Kevincredible's development, while Slam Online selects KD as #8 in their Top 50. Of course we have to throw the True Hoop article in which Henry Abbott basically said that the Thunder were a better team when Durant wasn't on the floor, even though I personally could really care less about what Henry Abbot thinks, or +/- stats for that matter. Nick Collison still having ankle problems and newsok also hits on Kevin Durant's foul trouble issues so far this pre-season. Remember Chris Wilcox? Sure you do, he was a member of the Thunder for a few months, and with the Sonics for a few years before that. Anyway he's excited about the change of atmosphere he is experiencing in Detroit. Finally, Oklahoma City is one of the best places to "Launch," Thunder Head Coach Scott Brooks hasn't settled on a starting lineup for opening day, and there is still a Glimmer of hope for the Thunder defense. So make the jump and check out all the links and don't forget to drop a comment or two.

Kevin Durant Wants You to Know He's a Team Player
"I felt like I wanted to defend myself,'' Durant said in an interview with FanHouse while the Thunder was in Tulsa for Wednesday's 96-91 preseason win over Miami. "I've let a lot of stuff slide. I shouldn't have done it. But when contributions to this team [are questioned], I got kind of offended because I'm passionate and emotional about all that stuff. I try to do everything to my best of my ability. Some people overlook that, and don't see how hard we work every day.''

Athletes must be cautious using Twitter
Twitter can be a valuable tool when it encourages communication and gives individuals a chance to speak out on important issues. Earlier this week, Oklahoma City Thunder forward Kevin Durant posted a response to a recent ESPN.com TrueHoop blog criticizing his contributions to his team. I felt this was a very practical use of social media. It allowed Durant to defend himself when he lacked the resources to respond with an entire article or website.

NBA At 2: Next Step For Durant
"I've got to be more of a leader for this team," Durant told John Thompson on ESPN 980 in DC recently. "Lead by example. Be more vocal. Collectively as a group we got to find what we have been learning in training camp…Towards the end of the season last year which is become a better defensive team. I think if we all feed into what we are trying to do on the defensive end we will continue to get better."

SLAM ONLINE'sTop 50: Kevin Durant, no. 8
One of my favorite things about working for a magazine that covers basketball from high school through the pros is getting to watch players develop every step of the way, and see hoKevin Durantw my/our projections pan out. When I saw Kevin Durant play in high school, to be honest, I had my doubts. Not doubts about making the League or anything, especially because the scoring was obvious then, but his skinniness drove me to distraction and I could not project NBA greatness for him.

The Kevin Durant Conundrum - TrueHoop By Henry Abbott
The Thunder's big three, for instance, are Russell Westbrook, Kevin Durant, and Jeff Green. Last season, in the 387 minutes Westbrook and Green were on the floor without Durant, the team outscored opponents by a dozen points. In the 1,683 minutes all three of them were on the floor together, they were outscored by 245 points.

Thunder notebook: Nick Collison concerned about ankle; Kevin Durant plagued by foul trouble
"I haven’t even practiced, yet, so I’m definitely going to be behind," Collison said. "Yeah, I’m concerned. I’ll be fine eventually. You never want to be behind. But you also want to be 100 percent. I’m doing pretty good with the pain. It’s the explosiveness is what I don’t have."

New Piston Chris Wilcox excited over different atmosphere
The Pistons like the ingredients that Wilcox, 27, can bring to the roster with his 6-foot-10, 235-pound frame. He's big, athletic, and has shown an ability to finish around the basket. "He's somebody that plays with reckless abandon," coach John Kuester said. When, that is, Wilcox can stay out of foul trouble.

Best Places to Launch: Oklahoma City is a heartland haven
Oklahoma City has its drawbacks. Among the most tornado-prone cities in America, it has the dubious distinction of getting hit in 1999 by the worst twister on record, with winds topping 320 miles per hour. And forget about entertaining your visiting clients with top-notch sporting events: Oklahoma City has only one professional franchise, the NBA's Oklahoma City Thunder, which had its first season in 2008 and finished 26th in the league.

Thunder notebook: Coach Scott Brooks not ready to announce starting lineup for Season Opener
Russell Westbrook, Kevin Durant and Jeff Green are locks. Thabo Sefolosha is the leading candidate to start at shooting guard. Nenad Krstic and Etan Thomas are competing for the center vacancy, but Nick Collison could be an option.

Glimmer of hope for Oklahoma City Thunder defense
The Thunder’s biggest need remains a dominant big man who can erase defensive lapses. But some teams offset interior deficiencies by using length and athleticism to create havoc on the perimeter.

Chris Bosh Now Owns Nearly Half of the Pistons Domains

Packey — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 17:25:54 -0000

Chris Bosh is probably viewed as a hero in Toronto for his play on the court (especially if he decides to re-sign there). Today, he's viewed as somewhat of a cyber-hero for a result in the court, as he just won a legal case that freed up over 800 domain names from a cybersquatter. The domain names were transferred over into his possession.

This story from the New York Times this morning:

A federal judge in California has ordered a cybersquatter to surrender chrisbosh .com to Bosh, the Toronto Raptors forward, settling a lawsuit filed last year. But the court went a step further — or several hundred steps.

Judge Florence-Marie Cooper of United States District Court ordered Luis Zavala and his company, Hoopology .com, to release some 800 illegally registered domain names to Bosh.

According to the lawsuit, Zavala registered the Web addresses in order to sell them to those whose names he appropriate, in violation of federal law.

The only relevance this story has in terms of the Pistons is that of those 800 illegally registered domain names, Bosh now owns seven current Pistons' domain names, should they ever want to have their name serve as a personal website.

Those Pistons include Rodney Stuckey, Tayshaun Prince, Charlie Villanueva, Kwame Brown, Chris Wilcox, Dajuan Summers and Chucky Atkins. Notable former Pistons include Darko Milicic and Arron Afflalo.

I know Richard Hamilton's personal website is RipCity32.com, Ben Gordon's is BenGordon.com, and Charlie Villanueva actually has a website, but it's CV31.com. And maybe Rip and Charlie's websites are what they are because some cybersquatter bought their full names ahead of time hoping to sell them illegally if the players came asking, but the players didn't want to go through the trouble. Or they just didn't think of purchasing their names in addition to what they went with.

Either way, whether these Pistons and former Pistons want to start a personal website using their full names or not,, nearly 800 other NBA players and other big names know where to go now, if they decide they do. Chris Bosh and the law has taken care of the situation.

Arenas and Wizards Slip Past Pistons, 101-98

Packey — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 02:41:50 -0000

More photos » by Duane Burleson - AP

Although it may look like it here, the court was not too slippery for Gilbert Arenas to play tonight. Good thing for the Wizards because he paced them to victory. (AP Photo/Duane Burleson)

Browse more photos »

Flip Saunders decided the Van Andel Arena court was not too wet after all for his injury prone star, so Gilbert Arenas started.

And then he dominated.

He proved to be too much for the Pistons and was the key in building a lead big enough for his team to sustain in the fourth quarter.

Arenas netted 24 points on 9-11 shooting in just under 28 minutes of action. The Wizards led by as many as 13 points when Arenas was in the game and by seven when Arenas saw his last action of the night after the third quarter. Thanks to monster dunks from Michigan native (and my high school), JaVale McGee, the Wizards were able to hold off the Pistons' fourth quarter push and prevail 101-98.

Detroit had a chance to tie the game or take the lead with under 20 seconds to go, but Ben Gordon turned the ball over forcing the Pistons to foul and fall even further behind. After Washington hit four free throws (with a Gordon miss mixed in there), Austin Daye nailed a three with just under two seconds left to pull the Pistons back within three, but there wasn't enough time on the clock to pull off the miracle comeback at that point.

For the first time this preseason, the Pistons found themselves fighting an uphill battle. They were shooting just 39% at the half, yet were only down one point. That, to me, is somewhat comforting. For playing a team that many "experts" think will leap frog the Pistons in the Eastern Conference this year, they battled tough despite clearly having an off night with their strokes.

The Pistons' quartet of guards shot a combined 36% (19-53), so on nights like these, it'll be nice having Charlie Villanueva pick up some of the scoring slack. It'll be nice having him help out no matter what kind of shooting nights these four have, but you know what I'm saying.

Some other notes/thoughts:

Tayshaun Prince did not return after halftime due to a cut on his big toe. Man stuff. He was having a pretty good game, so it's too bad he didn't return.
Detroit hung with the Wizards in every facet of the game really. They were outrebounded and assisted, but only by three and four respectively. Detroit had more steals, less turnovers, and out-shot the Wizards from three-point land, 41% to 27%.
Will Bynum fought through his early struggles and scored 16 of his 23 points in the second half. The Wizards radio announcers were loving them some Will Bynum.
Kwame Brown, Ben Wallace, Chris Wilcox, and Jason Maxiell put up some good numbers again. A combined 7-14 shooting (21 points) and 21 rebounds. Butler, Jamison, and McGee combined for 39 points for the Wizards, though. Kwame had his second near double-double of the preseason with nine points and 11 rebounds.
I get the feeling that Coach Q played Jonas Jerebko a lot tonight to allow himself a good look to figure out if this kid is a serious candidate for playing time this season. In 27 minutes, Jerebko had nine rebounds and nine points.
Austin Daye showed off the three point shot, as he was 2-2 from beyond the arc. He had 10 points in just about 15 minutes.
DaJuan Summers did not play. Coach's decision according to the box score.
Detroit falls to 3-1 on the preseason and return to action on Thursday against the Mavs in Dallas. This game will be on NBATV.
For Wizards coverage, you can meander over here.
No highlights up on NBA.com as of an hour after the game. I'll put them up here as they become available.

Guards Carry Pistons in 100-91 Win Over Hawks

Packey — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 01:27:36 -0000

For the second straight game, the four major Pistons' guards combined for the bulk of the team's points to help take out the opposition.

On Wednesday night, Richard Hamilton, Ben Gordon, Rodney Stuckey, and Will Bynum compiled 72 of the team's 113 points in their victory of Milwaukee. On Sunday evening, it was much of the same as the four combined for 68 points en route to a nine point win against the Atlanta Hawks.

Gordon led the four with 22 points on 6-12 shooting (3-6 from three-point land). Stuckey was 7-11 shooting, which was good for 20 points. Rip contributed 15 points on 6-9 shooting. The three shot 59%.

Will Bynum had his first off-game of the preseason, but still wound up scoring 11 points on 4-11 shooting. He also added four assists.

The most unique stat of the night might be that the Pistons had three buzzer beaters, all coming from the top three scorers, in ascending order (and arguably in ascending order of impressiveness). Richard Hamilton beat the buzzer in the first quarter, Stuckey swished one at the end of the half, and Ben Gordon nailed the most impressive with a half-court shot to beat the clock at the end of the third quarter. You could say that these three's last second makes were the main difference makers in this game.

Some other notes/thoughts:

Ben Wallace, Kwame Brown, Chris Wilcox, and Jason Maxiell had another solid showing: 16 points on 5-9 shooting, and 21 rebounds.
This was the first preseason game Detroit was out-rebounded. Hawks snagged 48 to Detroit's 36. Hawks corralled 18 offensive rebounds, while Detroit had just seven. We should probably get used to seeing this difference.
Tayshaun Prince was 0-5 with three rebounds.
Chucky Atkins saw his first action of the preseason (a little over seven minutes). He was 1-2 shooting, good for three points.
Austin Daye's length is proving to be a valuable asset on the defensive side of things. He had another two blocks in limited action, which makes that five total in the preseason in 27+ minutes.
Jonas Jerebko made the most of his 17 minutes. He scored six and grabbed six rebounds.
Remember, Charlie Villanueva STILL hasn't played. This team could be lethal when he does return, or there could just be way too many scorers to keep everyone happy or effective. Hopefully, he can return soon, so we can get a look at this team with CV31.
Another 57 fouls called by the replacement refs, but no ejections as far as I know.
Video highlights after the jump

First half highlights. Again, I'll upload the full game highlights when they become available:

Ben Gordon makes sweet, sweet string music with this third quarter buzzer beater from half-court: