Via ESPN:

MIAMI — Detroit Pistons guard Richard Hamilton will miss the team’s season-opener at Miami on Thursday because of a family emergency and rookie Arron Afflalo was expected to start in his place.

Hamilton could rejoin the Pistons in Orlando on Friday, coach Flip Saunders said.

I hope everything is ok.

No Stuckey, no Amir Johnson, now no Rip. I’m surprised Afflalo is getting the start over Flip Murray.

UPDATE: Via Detroit Free Press:

Pistons shooting guard Richard Hamilton is out for tonight’s season opener against the Miami Heat. He’s attending to a family emergency.

I don’t know much about the nature of that emergency besides that it’s not a death, so that’s good news. He is expected to rejoin the team Friday in Orlando.

In the meantime, rookie Arron Afflalo gets to be the fifth starter. Coach Flip Saunders said he wanted to go with Afflalo instead of guard Flip Murray to keep some scoring and veteran play coming off the bench.Also, Afflalo should have an easier time playing alongside four veterans. That will balance out the pressure of getting your first NBA start and your first NBA minutes all in the same night.

Saunders said he might not even tell the guard until closer to game time. We reporters didn’t really let that happen. Finding Arron in the locker room, told him the news and he looked at us at first like, “Huh?”

But Afflalo took the news in stride. Afflalo said the news won’t change his focus.

“I’m excited to play, ready to get out there and have fun,” Afflalo said. “Get a win.”

The Pistons need to set a tone tonight. They’re playing a Heat team that is minus their best player in Dwyane Wade who has fallen 8 times and only gotten up 8 times (??), Pretty Ricky Davis will be starting in his place. Miami still has on old (literally) nemesis in Shaquille O’Neal and it will be interesting to see how the “center by committee” goes with the most physically dominating center in recent memory. This could be a statement game for Nazr Mohammed if he looking for one, if not he can try again tomorrow night in Orlando against Dwight Howard. The odds makers have the Pistons by four in this one, but honestly looking at this Heat roster, they could easily come away with a double digit win on a Miami team that didn’t win a single preseason game.

November sees the Pistons on the road for 8 of the first 10 games of the season, with includes a 5 game west coast trip. The saving grace of that trip is that they’ll only play one good team in Golden State. The others include: Seattle, Portland, Lakers (who will probably have traded Kobe by then), and Sacramento. The Pistons will then finish off the month with a 4 game home stand.

If anyone is looking for a cool Pistons wallpaper for your computer Pistons.com has a new set of them. Each features a current roster Piston paired with a past Piston as part of the 50th anniversary celebration.