On Thursday Chauncey was on Jim Rome’s ESPN show Rome is Burning via satellite. Jim had some pretty good questions for Chauncey and I was kind of surprised with the answer Chauncey gave about how good Rasheed is. Billups said Rasheed could be the league’s best player but gets “bored” when playing against comp he feels are not up to his level.
Check out the full “Alone with Rome” interview.
The Pistons (30-13) will host the Magic (27-17) at the Palace of Auburn Hills. Tip off is 7:00 pm est and can be viewed locally on TV20 and nationally on ESPN.
Magic Snapshot
Road record: 17-9
Last game: 1/23 (Weds) W 112-85 @ Memphis
Last 10: 4-6
Injuries: Tony Battie (torn left rotator cuff), Jameer Nelson (strained tendon, right foot)
Last meeting: Jan. 21st Pistons (100) @ Magic (102)
Four days ago the Magic ended their 9 game losing streak to the Pistons on a last second Rashard Lewis 12′ glasser. Tonight they’ll be looking to stop a Palace losing streak that dates back almost four years. The Pistons are coming off a win where they should look to build momentum. Beating Philly isn’t something to leave a red hand print on you back about, but the ‘Stonz did look like they were getting back to the form that allowed the to run off 11 straight victories before being derailed by the Celtics.
The Pistons need to concentrate on defending Orlando’s high pick-and-roll between Hedo Turkoglu and Dwight Howard. They need to do a better job of not sleeping on Turkoglu and just letting Sheed stay home on D. Howard. Hedo is having a great season so far and it’s being done mostly under the radar. The guy is quietly averaging 19 pts, 6 rbs, & 4 ast. per game often times (like Monday) doing most of his damage in the 4th quarter of games.
We Pistons’ fans have tendencies to dwell. There were the annual trade scenarios to bring Mike James back to Detroit Auburn Hills after we lost him to free agency in ‘04 or the more specific Sheed for KG trade that wouldn’t die until Garnett was dealt to Boston this offseason. Our newest hang up is Mayce Edward Christopher Webber III, or more commonly C-Webb. We just love our Mitten-Bred baller.
It’s coming up on the two week anniversary of Webber telling a Sacramento TV reporter that he’d be “back in two weeks playing basketball”.
There’s a very large faction of the Nation that wants Webb back, and there’s also those that don’t share that predilection. Here’s a cross section of both.
Rob Parker says Webber Can help Pistons. Parker expects to see Webber rejoin the Pistons sooner or later. Parker thinks Webber’s ability to pass out of the post would be the “perfect scenario” for Detroit’s offense.
You can see Webber playing 12-15 minutes a night. Best of all, coach Flip Saunders can see quickly if he’s able to help or not. Last season as a starter, Webber was either very good or very bad.
If it’s one of those bad nights, you go to someone else. If Webber is playing well, then you get all those minutes out of him.
That’s not going to sit well with everyone who’s wanted to see Amir Johnson get those 12-15 minutes per night. Especially after the effort he put forth against the Sixers on Wednesday night.
Jamie Samualson doesn’t share Parker’s avidity for Webber’s return. In his Free Press blog bluntly titled Chris Webber would add nothing to the Pistons:
Detroit needs to forget about Chris Webber of Country Day, Michigan and even the Kings. That player doesn’t exist anymore. Webber now is a pull-up jump shooter who never attacks the basket. Don’t you remember his act in the playoffs last year? There were games where he flat out disappeared. In fact the only ream impact I remember him making was early in the Bulls series and one game of the Cavs series. Bottom line. He would not make this team any better. Not at all.
Antonio McDyess was posed the question on Webber’s return on WDFN:
“Chris is a great teammate. I would love to have him but I can’t make that call. I don’t know what he would give us right now, you know, if Flip would even play him, if that was the case. I would love to see him out there as a teammate and I mean I loved him last year, he helped us.”
Dice seems to take the high road but does hint to Flip Saunders’ lack of confidence in Chris’ ability to help the Pistons. Antonio said in the interview that he feels the team needs is another energy guy off the bench, possibly a fourth or fifth big. “Energy player” isn’t exactly the terms I’d use to describe Chris’ game these days.
Even a non-Piston fan thinks Adding Chris Webber would negate any chance of a Detroit Pistons Championship:
He’s about i, me, my which didn’t have any place on the Pistons best teams over the last 6-7 years. During the playoffs, Webber was quoted as yelling on the court during numerous possessions “D-up! I got to get my ring!”
That’s funny, Webber telling teammates to D-up. I hadn’t heard that before, but if it’s true it gives Jim O’Brien’s recent Webber retorts look a tad less sour grapey.
Ok, so here’s my feelings on a Webber return, which aren’t so thinly veiled if you’ve made it this far. The Pistons SHOULD NOT RE-SIGN CHRIS. Look, I’m no Webber hater. I love the guy. I pulled hard for him in Sacto. They were my preseason favorites to win it all a few times. I still have the #4 Michigan jersey that I rocked in Jr. High (although it’s a wee bit extra-medium on me and since it’s a replica joint the dryer has gotten the best of the screened on applications). But, like the required reading in Jr. High “That was then, this is now”.
What the Pistons DO NEED in my opinion is a situational big. We need a mass neutralizer like we had in Elden Campbell or Dale Davis. More or less a large foul eater. We match up well with Dice and Sheed against the athletic bigs in the L, it’s just the plodders we struggle with. This was brought to light to me by the way Big Baby Davis was able to open up his own and1 layup bazaar right there in the Palace paint in the 4th quarter of the Celtics game. Or When we were unable to stop the Knicks, THE KNICKS, from going over the top of our defense to the tandem of Curry and Randolph.
Who pray tell should we go after? I don’t know, sorry. I’d thought for awhile PJ Brwon, but all reports are that he’s content in retirement. I, like the rest of us, have to leave our trust in the very competent hands of Joe D.
