PistonsNationBlog.com - Detroit Pistons News & Views

I’ve been at it again.  I’ve been sharpening my vector drawing skills as of late.  I loved He-Man and the Masters of the Universe as a kid.  Teela was always a pretty hot red head as far as cartoon characters went.  In the cartoon she has an athletic build, which is understandable, she is the captain of the Royal Guard after all.  My goal was to make her a tad more voluptuous.  This was done with the aid of the incredible Gemma Atkinson’s rock’n figure.

I’m pretty pleased with how it came out.  If I were to change one thing Teela would be letting her hair down a bit.  I was dying to do some shading but decided to stay true to the cartoon style.  It may look simple, but it took me just as long as any of the others I’ve done.  There was actually a good amount of freehand or (freemouse?) involved.

The Pistons (23-17, 12-7 home) will be hosting the Raptors (16-27) at the Palace. Tip off is 7:30 pm est and can be viewed locally on Fox Sports Detroit

Raptors’ Snapshot
Road record: 8-15
Last game: 1/19 (Mon) L 84-87 @ Hawks
Last 10: 3-7
Streak: Lost 6
Against Pistons: Nov 5th Pistons (100) @ Raptors (93)
Injuries: Jose Calderon (hamstring -doubtful), Jermaine O’Neal (knee -probable)

Coming into the season the Raptors looked to be a team to contend with in the East, but with a .372 winning percentage they’re the third weakest team in the conference.  Toronto has been plagued with injuries to their big offseason acquisition Jermaine O’Neal (who may be dealt to Miami) and point guard Jose Calderon.

Tonight is the debut of Rip Hamilton joining Antonio McDyess’ second unit.  Although Rip was reluctant to come off the bench he’s since taken a team first approach.  I’m hoping this works so that in 20 + more games Curry won’t be extensively mulling over sitting Iverson in favor of Rip.

ALSO OF NOTE: The Pistons have a 10 game Palace winning streak over the Raptors, last losing to them in April ‘03 … The Pistons currently rank 29th in the free-throw shooting … Cuzoogle preview …

We Pistons’ fans love Antonio McDyess. Dice is a class act who always leaves it all on the court.

I think there’s not one of us in the Nation who wouldn’t put winning one for Dice right at the top of the list for reasons we want another banner in the Palace. The rest of the core got their bling in ‘04 and Antonio came within one quarter of getting to kiss a champagne soaked Larry O’Brien trophy in ‘05.  Every year since he’s endured the anguish of unfulfilled expectations for all of us to see.

When he was part of the Iverson trade we gripped so hard not because we didn’t want to see him as an intricate piece on someones else’s championship roster.  I think we’d all root for him to win on any of the Association’s 30 teams.  It’d be bitter sweet, but it’d still be sweet.  We gripped because Dice made the blood, sweat, and teared commitment year after year to win here, and that’s what we want for him.  To ride out in the sunset as not just a winner, but a Piston.

The below illustration is my ode to the Ultimate Pistons Warrior hailing from parts unknown Quitman, Mississippi.  Thirteen seasons in and potential career ending knee injuries and he’s still ferocious every time he steps on the court.  Watching Dice play like it was game 7 of the Finals against New Orleans (12 boards, 5 offensive) and then two days later grabbing 16 boards off the Pistons bench against Memphis was all the inspiration I needed to put the mouse to the screen.

I’m a day late on this one, but here you have it:

Pistons coach Michael Curry announced today that Richard Hamilton will lose his place in the starting lineup as the team tries to overcome its recent struggles.

Power forward Amir Johnson will replace him in the starting lineup most nights. Center Kwame Brown will start against especially big teams.

[…] “I feel we are better defensively and rebounding” with three forwards, Curry said. “We have struggled sometimes being able to score at the beginning of the second and fourth quarters. We think, by featuring Rip during those times, we can (change) that.”

Curry said Hamilton will average about 30 minutes of playing time per game off the bench. He will decide his late-game substitution pattern on the fly. - Free Press

It’s no secret, I thought it should be AI, but I’m willing to give this a chance to see how it goes.  Winning is winning, no matter who’s playing and when.