Stuckey has been medically cleared to play but will sit out tomorrow night against the Warriors.  No need to rush really.  Make sure you’re right.  Unless Will Bynum keeps balling the way he has been.  Then we might have a controversy  on our hands.

Pistons backup guard Rodney Stuckey said that he will miss Thursday night’s game against the Golden State Warriors at this morning’s practice.

He will take part in the Thursday morning shoot around to work on his conditioning after missing Tuesday’s win over Sacramento. Stuckey left Sunday’s loss to the Celtics, complaining of dizziness.

He said that the tests showed everything is alright and he is ready to go but wants to condition more before getting back on the court. -DFP

From all I’ve read Rodney is ok and they’re just covering all their bases.  But, what I was thinking while watching the game that if he’s taking himself out of a big game for dizziness it has to be something of a serious dizzy feeling.  Hopefully it doesn’t turn out to be something serious.

Detroit Pistons’ guard Rodney Stuckey did not travel with the team to Sacramento today. He remained in Detroit for precautionary, follow-up testing after experiencing symptoms of light-headed and dizziness in Sunday night’s game versus Boston. He is listed as day-to-day - Detroit Free Press

In Chris McCosky’s recap he said Stuck was expected to travel with the team.

Hot Rod recently gave a short interview while in Flint, MI with the Pistons Tip-Off Tour in which he proclaimed the Pistons will be back to playing “Bad Boys” Defense: “I’ll tell you one thing, our defense and defensive standpoint, things are going to be a lot different. We’re gonna be picking up full court, trying to get back to our old ways of playing Bad Boys defense. That’s something to look forward to this coming year.”

Love Stuck.  Love the moxie.  I believe the Pistons will be better defensively under Mike Curry, but perhaps Stuckey might want to stay late in the film room and break out some old Bad Boys’ game tape.   That kind of defense is a thing of the past in today’s NBA.  Hard nose D is now rewarded with suspensions.  Besides that I really don’t think the Pistons have the personnel to play that physical D.

Guys like Stuckey and Afflalo should be able to put more pressure on ball handlers coming up the court which is something Curry has said he wants more of.  I’d also like to see the tough interior defense that we were known for just a few years ago make a come back.

Anyone else getting antsy for this thing to start?

Continue Reading »

Even though Michael Curry is a rookie coach he already has all the right answers.  In this Q&A he did with a Traverse City paper (via Need4Sheed) he says what all Pistons’ fans want to hear:

Do you see an expanded role for second-year pro Rodney Stuckey?

We look at Rodney Stuckey as a sixth starter. He’s capable of starting for most teams in this league. We have to find a way to get him 30 minutes a game. We expect a lot out him. He expects a lot out of himself.

I also  like the approach he’s taking with these Pistons:

I’ll explain that 20 years ago, during the Bad Boys era, this team was really good. But the Bad Boys era didn’t carry over to the team that won the championship in 2004. There was a distance in between. I want them to understand there’s also a distance between 2004 and now. This is a new era. We no longer have meaningless regular season games. Regular season games mean something to us

I like that.  It’s hard to make the vets forget that they already have a ring, but they probably need to.  That’s what we all want, this team to show the hunger they had back when they had something to prove.  Easier said than done, but I like what I’m hearing.

It’s a pretty interesting interview.  ‘Stonz fans should definitely take time out to read it in its entirety.

Another one of the ‘Stonz picks up an accolade. Rodney Stuckey made the NBA’s All-Rookie Second team. Pretty good for only getting into 57 games.

Rodney is joined on the 2nd team by: Jamario Moon (Toronto), Juan Carlos Navarro (Memphis), Thaddeus Young (Philadelphia) and Carl Landry (Houston).

From the Detroit News:

Voting was done by the league’s head coaches, who were asked to select five players for the First Team and five for the Second Team, regardless of position.

Rodney Stuckey via Krista Jahnke (Detroit Free Press):

Starting sometime soon — maybe next week, maybe, if it’s a blowout, even tonight — the Pistons will finally get to see Rodney Stuckey in real NBA action.

The Pistons announced that doctors cleared the rookie point guard on Thursday to begin full-contact practice as well as to play in games.

I’m going to have to hit up YouTube to remember what Stuck brings to the table. Seems like forever he’s been out. Once he gets re-acclimated to the team he’s going to make our attack even more dangerous and diverse. We really don’t have another guy on the roster who attacks the rack off the dribble like Rodney does, which is something that’s been missing. We’ll see better looks for the field as a result of collapsing defenses and a player like that is also able to get to the line a ton (like Stuckey’s idol Dwyane Wade).

And remember when Stuckey’s up to speed he’s the first guard off the bench, so we’re not just waiting for blowouts to see glimpses like with Amir Johnson.

Chris Webber via J.A. Adande (ESPN, finders fee - Nick):

Fourteen-year veteran Chris Webber is close to returning to the NBA, with the Pistons his likely destination, a source close to Webber told ESPN.com.

“Look for him to be back the first week of January,” the source said.

The Boston Celtics, Miami Heat and Los Angeles Lakers had also inquired about Webber’s services, with the Heat intensifying their efforts after backup center Alonzo Mourning suffered an apparent season-ending injury to his patellar tendon in a game at Atlanta Wednesday night. But for Webber, a Michigan native, his familiarity with the Pistons players and coach Flip Saunders’ system after playing there last season appears to make them the most desirable team.

Until he signs here or somewhere else the Webber talk will not die. Is it wrong that I wouldn’t mind having Webb back now that Boston has shown interest? Or is that by design from Webber’s camp to force Joe’s hand?

How would we open a spot for him? With Flip Murray falling out of the rotation in favor of Lindsey Hunter, Dumars could shop him for picks or package him with Walter Hermann?

Chris McCosky’s Adande rebuttal:

ESPN.com’s J.A. Adande, citing an unnamed source, is reporting that Chris Webber could return to the Pistons as early as January. President Joe Dumars told me tonight that was not true. In fact, Dumars has told Webber’s representatives this week that he is content with the roster as it is and has no immediate intentions of changing it.

The Pistons presently have five frontcourt players — Rasheed Wallace, Antonio McDyess, Jason Maxiell, Amir Johnson and Primoz Brezec (with rookie Cheikh Samb waiting in the wings). Dumars, as I have continuously reported, made it clear to Webber in August that he was not going to have four veteran big men on the roster this season barring injury, and that if a situation ever arose where the Pistons needed to bring Webber back, it would be only as the fourth or fifth big. Dumars is committed to using Maxiell as the first big off the bench, and he wants to continue to groom Johnson. Brezec was an unexpected addition who, frankly, might have more to offer in limited minutes than Webber. Webber was not all that pleased last season when he was starting and not the featured player in the offense. There is little chance he would be happy playing five to 10 minutes a night.

If Webber is going to be back in the league, it’s probably a safer bet that he will land in Miami. They have just lost Alonzo Mourning for the rest of the season. I wouldn’t hold my breath waiting for Webber to return to the Pistons.

From Chris McCosky:

Rodney Stuckey is not going to make it back in the original six-week time frame. He had his left hand re-examined Wednesday and was not cleared for contact.

“He will get another evaluation next Friday,” Saunders said. “So, two more weeks.” The Pistons were hoping Stuckey would be back by next Friday.

So he’s doesn’t possess Wolverine’s ability to heal with the super quickness, he’s human. It’s a no-brainer to say not to rush an injury. You want it completely healed so it doesn’t become a chronic nagging type thing. The new timetable for Rodney will be how long does it take for him to get re-acclimated into the lineup. How long before Flip will be confident enough to give him regular and consistent minutes behind Chauncey?

Oh, and I can already hear the casual Pistons observers around town “didn’t the Pistons draft another guard”?

Rodney Stuckey is the first up for SLAM ONLINE’s rookie bloggers. No material that’s going to show up on a ton of blogs, but then again that just doesn’t seem like Rodney’s personality. He basically talks about adjusting to life in the NBA and the injury. Here’s my favorite excerpt:

I think that one of the reasons why the Detroit Pistons as an organization is where they’re at right now is the atmosphere in the locker room is very good. We always have a positive mind throughout the locker room, and I think if you’re having a negative attitude in the locker rooms and all that stuff, that’s not really a good thing to vibe off. So all the enthusiasm and stuff coming from the players is all good. We’re all a family. We all hang out with each other, and we all treat each other with respect. If someone messes up, we get on each other, so it’s all about being a brotherhood.

Via Detroit News:

AUBURN HILLS — Pistons rookie guard Rodney Stuckey will be out for at least six weeks after undergoing successful surgery Thursday to repair his fractured left (non-shooting) hand.

The operation was performed by Dr. John Wagner at Oakland Regional Hospital.

The injury occurred Wednesday night, as Stuckey was playing against the Washington Wizards at The Palace in a preseason game. Stuckey was coming off a screen, and his left hand became tangled in a Washington player’s uniform.

Stuckey continued to move left, the defender cut to the right, and his left hand twisted. The result was immediate pain, with Stuckey heading to the Pistons bench holding his limp left hand.

He was taken a few minutes later to the Pistons’ locker room, where X-rays revealed possible multiple fracture sites in his hand.

Well there ya have it. Hopefully everything heals correctly and quickly.

Meet the Pistons’ 2007 draft class.

Rodney Stuckey - Named Honorable Mention All-America by The Associated Press his freshman and sophomore seasons and earned All-Big Sky Conference honors both years. Named Big Sky Most Valuable Player as a freshman. Currently ranks fourth in Eastern Washington history in scoring with 1,438 career points. Also holds the highest career scoring average in school history (24.3 ppg), while ranking fourth in assist average (4.8 apg), fourth in steals (137) and fifth in free throw percentage (.806). Has scored 20 or more points 41 times and has surpassed the 30-point mark 15 times. Sat out the 2004-05 season at Eastern Washington while establishing academic eligibility.

Arron Afflalo - Earned Consensus First Team All-America honors and was a member of the Wooden All-American Team as a junior. Also named Pac-10 Player of the Year. Earned First Team All-Conference honors his sophomore and junior years. Finished collegiate career as the 17th all-time leading scorer in UCLA history with 1,540 points. Also ranks 2nd all-time in three-point field goals made (209) and attempted (560).

Sammy Mejia - Earned Second Team All-Big East Conference honors as a senior. Finished collegiate career as DePaul’s ninth all-time leading scorer with 1,494 points. Also ranks second in minutes played (3,839), fourth in games played (123), sixth in assists (396), sixth in three-point field goals attempted (351) and ninth in three-point field goals made (115). Is the second player in school history, joining Tom Kleinschmidt (1991-95), to record 1,000 points, 500 rebounds, 300 assists, 100 steals and 100 three-point field goals in a career.