• Chris McCosky of the Detroit News rails on Micheal Jordan’s GM futulity and I love it


  Is it safe to say that as a team-builder, MJ was a great, great player? He ruined Washington, in case anybody forgot, and now he’s making a mess in Charlotte.

• The Pistons are #1 in your hearts and now #1 in the rankings, both NBA.com & ESPN.com
• Fight in the NBA West good for the Detroit Pistons and Boston Celtics. I agree. It’s no secret that the West has more quality contenders than the East. So let them beat each other up in the playoffs, we only have to beat one of them.
• National pub alert: Really good write up by Sports Illustrated on the Pistons winning consistency


  Death, taxes and DEE-troit, BASK-etball. Same old, same old, without getting old to the crowds at The Palace of Auburn Hills.

• Sorry Automotion, Sacramento’s dance team is my new favorite, unless you can top this.

• It’s a rumor that the Bulls were interested in having Larry Brown in the first seat, but they deny it
• When the Pistons play in Milwaukee on Feb. 20th the Bucks will be honoring “The Dobber” Bob Lanier
• LeBron James says the Pistons and the Celtics are the biggest smack talkers in the league.


  Detroit, we all know that they get flying at the mouth sometimes, but they play great basketball.

• Trading deadline is coming up, does Detroit need to make a move?
• Pistons.com does a good write up on “The Microwave” Vinnie Johnson

It looks as if all the Suns are waiting for is medical clearance sometime today to complete the Shaq for Shawn Marion/Marcus Banks deal. Who seen this coming? Talk of this deal is sure to dominate most of the on air jibber jabber tonight when our Pistons take on the Miami Heat tonight at the Palace.

This will totally change the complexion of the Suns, and I’m not sure for the better either. There success comes from them being able to get up and down the court in a blur with Steve Nash orchestrating the run-n-gun. Sure Shaq is arguably the most dominant big man eve, but The Diesel has a lot of miles and some bad wheels.

We’ll get to see first hand how this shakes out Feb 24th at Phoenix, and then a month later, March 24th at the Palace. That’s assuming Shaq’s even in the lineup.

• Good write up on the Pistons in the NY Times

“At the end of last season, Joe Dumars made our off-season mantra to instill youth and energy into this team,” Hammond said.Wear and tear on the starters was one concern, but their age was another. Hamilton turns 30 next month, Billups is 31 and forward Rasheed Wallace is 33.

“We didn’t want to reach a point where we had to tear down the roster and completely rebuild,” Hammond said.

• Chris McCosky continues his defense of Tayshaun Prince:

Understand this: If Prince wanted to, he could easily have put himself in a situation where he was the first or second offensive option on another team, and he would certainly be putting up All-Star worthy offensive numbers.

• John Denton of Hoops World has an ax to grind with Rasheed Wallace:

Rasheed Wallace, Detroit’s enigmatic center, is far and away the NBA’s most underachieving player based on his enormous level of talent and spotty, unreliable production.In many ways, Wallace is this age’s Derrick Coleman. Chuck Daly, one of the keenest eyes for talent in NBA history, used to say all the time that Coleman was by far the most skilled and talented player that he ever coached. However, Coleman was a legendary dog of a competitor because of his often unfocused and lazy demeanor.

• Flip Murray staying positive while waiting for his opportunity:

“I’ve been in this situation before,” Murray said. “I know what they’re trying to do here as far as developing the young fellas, as far as getting them some time to be able to play. And me being a veteran, I’ve seen that before. I know what it takes for a team to be able to do that, try to develop their young players. But just in case I’m called on again, (I have to) just be ready.”

Former Piston clippings

• Here’s a Q&A with Chris Webber from Warriors.com. I was hoping they would have asked him something Pistons related, but I can understand why they didn’t. (finder’s fee to Nick)

• Here’s Mehmet Okur vid from FanHouse of Memo apparently giving some heckling fans the one finger salute
• Larry Brown inquired about the Cavs’ first seat

Jessica Kourkounis / Houston Chronicle

Via: Detroit News:

The topic of Tracy McGrady came up in the Pistons’ locker room before a game last week. McGrady is now injured and unhappy in Houston. Reports there say he has told friends he wants to be traded — again. One player, who shall remain nameless, joked that McGrady was becoming more and more like his cousin, Vince Carter. “They should call Tracy, ‘half-man, half a season,’” the player cracked.

I like that, it’s witty. I think the three most likely culprits would be either Sheed, Lindsey, or Rip.

• Monopoly Pistons style!
• Stuckey’s learning the hard way
• Great read on Walter Herrmann
• National pub via Washington Times & Fox Sports.
• Bleacher Report: Detroit the Class of East
• Chris McCosky’s Pistons 50 Memorable Moments
• Get to know the Pistons new international man of mystery Primo Brezec
• The 2nd returns are in for the all-star voting and the Pistons still need our help
• A list of the last 6 Pistons to make the all-rookie team. Hopefully Stuckey and/or Afflalo can add their names to that list
• Pretty sweet Palace promo item
• David Boyce of the Kansas City Star is a Flip Saunders hater

Former Pistons Press clippings:

• Sammy Mejia named D-League Performer of the Week
• Chris Webber’s agent: Webber will ‘definitely play’ this season
• Kobe Bryant says he’d play for Isiah in NY
• Jason Kidd is on pace to pass Isiah Thomas mid month for 5th on the all-time assist list
• Smush Parker for Mickael Pietrus?

Via ESPN:

Bulls coach Scott Skiles has lost his job as a result of his team’s slow start. The Bulls have lost three of their last four games and were booed throughout Saturday’s home loss to the Rockets. Despite high expectations, the Bulls (9-16) have the third worst record in the Eastern Conference.

“This was a difficult decision to make, but one that was necessary at this time,” general manager John Paxson said in a statement Monday. “Scott helped us in many ways during his time with the Bulls; most importantly, he helped this franchise get back to respectability. I am appreciative of his hard work and the imprint that he left on our team.”

The Bulls didn’t immediately announce a replacement for Skiles, who went 165-172 after replacing Bill Cartwright in November 2003.

Ben Wallace said Saturday he would welcome personnel changes if it would help the club.

“That’s one of those things that goes along with this league,” said Wallace. “Change is not always bad. If everybody wants to be here we have to step it up and go out there and play basketball.”

Meanwhile the paychecks will keep coming for Ben. Ben Wallets has a certain way of brooming coaches doesn’t he? What poor timing. In my estimation the Bulls did Skiles a favor. He’s a defensive minded coach and he’ll be back, the Bulls on the other hand might have more sucking to do before they straighten that mess out.

The Pistons (13-6) are taking on the Bobcats (7-11) tonight at the Palace. The game starts at 6pm est and will televised locally on TV20 Detroit. The Pistons split last seasons series with Charlotte 2-2. Detroit has won four out of the five meetings with the Bobcats at the Palace.

Bobcats snapshot
Road record: 1-6
Last game: 12/8 (Sat) - W 93-96 @ home Vs. Cavaliers
Last 10: 3-7
Injuries: Sean May, Adam Morrison

Forget Gerald Wallace (18.8 ppg) or Jason Richardson (17 ppg) the Pistons need to keep an eye on Piston killer Matt Carroll. In the four games last season against the Pistons, Carroll averaged 13.3 points against Detroit while shooting 54.8% from the field, and 55.6% on 3-ptrs. “We helped him get his contract last year,” Flip Saunders said of Carroll, who signed a six-year, $27 million deal with Charlotte over the summer. “We’ve got to make sure we’re very conscious of him. I mean, he’s one of those guys, he plays off other people. He can really shoot the ball well. There are certain guys against certain teams and they just play well. He’s one of those guys who when he plays us, he seems to have a lot of confidence.” (via Pistons.com)

Flip Saunders will also have to contend with game planning for another team that plays “small ball“, due to two of Charlotte’s big men (May & Morrison) out with injuries.

• Compassion over fashion. Jason Maxiell didn’t shave his head to make himself anymore intimidating. The OH-BEAST! one decided to cut his hair shortly after learning that a close family member was beginning chemotherapy. “It’s something that I have no idea what they’re going through,” Maxiell said. “So I did this to show them my support.” Do you need another reason to think this dude is the cat’s pajamas? Me neither.
• It seems that new Tiger’s hurler, Dontrelle Willis has somewhat of a ‘man crush’ on Rasheed Wallace. I can just see the next time he’s at a Pistons’ game they’ll have him and Sheed on the smooch cam for sure.
• Flip Saunders takes another jab at the Zen Master: Los Angeles Lakers coach Phil Jackson blamed his fellow NBA coaches for agreeing to be miked up for some nationally televised games. “He wasn’t at the meetings, so he doesn’t know what was talked about,” said Saunders, who added the coaches did not agree to anything at the time.
• In the dubious tradition of “Prime Time”, “Neon” Deion Sanders, Flip Murray has given himself a nickname. “Fourth Quarter Slaughter”
• Arron Afflalo ranks #17 among rookie according to John Hollinger’s PER ratings, Hollinger also calculates that the ‘Stonz have a 100% chance of making the Playoffs. I’m not a betting man, but I like them odds.
• Hey, where’s Bill Davison? Chris McCosky answers.
• Here’s a nice McDyess article from a Yahoo blog
• This Thursday is Pistons Night down in Ft. Wayne
• Check out blogger Brett Edwards of The Association’s impressions of his first trip to the Palace
• Forbes Magazine ranks the Pistons the 4th most valuable NBA franchise
• We won’t be seeing Rodney Stuckey until next year…
• In news that isn’t news: Joe Dumars hasn’t ruled out trades. Does that like mean he’s the GM or something?

FORMER PISTON PRESS CLIPPINGS:

• Jimmy Walker remembered
• Rodney White is kill’n it over in Asia averaging 36 ppg
• Kenny Smith named commissioner of the Premier Basketball League
• Dolan to Isiah: your job is not in jeopardy


Miscellaneous:

• Check out Will Ferrell’s new basketball movie Semi Pro:


  Will Ferrell stars in Semi-Pro, an outrageous comedy set in 1976 against the backdrop of the maverick ABA - a fast-paced, wild and crazy basketball league that rivaled the NBA and made a name for itself with innovations like the three-point shot and slam dunk contest. Ferrell plays Jackie Moon, a one-hit wonder who used the profits from the success of his chart-topping song “Love Me Sexy” to achieve his dream of owning a basketball team. But Moon’s franchise, the Flint Michigan Tropics, is the worst team in the league and in danger of folding when the ABA announces its plans to merge with the NBA. If they want to survive, Jackie and the Tropics must now do the seemingly impossible - win.

• Some NBA wives are very open with their hubbys. First it comes out that Andrei Kirilenko’s wife allows him one infidelity per season and now we learn that Kenyon Martin’s wife got him a “groupie phone”. I guess when you’re rich anything goes?

• Happy 37th Lindsey Hunter! Flip Saunders is going to give you a card with a voucher for more PT…oops, did I just spoil the surprise?
• What’s that you say? You don’t really hate the Cavs and their fans? Read this!
• It looks like Cheikh Samb is NBDL bound. Better go get you some Mad Ants gear hat.
• Chris McCosky says the Rip/Flip spat the other night is nothing to be concerned with. They made up and went clubb’n.
• Flip Saunders gets his snack on
• Jason Maxiell gets his praise on

Former Pistons press clippings:

• Darko is working out so well in Memphis that Sam Smith thinks now is the time for them to trade Gasol to Chicago

• Stuckey on the injury update (gotta love the kids’ attitude):


  “I’ve been patient,” Stuckey said. “My time is going to come. My team’s doing well, so there’s no reason to rush back.”

• If Lindsey Hunter just wanted to be an observer this season he didn’t do himself (of Afflalo) any favors by providing a spark in the game against Cleveland
• Flip Saunders adds a log to the rivalry fire against the Cavs
• Maxiell thinks Dice could be a supermodel
• Saunders thinks Rasheed would be a good coach. Hey maybe down the line he could be Lindsey’s assistant?
• Sammy Mejia was let go by the Mad Ants after being unable to shake an ankle injury. There’s talk that he’ll most likely find his way back into the league after some overseas seasoning.
• Download yourself some Piston logo desktop icons
• Ex-Piston Jon Barry agrees with most of us. Writing for ESPN.com, Jon doesn’t buy the Cavs as a legit contender
• Pistons.com did a Q&A with the only ESPN contributor that picked our Pistons to win it all this season, Chad Ford
• The Pistons think Cleveland is better with out that flop top Varejao
• Dave Bing is taking a risk in hopes of furthering the rejuvenation of Detroit’s riverfront

Former Piston press clippings:

• Matt Wurst writes for NBA.com on how Grant Hill’s still playing at a high level and helping Phoenix keep pace in the West. Man, I’m sick of hearing about Grant Hill.
• Delfino is settling into a nice niche with Toronto. So is Jarvis Hayes here, so everyone’s happy.
• Smush Parker is inactive for the Heat while he’s being investigated for roughing up a valet over a $12 bill. I’m sure it’s not about the money, it’s the principal. He lets one valet get over and he opens the floodgates ’till these parasites nickle-&-dime him to death. Right Smush??

• A. Sherrod Blakely follows up on Sheed & Saunders’ relationship. So far, so good.
• Steve Weinman of NBA Source sees the Lakers as a good Chris Webber destination, what a dig that would be on King’s fans.
• The early injury problems have left Jarvis Hayes the odd man out in the rotations, but he’s staying upbeat.
• Chris McCosky is complaining again, this time about the Palace atmosphere. Although he makes some valid points he’s becoming a real red ass lately.
• Bill Laimbeer has a ‘F**k You, Bill’ jar for his Shock players. If his players want to speak their mind with out repercussion they need just put a dollar in.
• This slipped past, but the Cavs are said to have interest in Dale Davis
• Jeff Van Gundy really took exception to Flip Murray’s comments he made about the Knicks lack of effort.


  “Let me start with Flip Murray,” Van Gundy said. “How about this? Don’t hide behind Tayshaun Prince, Chauncey Billups and those guys that led them to a blowout and then you come out and kill the Knicks. Now if Chauncey Billups wants to kill the Knicks, if Tayshaun Prince, if Rasheed Wallace, Rip Hamilton, if they want to kill the Knicks, that’s one thing, But for Flip Murray to take that pot shot at other NBA players, I think is uncalled for.”

Former Piston press clippings

• The Mad Ants played their first game this past Friday and I looked to see how Sammy Mejia did but he wasn’t in the box score? Here’s why: “Although he was not released, 6-6 swingman Sammy Mejia of DePaul was not placed on the official 10-man opening night roster because of a leg injury. The D-League allows injured players to be retained by the team that chose him.“
• Miami fans are not impressed with Smush Parker
• Chucky Atkins along with Rodney Billups (& former Lion Dre Bly) hosted a Thanksgiving party in Denver
  

Before you get fat on turkey fill up on PN Pistons press clippings!
————————————————————————



• Chauncey & McDyess gave out food at All Saints’ Episcopal Church in Pontiac, while Mr. Rip Hamilton lent his annual helping hand at Capuchin Services Center and Soup Kitchen in Detroit. Making sure the less fortunate have a nice Thanksgiving meal, that’s TRUE BLUE COLLAR!
• Also -Wanna help the Pistons this holiday season? The Pistons will be collecting mittens, gloves, scarves and other winter accessories to donate tonight through Dec. 21 at the Palace West Atrium and Comcast Pavilion. (via -Detroit Free Press)
• Rodney Stuckey update: Stuckey has been cleared by his doctor to catch and dribble with his left hand, but not rejoin practice. He goes back to his doctor on the 28th.
• Pistons.com kicks the ka-knowledge on the franchise’s only player-coach Dave DeBusschere. Read up!
• The Free Press has a Q&A with Flip Saunders that runs the Pistons gambit from the surprising Samb to Kobe trades to defense to Rip’s struggles to his favorite Thanksgiving side. It’s a must read.
• Arron Afflalo did an interview with SportsHubLA while back in Cali (via DBB). I know I’m going to sound like a broken record, but this is another really good read.
• Dime’s HOF Watch series - Rip Hamilton

Former Piston press clippings:

• Maurice Evans (along w/ Brian Cook) were traded by L.A. to Orlando for Trevor Ariza
• Darko’s thumb is swollen, he can’t play. I hope this doesn’t affect his nipple rubbing

The best way to feel better when your team is on a losing streak? Poke fun at others!

• Gilbert Arenas recently revealed in his blog that he yells NACHOOOOOOOOOOOOO! when releasing his shot. Leave it up to truthaboutit.net to capture the true spirit of it all in their newest NBA photoshops.

• Jason Kidd listens to Whitesnake, and something about him giving up on his team or something, but yeah, he listens to Whitesnake.

• A Washington columnists thinks the Wiazards’ dancers look hefty, there’s got to be a NACHOOOOOO! tie in somewhere? In other dancer’s news; Automotion looks Schmoke’n.

• Looks like the Palace is double booked on Wednesday. Isiah Thomas kicked the whole team out of practice yesterday. “It is a three-ring circus,” said the source. “It’s getting worse.”

• The newest Chris Webber talk is coming out of Orlando, who previously showed interest in Chris in the offseason
• Arron Afflalo fits the Pistons mold to a T:


  “I loved the fact he could defend as well or better than anybody in the draft,” Dumars said. “But the thing that put him over the top was character. If you’re picking someone late in the first round, it’s not because he’s the most high-flying, fastest-running, freakish-athletic guy.”

• Chauncey was very encouraged by what he seen against the Warriors:


  “It was huge how everybody stepped up when we were so shorthanded ,” Billups said. “I thought Maxey was great starting for ‘Dyess and I thought Flip did a great job running the point and controlling tempo of the game. Seeing them step up to that challenge was huge, man, and it does sort of validate what we’re trying to do here.”

• ESPN’s “The Sports Guy”, Bill Simmons, is as gitty as a schoolgirl about his hometown Celtics (gag me), and pretty much said the Pistons are boring. Like I needed another reason to hate the Celtics? Thanks Bill.

FORMER PISTON hook up:

• 100% Injury Rate digs up Bison Dele, and coincidently enough so does Oklahoma City’s Lee on Keith Langlois‘ Pistons.com mailbag Spooky.
• Ben Wallace to the Bulls: “Why am I here?” (it might have something to do with the $60 mil. contract you signed?)
• Darko Milicic scored 20 pts and grabbed 6 boards in a victory against Yao and the Rockets. and here, of all things, is a video of Darko rubbing his nipples with a sinister look on his face WTF?

AROUND THE LEAGUE hook up:

• Truthaboutit.net has some pretty funny and topical NBA photoshopped pics

Wikipedia defines metrosexual as “a neologism generally applied to heterosexual men with a strong concern for their appearance, and who display many of the lifestyle tendencies of stereotypical gay men“. I wouldn’t say the NBA is a hot bed for Metros like, say, soccer? But, here is a list of the six individuals you’re most likely to see in a club over cologned, four buttons down giving the wink/shooters point/ mouth click-click.

[SF] “Pretty” Ricky Davis - Even more eye catching than Ricky Flair’s shot selection is his carefully crafted facial follicles. This is where funk meets metrosexual.

[PF] Jeff “Blue Steel” Foster - Jeff parlayed his sour pucker into the big screen biography Zoolander, a story about the trials and tribulations that beautiful people face.

Natalie Postman on Jeff: “He’s almost TOO good looking. That would be my… my main deterrent to you know, considering a relationship.”

[C] Andris “Sonic the Metro Sexual Hedgehog” Biedrins - Where has you seen Andris before? He was Romance on VH1’s I Love New York season one. This Latvian is the list’s only import. He took what fellow countryman, Andre Kirilenko, did to the HNL (hole nofva level). Is he standing still or flying down the court? His hair will never tell.

[SG] Dwyane “Miami Sweet” Wade - Take commercials, the magazine covers, and a certified man crush courtesy of Bill Walton and it all adds up to the leagues most dangerous metrosexual triple threat.

[PG] Damon “Look at Me” Jones - What’s lacking in substance is more than made up for with unparalleled style. Bug eyed glasses, and suits that range from fire engine red to leopard, he’s fashionably reckless and we love it!

• Damon’s fashion faux pas: 1. Wearing white before Easter 2. Wearing linen other than in the summer 3. Wearing belts and shoes that don’t match 4. Wearing over sized clothes

Coach, Reggie “Hang Time” Theus - Maybe he’s born with it, or maybe it’s Maybelline?

There you have it, the brave men filling the metro void left in 2004 when Rick Fox put up the Vidal Sassoon for good.

This fanalyzation was posted in the PN message forum by member d.James. I always enjoy reading what he has to say because it’s well thought out and well researched.

Here he writes how the Seattle Supersonics pending relocation to Oklahoma City could affect our Pistons:

Lenny Wilkens, Spencer Haywood, Gus Williams, Gary Payton, Dennis Johnson, Jack Sikma, Paul Silas, Slick Watts, Shawn Kemp, Tom Chambers, Xavier McDaniel, Gerald Henderson, Dale Ellis, Detlef Schrempf, Derrick McKey, Michael Cage, Rickey Pierce, Eddie Johnson, Sam Perkins, Kendall Gill, Hershey Hawkins, Vin Baker, Dale Ellis, Rashard Lewis, Ray Allen…

This team isn’t the Charlotte Hornets or the Vancouver Grizzlies. There’s 3 Conference Championships, 3 60-win teams, an NBA title, and Hall-of-Famers in their storied 40-year history in Seattle.

This is the biggest move in professional basketball since the ABA merger as far as I am concerned AND IT’S ALL OVER MONEY AND A STADIUM!!!!

As a Pistons fan, I am glad that the furthest north a team needs to go is now Portland. Oklahoma City and New Orleans are bringing the league back to the Midwest. The team’s home dates will start at 8:30PM EST rather than 10:30PM EST which will be a draw for fans on the East Coast, long-considered the bulk of the television audience. But this is sad as a fan of the Sonics.

Something else might come out of this–the NBA might fix its divisional alignments, albeit too late for the nucleus the Grizzlies once had (The 2004-05 Memphis Grizzlies were prepared to cut into the Pistons and Heat win total). The logical choice for the Oklahoma City Sonics would be for them to be clumped with Houston, San Antionio, Dallas, and New Orleans in the Southwest division. It means they would have less travel than if they had to travel to Minnesota or Portland twice a season.

But that potential move means that the NBA may have to look at moving the Milwaukee Bucks into the Western Conference and the Memphis Grizzlies into the East. For instance:

WESTERN CONFERENCE:

Northwest:
Denver
Utah
Milwaukee
Minnesota
Portland

Pacific:
Golden State
LA Clippers
LA Lakers
Phoenix
Sacramento

Southwest:
Dallas
Houston
New Orleans
Oklahoma City
San Antonio

EASTERN CONFERENCE:

Atlantic:
Boston
New Jersey
New York
Philadelphia
Toronto

Central:
Chicago
Cleveland
Detroit
Indiana
Memphis

Southeast:
Atlanta
Charlotte
Miami
Orlando
Washington

This affects the entire NBA. It makes sense to put the Memphis Grizzlies in the Eastern Conference and because Milwaukee remains a Northern City, it is not any more strange for the Western Conference to reach over the Mississippi for Milwaukee than it is for them to reach over for Memphis, Tennessee.

But it also means that the Divisional rivalry with the Bucks (Green Bay-Lions) will not be as intense. The Pistons and Bucks have been in the same division all but two seasons in the 40-year history of Milwaukee’s franchise. They share Bob Lanier, Lindsey Hunter, and the Pistons rub the Bucks for good luck during Championship runs (1989, 2004, and 2006).

Central Division Titles (since 1970-71):
Detroit - 8 (2007, 2006, 2005, 2003, 2002, 1990, 1989, 1988)
Milwaukee - 7 (2001, 1986, 1985, 1984, 1983, 1982, 1981)
Chicago - 6 (1998, 1997, 1996, 1993, 1992, 1991)
Bullets (BAL, CAP, WAS) - 5 (1975, 1974, 1973, 1972, 1971)
Indiana - 4 (2004, 2000, 1999, 1995)
Atlanta - 3 (1994, 1987, 1980)
San Antonio - 2 (1979, 1978)
Houston - 1 (1977)
Cleveland - 1 (1976)

**Also see: SaveOurSonics.org