NBA FanHouse

Tired Pistons No Match for Rested Suns

Brett Pollakoff — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 12:45:00 EST

Filed under: Pistons, Suns, NBA Last Night

PHOENIX -- The NBA's schedule is never something that teams will use as an excuse for playing particularly poorly in any single game.

But sometimes, the way things shake out, it can definitely be seen as a legitimate reason.

The schedule dictated that the Pistons finish up their four-game, West coast swing against a Suns team that averages 117 points per game on their home floor. And coming off of a tough, overtime loss in Utah the night before, Detroit never had a chance.

The Pistons actually put together a nice 16-4 run to take a late first-quarter lead after trailing by nine, and hung in there in the second quarter by cutting a 10-point lead to four with just under five minutes remaining.

But then, fatigue clearly set in.

The Suns finished the half on a 12-0 run, holding Detroit scoreless over the final 4:51 of the second quarter to effectively end the game by taking a 16-point halftime lead. The lead ballooned to as many as 29 points in the third quarter, so Ben Gordon, Charlie Villanueva, Steve Nash, and Amar'e Stoudemire all sat out the fourth, and the game at that point became 12 minutes of extended garbage time.

Villanueva, Will Bynum, Jonas Jerebko, and DaJuan Summers all played well for the Pistons in spurts, but Gordon, the team's leading scorer, simply didn't have anything in the tank. He managed only 10 points on a dismal 3-for-11 from the field, which included 1-for-6 shooting from three-point land.

Gordon, like his coach and his teammates, refused to blame the schedule for the loss. But he did acknowledge that playing a team like the Suns on the second night of a back-to-back is, at the very least, challenging.

"This is probably the most uptempo team in the league, we knew that coming in," Gordon said. "It's tough on any given night to play against them. But last game of a road trip, especially on a back-to-back, it's not going to be easy."

When asked how he finds the strength to play in these situations, Gordon said that focusing on the game once he's out there is sometimes the best approach.

"You've definitely got to play tricks with yourself," Gordon said. "You've got to just try to lose yourself in the game. Try to get so enveloped in the game that you're not even thinking about your fatigue level. But that's part of the NBA, and some nights, it's tough."

It was especially tough on this night: the Suns recorded season highs in field goal percentage (57.5 percent) and three-point percentage (61.1 percent), and that's saying something, considering the fact that they lead the league in both categories.

But with the Suns coming off of two days rest at home, and the Pistons dragging at the end of a road trip, it was hardly a surprise.

Tired Pistons No Match for Rested Suns originally appeared on NBA FanHouse on Mon, 23 Nov 2009 12:45:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Brawl Will 'Spice Up' Movie About Artest

Chris Tomasson — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 01:50:00 EST

Filed under: Lakers, Pacers, Pistons, FanHouse Exclusive

DENVER -- Five years after the "The Malice at the Palace,'' Ron Artest isn't showing remorse. In fact, one could say he is embracing his infamous place in history.

Artest, a Lakers forward, said in an interview Friday with FanHouse he's making a movie about his life. He said he made sure to touch upon the Nov. 19, 2004 brawl at the Palace of Auburn Hills in order to "kind of spice up the movie a little bit.''

In that basketbrawl, Artest, then with Indiana, charged into the stands in the final minute of a game at Detroit after a fight had broken out and a fan had thrown a cup of beer at Artest. The game was called, and there were nine players suspended for a total of 146 games. Artest got the worst penalty, being sat down for the final 73 games of the season.

Thursday marks the fifth-year anniversary, and Artest will play that night at home against Chicago. Artest, who celebrated his 30th birthday Friday, was asked if he's matured and is a different person since the brawl.

"Not really,'' he said before the Lakers were crushed by Denver 105-79 at the Pepsi Center. "I'm the same person.''

Artest then was asked if it was just a bad night for him.

"It wasn't a bad night for me,'' he said. "It was a bad night for everybody else.''

Artest doesn't shy away from that night. In fact, he made sure he included material on the brawl in a movie he told FanHouse he's making about his life called Therapy.

"I didn't even realize it was the fifth-year anniversary,'' Artest said. "I'm actually working on a movie about it. It's going to be pretty cool. It's like a docudrama. I'm playing me. (The brawl) is like a small part, but it's a part of it. It's to just kind of (to) spice up the movie a little bit, but (the movie) is deeper than that. It's all true.''

Artest said he has a production company in Los Angeles called Tru Warrior Enterprises, which comes from his nickname. He said he has a ''silent partner'' he wouldn't name, and the partner is putting up money for the film that will be available next summer on DVD.

"There are some reenacted situations that happened before (the brawl) and some reenacted situations that happened after,'' said Artest, who said no actual brawl footage will be used and that "all'' of the "various fights'' he has had during his career will be chronicled in the film. "People will be able to understand what happened (in the brawl). They'll be talking and acting, both (about the brawl in the movie).''

Asked about his abilities as an actor, Artest said, "Decent, but it's like me so I don't need really to act.''

Artest said the movie will chronicle his time at St. John's University until now, and touch upon odds he has overcome. Artest hopes there will a message in the film for "people that get in trouble (who are) high-risk kids (from) high-risk neighborhoods.''

"Just advice,'' Artest said of what the movie will offer. "My advice isn't always the best advice, but maybe it might work for somebody.''

Chris Tomasson can be reached at fanhouse.com and on Twitter @christomasson.

Brawl Will 'Spice Up' Movie About Artest originally appeared on NBA FanHouse on Sat, 14 Nov 2009 01:50:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Stinkface Chronicles: Back-to-Back

Rob Peterson — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 14:05:00 EST

Filed under: 76ers, Bobcats, Nets, Pistons, NBA Videos

It's rare that we have back-to-back Stinkface. As a matter of fact, yesterday's Stinkface and today's are the first time we've gone back-to-back.

That's fine by us. NBA teams go back-to-back an average of 20 times a season. Far be it from us to complain about it.

Also, we have an excellent reason for our quick turnaround: Detroit's Will Bynum.

Video after the (two-footed) jump.

Young Mr. Bynum, who is generously listed at 6-foot-0 (in three-inch heels, maybe), blew up all over Charlotte's Tyson Chandler at The Palace last night. And when we say blew up, we mean it.

Thanks to Need4Sheed.com for coining a phrase that perfectly fit Bynum's nasty flush: By-num-ite!

(Can someone get J.J. Walker out of mothballs? Wouldn't you love to hear him drop a "By-num-ite!" on the video board in Detroit? Of course you would.)

It all starts with Bynum handling the rock on the left wing and a simple cut to the top of the key by Ben Gordon. Bynum, who was probably supposed to work the ball to Gordon or to Charlie Villanueva, who was to come off Gordon's screen and probably plant himself on the low block.

Only, the play didn't develop because Bynum, who works his dribble at the 28-foot mark, quickly crossed-over Charlotte's Gerald Wallace. With no one in the post, Bynum was cleared for take off.

With that head of steam, and one of the game's better weak-side help defenders in Chandler coming at him, Bynum shows three things crucial for stinkface-age: aggression, athleticism and an absence of fear. Bynum plants his two feet, takes off from the left block and flies. As Bynum starts his ascent, Chandler, he of 767 career blocks, knows he's not going to get this one and draws his hand away for the fear of getting snapped off at the wrist. Bynum then throws down so hard, not only does he let out a little "Ooooh-uh" as he flushes it through, it sounds as if the rim mic explodes. I hope a sound-tech in the truck didn't have that amped too loud. He'll probably need to have his hearing checked. That, and veteran Pistons announcer George Blaha going bat-guano crazy just adds to the festivities.

Of course, a Stinkface wouldn't be complete if we didn't guage the reaction of the bench, which in this case, merits discussion. Moments after Bynum lands, the Pistons bench nearly runs onto the court en masse in search of a group hug. Then, at the 13-second mark, check out the guy with the lanyard behind rookies DaJuan Summers and Austin Daye. Pause it. Now, THAT'S stinkface.

Perhaps the video's most priceless moment comes at 1:30 when Bynum captures his low-Earth orbit on the video screen above. You deserve to smile big, Will. You were epic.

As for the night's other Stinkface dunk, we give you Andre Iguodala for the second Stinkface Chronicles appearance in a row -- and for the second time on the Nets in less than a week -- this time with only two comments. One, Nets coach Lawrence Frank is not pleased. As soon as Iggy throws it down, he pops off the bench and asks for a sub. He's seen this YouTube before. And two, yes, Mr. Ian Eagle, Iguodala is a highlight machine.

Stinkface Chronicles: Back-to-Back originally appeared on NBA FanHouse on Thu, 12 Nov 2009 14:05:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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2010 NBA All-Star Ballot Announced

Chris Tomasson — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 17:30:00 EST

Filed under: Celtics, Clippers, Grizzlies, Lakers, Pistons, Rockets, Suns, Timberwolves, NBA All-Star Game

I wrote in September that perhaps there would be no worthy center to start for the West in the All-Star Game.

But this isn't the way I want to see that solved. Do it on the court, not with the ballot.

When the All-Star ballot came out Tuesday, Phoenix power forward Amar'e Stoudemire strangely was listed as a center. Yes, Stoudemire has played center before, but he's started all eight games for Suns this season at power forward, with Channing Frye being the starting center.

It is true the ballot, which was selected by six media members from around the country, had to be decided upon before the season began in order to provide time for printing. But it has been apparent since at least September that Frye would Phoenix's starting center, with Stoudemire at power forward.

Yes, the crop of centers in the West is not strong, with Shaquille O'Neal having departed from Phoenix to Cleveland in the East and Houston's Yao out for the season due to injury. Still, I don't think it's proper to move players on the ballot to positions at which they don't start.

Anyhow, so much for the Lakers' Andrew Bynum or Minnesota's Al Jefferson getting the starting nod at center for the West. Stoudemire figures to win the fan voting for the Feb. 14 game in Dallas in an election that conjures up memories of Nixon over McGovern in 1972.

Omissions on the ballot were Yao and New Jersey big man Yi Jianlian, but I have no problem with either. Yao is obviously hurt, so it would have been ridiculous to have listed him -- especially because he probably would have won. As for Yi, a 9.8 scoring average last season does not guarantee inclusion on the ballot.

Of course, let's find out now if Chinese-American relations have been damaged.

It was interesting to see two centers listed on the ballot for Boston in Kendrick Perkins and Rasheed Wallace. NBA teams love to tell their fans to vote for all their players, but a Celtics fan won't be able to vote for both Perkins and Wallace or else the ballot will be tossed.

Still, that was a difficult problem to solve. Wallace comes off the bench to play center and forward, and listing him at forward would have given the Celtics three forwards. Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce are the others, and they're obviously not going anywhere.

Ballot results will show how popular guard Allen Iverson continues to be. Iverson has been named a starter in nine of the past 10 years (he was a reserve in 2007 after having been traded in December 2006 from Philadelphia to Denver). That includes last season when, with Detroit, he was one of the most unworthy players in All-Star history to get a starting nod.

But now that Iverson is squabbling with Memphis and could be sent packing, could he become the first player chosen for the All-Star Game who doesn't have a team? Probably not since it would be stunning if he is voted as a starter again, but it certainly is worth following the results.

And more surprising things have happened before in elections. Don't dead people vote in Chicago?

Plenty of complaints have been coming out of Clipperland with the ballot omissions of guard Eric Gordon and center Chris Kaman, just named Western Conference Player of the Week. I can understand Kaman, who was hurt much of last season and is on a team that has another solid center in Marcus Camby, being left off. But the Gordon omission is a tough one.

Still, it must be noted it's not easy to put together an All-Star ballot. Gordon is more deserving to be on the ballot than Minnesota's Ramon Sessions. But each team must be represented three times, and Sessions was the third man for the Timberwolves.

Chris Tomasson can be reached at tomasson@fanhouse.com and on Twitter @christomasson.

2010 NBA All-Star Ballot

Eastern

Guards
Ray Allen, Celtics
Gilbert Arenas, Wizards
Mike Bibby, Hawks
Jose Calderon, Raptors
Vince Carter, Magic
Jamal Crawford, Hawks
Chris Duhon, Knicks
Raymond Felton, Bobcats
T.J. Ford, Pacers
Ben Gordon, Pistons
Richard Hamilton, Pistons
Devin Harris, Nets
Kirk Hinrich, Bulls
Joe Johnson, Hawks
Courtney Lee, Nets
Jameer Nelson, Magic
Michael Redd, Bucks
Nate Robinson, Knicks
Rajon Rondo, Celtics
Derrick Rose, Bulls
John Salmons, Bulls
Rodney Stucky, Pistons
Dwyane Wade, Heat
Mo Williams, Cavs

Forwards
Michael Beasley, Heat
Chris Bosh, Raptors
Elton Brand, Sixers
Caron Butler, Wizards
Luol Deng, Bulls
Boris Diaw, Bobcats
Kevin Garnett, Celtics
Danny Granger, Pacers
Al Harrington, Knicks
Udonis Haslem, Heat
Andre Iguodala, Sixers
LeBron James, Cavs
Antawn Jamison, Wizards
David Lee, Knicks
Rashard Lewis, Magic
Troy Murphy, Pacers
Paul Pierce, Celtics
Tayshaun Prince, Pistons
Josh Smith, Hawks
Hedo Turkoglu, Raptors
Anderson Varejao, Cavs
Charlie Villanueva, Pistons
Gerald Wallace, Bobcats
Hakim Warrick, Bucks

Centers
Andrea Bargnani, Raptors
Andrew Bogut, Bucks
Tyson Chandler, Bobcats
Samuel Dalembert, Sixers
Al Horford, Hawks
Dwight Howard, Magic
Brook Lopez, Nets
Brad Miller, Bulls
Jermaine O'Neal, Heat
Shaquille O'Neal, Cavs
Kendrick Perkins, Celtics
Rasheed Wallace, Celtics
Western

Guards
Leandro Barbosa, Suns
Chauncey Billups, Nuggets
Aaron Brooks, Rockets
Kobe Bryant, Lakers
Baron Davis, Clippers
Monta Ellis, Warriors
Manu Ginobili, Spurs
Josh Howard, Mavericks
Allen Iverson, Grizzlies
Stephen Jackson, Warriors
Jason Kidd, Mavericks
Kevin Martin, Kings
O.J. Mayo, Grizzlies
Tracy McGrady, Rockets
Andre Miller, Blazers
Steve Nash, Suns
Tony Parker, Spurs
Chris Paul, Hornets
Jason Richardson, Suns
Brandon Roy, Blazers
Ramon Sessions, Wolves
Jason Terry, Mavericks
Russell Westbrook, Thunder
Deron Williams, Jazz

Forwards
LaMarcus Aldridge, Blazers
Carmelo Anthony, Nuggets
Trevor Ariza, Rockets
Ron Artest, Lakers
Carlos Boozer, Jazz
Tim Duncan, Spurs
Kevin Durant, Thunder
Pau Gasol, Lakers
Rudy Gay, Grizzlies
Jeff Green, Thunder
Blake Griffin, Clippers
Grant Hill, Suns
Richard Jefferson, Spurs
Kevin Love, Wolves
Shawn Marion, Mavericks
Kenyon Martin, Nuggets
Paul Millsap, Jazz
Dirk Nowitzki, Mavericks
Lamar Odom, Lakers
Anthony Randolph, Warriors
Luis Scola, Rockets
Jason Thompson, Kings
Al Thornton, Clippers
David West, Hornets

Centers
Andris Biedrins, Warriors
Andrew Bynum, Lakers
Marcus Camby, Clippers
Marc Gasol, Grizzlies
Spencer Hawes, Kings
Al Jefferson, Wolves
Antonio McDyess, Spurs
Nene, Nuggets
Greg Oden, Blazers
Emeka Okafor, Hornets
Mehmet Okur, Jazz
Amar'e Stoudemire, Suns

2010 NBA All-Star Ballot Announced originally appeared on NBA FanHouse on Tue, 10 Nov 2009 17:30:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Injuries Force Pistons to Speed Up Rebuilding Plans

Matt Watson — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 21:40:00 EST

Filed under: Pistons, NBA Injuries

Until last week, the last time the Detroit Pistons played a game in which neither Rip Hamilton or Tayshaun Prince started was the 2001-02 season -- when Prince was a senior at Kentucky and Hamilton still coming into his own playing alongside Michael Jordan in Washington.

Needless to say, adapting to life without those two mainstays -- Hamilton suffered a high ankle sprain in the season opener, and Prince joined him on the trainer's table with a back injury two games later -- has been an unexpected hurdle for first-year head coach John Kuester, who's now tasked with helping a starting lineup featuring four new additions to the team develop chemistry.

The Pistons haven't offered an official prognosis for either player, but given that Hamilton is still wearing a walking boot 11 days after originally suffering the injury, it seems likely his continued absence will be measured in weeks, not days.

Fortunately, Ben Gordon (24.0 points per game), Rodney Stuckey (16.0) and Will Bynum (11.0) have helped shoulder the scoring load, although the offense has become noticeably more one-on-one oriented without Hamilton's trademark ability to move without the ball.

On average, NBA players are assisted on 55.6% of their made shots -- and Hamilton was assisted on 70.2% of his makes last season. But more often than not, Gordon (assisted on just 41.5% of his buckets through seven games this year), Stuckey (26.2%), and Bynum (14.8%) create their own shots by taking their man off the dribble. There's nothing inherently wrong with that style of play, but less ball movement obviously makes it more difficult for the rest of the players on the floor to get going.

While high ankle sprains can take a long time to heal, Hamilton should be as good as new one he does finally return. Unfortunately, the same is not certain about Prince, who's sidelined indefinitely with a ruptured disk in his back.

Back injuries are always scary, but what makes Prince's ailment especially worrisome is the fact that it looks like it may be a recurring condition. Although he didn't miss a single game in 2008-09, he played through soreness in his back late in the year, which contributed to his absolutely abysmal showing on both ends of the court in Detroit's embarrassing first-round sweep at the hands of the Cavs.

Is last year's soreness related to this year's ruptured disk? It seems plausible, especially given the wear and tear Prince's rail-thin frame has absorbed over the years, which featured an iron-man streak of not missing a single game over six full seasons, not to mention 118 playoff games and two summers playing with Team USA.

The Pistons haven't publicly admitted a connection, but it's possible Joe Dumars suspected Prince might have a chronic condition when he drafted three small forwards (Austin Daye, DaJuan Summers and Jonas Jerebko) in June. It's unclear how long Prince will remain sidelined, but if simple rest and rehabilitation doesn't provide relief, surgery is a possibility. Either way, his return is likely several weeks, if not months, away.

In Prince's absence, Jerebko and Daye, the 39th and 15th overall picks, respectively, have played the bulk of the team's minutes at small forward, with Jerebko starting the last four games and Daye coming off the bench. While they lack experience, they have no shortage of confidence -- if you recall, they each served a one-game suspension in the season opener after separate incidents with opposing veterans in the preseason.

"Jonas, you see him get those extra possessions ... things that can change the momentum of a basketball game," Kuester said after Sunday's win over the 76ers. "Both of those guys are not afraid to mix it up. You think Austin's going to get broken in half, but this kid, he's mentally tough and physically he'll take the challenge."

On Sunday, the duo combined for 17 points and five rebounds. Summers, the 35th overall pick, has appeared in only one game so far, but that's primarily because the Pistons are already playing with a nine- or 10-man rotation on most nights.

There were already questions about whether the Pistons would be able to make the playoffs before Hamilton and Prince went down, so it will be crucial for this team to at least tread water in their absence if they're going to make a postseason push. So far, they've been able to do so, splitting their last four games, including a pair of contests with the Orlando Magic, while sitting 3-4 on the season.

With so many new players still learning how to play together (and rookies learning how to play in the NBA), inconsistency remains a huge problem -- both from night-to-night as well as quarter-to-quarter. But regardless of the situation, Kuester is encouraged by the fact that his players never stop competing -- no matter who's healthy enough to take the floor.

"We had been in control of the game [on Sunday] pretty much the entire time and then all of a sudden [Philadelphia] took the lead," Kuester said, "and probably for certain guys it would be gloom and doom, but this team is sort of figuring it out that, hey, they're never out of anything."

As a result, the Pistons rode a 16-6 run to close the game, earning the actual victory as well as the moral one, and prompting Kuester to quote his college coach after the game. "Dean Smith always said something that was very important and stuck with me. He said, 'It's always better to win and learn from your mistakes than lose and learn from your mistakes.'"

o. Will Bynum's left eye, which was accidentally poked by Marcin Gortat on Nov. 3, is still noticeably red, but he said after Sunday's game that it doesn't affect him on the court -- only when the team goes on the road. "It feels OK, [except] when we get on planes -- the air pressure can get pretty painful," he said. "But, I'm getting better."

Bynum did admit to being scared for a few moments after the injury, in part because he's already had two surgeries on the eye -- one for Lasik, and another for a detached retina two summers ago. Just don't expect him to start wearing goggles -- he said he tried a pair on but wasn't happy with the reduced peripheral vision. The vision helped Bynum find his teammates on Sunday; he finished with a season-high eight assists to go along with a career-high eight rebounds.

o. Speaking of rebounds, Ben Wallace's surprising revival continues: he tallied 16 boards in 30 minutes on Sunday. It's the most rebounds he's had in a game since Feb. 12, 2008 with the Bulls -- a span of nearly 21 months. Ben Gordon, a teammate of Wallace's in Chicago, thinks Wallace is simply more comfortable at the Palace.

"It seems like he's at home here in Detroit," Gordon said. "Playing for those last two teams the last two years, he never really seemed like he was at home. Big Ben is definitely at home here -- he plays with energy, he seems like he's rejuvenated."

Injuries Force Pistons to Speed Up Rebuilding Plans originally appeared on NBA FanHouse on Mon, 09 Nov 2009 21:40:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Ben Wallace Turns Back the Clock

Tim Povtak — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 17:05:00 EST

Filed under: Pistons

ORLANDO -- Pistons general manager Joe Dumars signed broken-down Ben Wallace this summer to be a figure-head, to serve as a low-budget example for his young, talented guys to see where hard work could take them.

Dumars never expected this kind of start.

Wallace, 35, is one of the biggest and most pleasant surprises of this young season. In the first five games, he has averaged 10 rebounds in 31 minutes while also playing the kind of hard-nosed interior defense that once helped him anchor Detroit's NBA championship team in 2004.

"I just thought he'd be great for the young guys to be around, an undrafted guy who worked his way up without any shortcuts. Just for the young guys to see him every day. That's why I got him,'' Dumars said Friday before the Pistons played in Orlando. "But he's been better than I ever imagined. It's like an added bonus.''

From the Preseason: Ben Wallace Turns Heads in Detroit

Wallace, an undersized, overachieving center, is a four-time Defensive Player of the Year who also led the league once in blocked shots and twice in rebounding. Yet in recent years, his play dropped dramatically because of a variety of injuries. His frustration grew, and he said after last season ended with the Cleveland Cavaliers that he likely was retiring.

With one year left on his contract, the Cavs used him in a trade with Phoenix to get Shaquille O'Neal. Wallace negotiated a buy out from Phoenix, taking considerably less money.

"If I feel like this, I'll play forever. I think as the season goes on, if I stay healthy, my play is only going to get better."
- Ben Wallace "I was done. I had hung up my sneakers,'' Wallace said Friday morning. "I was about to file the papers to make it official. Physically and mentally, I just couldn't do it anymore.''

Wallace, now in his 14th NBA season, once made more than $12 million annually after signing as a free agent with the Chicago Bulls in 2006, which also was the start of his decline. He is now playing for the league's veteran minimum of $1.2 million, but he is playing with an energy he hasn't had since he left Detroit.

"I'm just healthy again. I haven't felt this good in years,'' he said. "I had no expectations when I came back here. But I also knew if I was healthy again, I was still capable of playing at a high level. I will tell you, basketball is no fun when you're not healthy. It's nothing but frustration.''

Wallace was expected to be a backup in the front court to younger guys like Charlie Villanueva, Kwame Brown and Chris Wilcox. Instead he has been their most consistent inside presence. In an earlier meeting against the Magic, he had 10 rebounds and helped send Dwight Howard to the bench with early foul trouble.

"The most frustrating thing for any athlete is when his body just won't let him do what he knows he still can do. That's what happened to me the last few years,'' he said. "But if I feel like this, I'll play forever. I think as the season goes on, if I stay healthy, my play is only going to get better."

Ben Wallace Turns Back the Clock originally appeared on NBA FanHouse on Fri, 06 Nov 2009 17:05:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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NBA HouseCast: Magic Fall, Celtics Impress, Lakers Survive

Brett Pollakoff — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 11:35:00 EST

Filed under: Celtics, Heat, Lakers, Magic, Mavericks, Pistons, Rockets, Suns, Trail Blazers, NBA Last Night, Thunder

Welcome to the NBA FanHouse podcast, where our writers get together a few times a week to talk about everything going on in the world of hoops. Want to participate? Leave a comment, or follow us on Twitter @NBAFanHouse.

In a Wednesday edition of the HouseCast (and our first of the season), Matt Watson and Matt Moore joined me to discuss this week's Power Rankings. Of course, we couldn't do that without mentioning that once again, the top-ranked team -- Orlando, in this case -- went down the very same day the rankings were published.

We also recap a busy and interesting night of action, one where the Celtics remained dominant, the Suns remained undefeated, and the Lakers remained underwhelming, while barely surviving the Thunder in Oklahoma City.

Download MP3

NBA HouseCast: Magic Fall, Celtics Impress, Lakers Survive originally appeared on NBA FanHouse on Wed, 04 Nov 2009 11:35:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Ben Gordon Documentary: Coming Soon to a Theater Near You?

Matt Watson — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 19:45:00 EST

Filed under: Bulls, Pistons, NBA Videos, FanHouse Exclusive

Even though Ben Gordon has played a handful of preseason games in front of lackluster crowds at the Palace and one regular season game on the road wearing Pistons red, white and blue, it wasn't until his name was announced to a sold-out crowd at Detroit's home opener Friday night that he was officially welcomed to the team by the fans.

And as fate would have it, Gordon's introduction came with all the fanfare and pyrotechnics befitting the arrival of a budding star, as he was introduced along with the rest of the starters, filling in for the injured Rip Hamilton. It's a nice start for his Pistons career -- and should provide a fitting conclusion for a documentary seven months in the making.

In the tradition of Kobe Bryant's Doin' Work and LeBron James' More Than a Game, Gordon is the subject of a forthcoming documentary, A Scorer's Aura, which will tell the story of his final months as a Chicago Bull up until his first home game as a Detroit Piston, offering fans an insider's view of what it's like to be a coveted NBA free agent signing with a new team for the first time in his career.

"I have my last bit of filming to do the first home game," said Daemian Brown, the filmmaker driving the project and one of Gordon's childhood friends. "I know it's going to be hectic, he already has like half of his family coming."

Although Brown doesn't expect to finish editing all of his footage for another six weeks, he created the trailer above using several months of footage already filmed. Brown recently spoke to FanHouse about how the project began -- and how things didn't exactly go as planned.

"March 1st was the first day that we started shooting, and that was when the Bulls didn't really know if they were going to end up in the playoffs," Brown said. "There was a bunch of teams last season that were real close, and they were all one game or a half-game apart. ... It just so happened, we got them going in this race to get into the playoffs, and we all know how that ended up with them playing the Celtics in a great matchup in the first round."

In addition to capturing Gordon's off-court preparation for that epic series, Brown's motivation for the film was Gordon's experience as a restricted free agent the previous two summers, which consisted of long, drawn-out negotiations with the Bulls that weren't completed until shortly before each season began. Brown hoped to make a summer full of negotiations the focal point of the film but needed to adjust on the fly when Gordon quickly signed with the Pistons.

"That drama was played out for the last two offseasons, so I'm expecting, 'OK, this is going to be great stuff for a documentary, this is going to be really good with him going back and forth, back and forth, back and forth,' " Brown said. "And it didn't happen like that, so I had to really change the scope of the doc. That really was going to be the selling point for the documentary -- 'OK, here's this athlete, the talking, the first day that you can talk to teams and he's going back and forth between Chicago and whoever else is interested' -- but that didn't happen. He genuinely, really loved the Pistons organization."

Even if the story arc changed, the most compelling aspect of the documentary should be Brown's access to Gordon, who usually maintains a polished front with the media but let his guard down in front of a long-time friend.

"That's the aspect I want people to realize -- it's really that candid. So candid that I can't use everything. It's really that good," he said. "No one is going to be feel comfortable talking to someone that they don't know. But when it's a friend asking you questions, it's like, 'OK, what do you want to know?'

"It turned out to be quite an experience for both of us. There would be times where he would be like, 'I don't really feel like being in front of a camera right now,' and I'd just have to respect that. But for the most part he is gung-ho about it.

"He's going to let people know how he feels about everything that has happened. He's a strong believer that you have to be able to separate the business from the sport aspect of it -- he lives by that. ... You'll see that this dude is like any other 25-year-old. He likes to party, he loves to have fun with his friends. That's another side of him that I'd want to show. On the court you might say he's real stoic, you hardly see BG get excited about a lot of things on the court, even when he scores. But he loves basketball.

"Especially now that the season has started, it's hard -- he's executive producing this project -- it's hard to even communicate with him about anything else except for basketball. ... I remember when he started training, that was it. All the partying basically stopped. He's like, 'You know what? It's time now for me to get serious about basketball.' He worked out three times a day, and you'll see the footage in the trailer from his workout, but that's nothing -- there was a point where I'm like, this is turning into a damn workout DVD, I don't want that. That's all he would do."

When will fans at home get to see A Scorer's Aura? That's yet to be determined. Filming has been a virtual one-man show -- with the help of some other friends as well as Gordon's personal assistant and manager -- and Brown is still editing the final product. Once completed, he hopes to find distribution on the film festival circuit, possibly landing a deal with ESPN or another outlet.

While the documentary didn't go in the direction that Brown expected, he still hopes viewers will appreciate an intimate look at what's it like for a player to have his life turned upside down over the course of several months, a glimpse at someone making decisions affecting not only the rest of his career but also his life.

"It's a story," Brown said. "Stories are usually interesting if told properly. It's not just him as a basketball player, it's him as a person, a person who's in the public eye."

The Ben Gordon Documentary: Coming Soon to a Theater Near You? originally appeared on NBA FanHouse on Fri, 30 Oct 2009 19:45:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Player to Watch: Rodney Stuckey

Tom Ziller — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 13:00:00 EST

Filed under: Pistons

FanHouse previews a player to watch from each NBA team in advance of the 2009-10 season.

The trade of Chauncey Billups was purportedly meant to clear the path for the "too-good-to-come-off-the-bench" Rodney Stuckey, but the dreadful 2008-09 Pistons season really never allowed Stuckey to blossom. Now in his third season, with Billups gone and Allen Iverson exiled to Memphis, Stuckey really does have the room he should need.

Not that there isn't still pressure. When you replace a former Finals MVP dubbed by fans as "Mr. Big Shot," you have your hands full. And while Detroit seems to adore Stuckey, there's a lot of talent competing for minutes around him.

Fantasy Spin: Stuckey Among Top Sleepers | Play Free Fantasy Basketball

Ben Gordon, the high-price free agent who (we can only assume) wants to eventually be in the starting lineup but currently sits behind Stuckey and Rip Hamilton. Will Bynum, the whiplash-inducing lead guard who forces himself into conversations you didn't know you were having. There's Hamilton himself, who bristled at coming off the bench last season when Iverson started alongside Stuckey. And it isn't as if new coach John Kuester can push full throttle on a three-guard lineup, given that Hamilton lacks size to defend small forwards, Gordon even lacks size to defend two-guards, and Detroit happens to have a host of promising small forwards (including Austin Daye). There's pressure to perform for every one of the guards.

But there's also a sort of internal need for aggressive play from Stuckey. In gauging Stuckey's preseason play, Kuester has noted that he's looking for Stuckey to be aggressive more often and attack the defense. But Kuester can help Stuckey reach a comfort zone on offense.

Statistics show that Stuckey was far better last season when allowed longer stretches on the court. One easy way to see this is through Stuckey's quarterly three-point shooting. On the season, Stuckey was a below-average deep shooter. But there is a pretty big divide between his shooting in the first and third quarters (where he tends to play more minutes) and the second and fourth quarters (where he may be coming in for only a possessions).

According to 82games.com, last season Stuckey averaged 8 minutes, 53 seconds of playing time in the first quarter. He shot 35 percent on threes during the first quarter. He averaged only 6 minutes, 47 seconds in the second quarter, and shot 17% from three. In the third quarter, he averaged 9 minutes, 21 seconds, and shot 57% from three. In the fourth quarter, he averaged 6 minutes, 30 seconds, and shot 6% from three.

These sample sizes are small, but it paints a picture that Kuester reinforces: Stuckey needs to assert himself quickly. With so many guards to play, the Pistons can't wait for Stuckey to get into a flow in order to perform. If Stuckey pops into the second quarter with only four minutes left, he needs to play like he's been in the game from the start. Maybe that's not entirely possible -- we tend to see leaguewide trends that support greater efficiency for players who get long stretches of opportunity as opposed to short, stop-and-stop stints. But Stuckey can certainly improve his initial aggressiveness, which should help him be at his best on the court ... no matter the rotation situation.

Player to Watch: Rodney Stuckey originally appeared on NBA FanHouse on Wed, 14 Oct 2009 13:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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FanHouse Preview: Pistons

Matt Watson — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 12:00:00 EST

Filed under: Pistons, NBA Preseason, NBA Previews

FanHouse previews all 30 NBA teams in advance of the 2009-10 season.

Everything that could go wrong for the Pistons did last year, from front-office blunders (the Chauncey Billups for Allen Iverson trade), indefensible coaching decisions (three guards and Tayshaun Prince as a power forward?) to a rash of injuries (only two starters played more than 67 games).

We could rehash the depressing nitty-gritty details, but why bother? It's a new season, and this year's squad looks very little like the one swept out of the playoffs in front of a turncoat Palace crowd.

Instead, let's focus on the changes, which should destroy your outdated notions of what Dee-troit Basket-ball is all about. First and foremost, the Pistons went from being one of the oldest teams in the league to one of the youngest -- and not just because four rookies will make the roster.

Fantasy Spin: Stuckey Among Top Sleepers | Play Free Fantasy Basketball

Ben Gordon (26 years old) and Charlie Villanueva (25), the two big-ticket free agent acquisitions, are just hitting the prime of their career, while guards Rodney Stuckey (23) and Will Bynum (26) are still coming into their own. In fact, of the 10 or 11 players expected to compete for minutes each night, only three players are older than 27: Tayshaun Prince (29), Rip Hamilton (31) and Ben Wallace (35). It's a far cry from the last several years when the Pistons were more concerned about propping open their window to contend than actually developing young talent.

With so many young legs comes another monumental shift in philosophy: instead of slowing the game and trying to out-execute the opposition in the halfcourt, new head coach John Kuester is encouraging his players to speed up the game and attack whenever possible.

Kuester, who won a ring in 2004 with the Pistons as a member of Larry Brown's staff, was widely credited with orchestrating Cleveland's offensive renaissance last season. He no longer has an MVP like LeBron James to make his job easy, but he does have a dynamic four-guard rotation that rivals any in the league: Stuckey, Hamilton, Gordon and Bynum have lit up the opposition in the preseason and could easily combine for 65 points a night in the regular season.

While big men like Kwame Brown, Jason Maxiell, Chris Wilcox and Wallace will earn their paychecks defending and rebounding, the Pistons aren't lacking for firepower in the frontcourt: Villanueva was signed for his offensive acumen, and rookie Austin Daye, also 6-11, was primarily drafted for his silky outside shooting.

The Pistons have the weapons to win a shootout, but can they defend? Truth be told, the bar isn't raised very high; playing at a slow pace helped mask their difficulties from a pure "points allowed per game" (94.7, eighth in the league) perspective, but digging deeper reveals the team actually finished 16th in defensive efficiency. If Detroit shows even marginal improvement in this area, they should easily finish with a winning record (something that can no longer be taken for granted after last year's 39-43 finish).

And despite his relatively recent reputation as an offensive genius, Kuester certainly knows how to coach defense: a Dean Smith disciple from his playing days at UNC, he spent years working under Brown, and his championship ring (and history with Hamilton, Prince and Wallace) gives him more than enough credibility to get the rest of the team to buy into playing both ends of the court.

Will all of these recent changes reverse Detroit's slide? Only time will tell. With so much turnover, success is hardly guaranteed -- and even if everything goes right for a change, they're still miles away from joining the elite three (Cleveland, Boston and Orlando) at the top of the conference. But no matter what happens once the regular season starts, you can't deny that Joe Dumars has already succeeded in changing the team's culture. With so many players competing for minutes (the rotation figures to go 10 deep without factoring in a single rookie), starting jobs and contracts (Brown, Wilcox and Bynum all hope to sign new deals next summer), any lingering feelings of entitlement have gone out the window.

The chip is back on Detroit's shoulder.

Last Season By the Numbers

Record: 39-43. Finished 5th in the Central Division, 8th in the Eastern Conference.

Offense: 107.4 points per 100 possessions, 21st in the NBA. 25th in shooting, 1st in turnover rate, 7th in offensive rebounding, 26th free throw rate.

Defense: 108.0 points per 100 possessions, 16th in the NBA. 5th in shooting defense, 30th in opponent turnover rate, 12th in defensive rebounding, 20th in opponent free throw rate.

Top Performers: Rip Hamilton led the team in scoring with 18.3 points per game adding 4.4 assists. Chauncey Billups technically led the team with 7.5 assists but played only two games; after him, Iverson and Stuckey each averaged 4.9, while Hamilton chipped in 4.4. Iverson also averaged 17.4 points and a team-high 1.7 steals. Antonio McDyess fell just shy of a double-double with 9.6 points and a team-high 9.8 rebounds. Rasheed Wallace averaged 7.4 rebounds and 1.3 blocks.

All statistics via Basketball-Reference.com.

Player to Watch

FanHouse's Matt Moore and Tom Ziller preview one player to watch from each team. Here's a snippet of Ziller's post on Pistons guard Rodney Stuckey.

Stuckey needs to assert himself quickly. With so many guards to play, the Pistons can't wait for Stuckey to get into a flow in order to perform. If Stuckey pops into the second quarter with only four minutes left, he needs to play like he's been in the game from the start. Maybe that's not entirely possible -- we tend to see leaguewide trends that support greater efficiency for players who get long stretches of opportunity as opposed to short, stop-and-stop stints. But Stuckey can certainly improve his initial aggressiveness, which should help him be at his best on the court ... no matter the rotation situation.

See Ziller's full post on Stuckey.

Offseason Tracker

IN: Ben Gordon (free agency), Charlie Villanueva (free agency), Austin Daye (draft), DaJuan Summers (draft), Jonas Jerebko (draft), Deron Washington (draft), Chris Wilcox (free agency), Ben Wallace (free agency).

OUT: Allen Iverson (free agency), Rasheed Wallace (free agency), Amir Johnson (trade), Antonio McDyess (free agency), Walter Herrmann (free agency), Arron Afflalo (trade), Walter Sharpe (trade).

FanHouse Preview: Pistons originally appeared on NBA FanHouse on Wed, 14 Oct 2009 12:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Tip-Off Timer: Brent Price's Lucky 13

Tim Povtak — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 09:00:00 EST

Filed under: Pistons, Wizards

Tip-Off Timer counts down the days until the first game of the 2009-10 season. On Wednesday, there are 13 days remaining.

Brent Price never was as good as older brother Mark, a four-time All-Star, but for one brief stretch he was better than anyone else ever was in the NBA.

Brent Price set an NBA record in 1996 -- matched the next season by Terry Mills -- by making 13 consecutive 3-point shots over three games, a mark that none of the game's more heralded shooters ever has matched.

Much like his brother a few years before. Brent Price came into the league as a second-round draft pick, known purely as a shooter. And for one shining season, he was the best shooter in NBA. It was during that 1995-96 season -- his third -- that Brent broke the record previously shared by Jeff Hornacek and Scott Wedman.

Brent shot an astounding 47.2 percent from the 3-point line that season for Washington. He averaged a career high 10 points, and earned a lucrative free agent contract the next season in Houston.

But that was the end of his highlights. That one good season was followed by an injury-marred career. He played six more years in the NBA, but only once did he play more than 40 games.

Mills played 12 seasons in the NBA, riding his long-range shooting touch. Just like Price the season before, Mills used three games to match the NBA record of 13. He made his last six against Atlanta, all six the next game against Cleveland and his first against New Jersey before a miss.

His record breaking performance didn't come in his highest scoring season, but it came in his best shooting season. He hit 42.2 percent during that 1996-97 season, but he averaged only 10.8 points for Detroit.

Neither Brent Price nor Mills hold any other 3-point record in the NBA. Most are the record are held by the likes of Reggie Miller, Ray Allen or Kobe Bryant. For Price and Mills, it has been their claim to fame.

Tip-Off Timer: Brent Price's Lucky 13 originally appeared on NBA FanHouse on Wed, 14 Oct 2009 09:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Ben Wallace Turns Heads in Detroit

Matt Watson — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 08:15:00 EST

Filed under: Pistons, FanHouse Exclusive

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. -- The arrivals of Ben Gordon and Charlie Villanueva in Detroit made headlines across the entire NBA this summer. The return of Ben Wallace, on the other hand, was barely a footnote.

In a way, it makes perfect sense. Overlooked and ignored at the start of his career -- Wallace spent four anonymous seasons bouncing around the league before emerging as one of the most dominant defenders of his generation in Detroit -- it's only fitting for him to be written off yet again as he nears the end.

But what first looked like a purely sentimental signing by the Pistons might prove to be so much more as Wallace makes his case for a starting job -- something that even Wallace admits has caught him by surprise.

"I had absolutely no expectations at all," Wallace told FanHouse after Sunday's win against the Hawks. "I didn't even come back here expecting to get a jersey. I'm just coming in here and working hard and whatever happens, happens."

So far what's happened is an opportunity to start the first three games of the preseason. Villanueva, who entered training camp as the overwhelming favorite to start at power forward, has yet to see any preseason action due to a hamstring injury.

Wallace, meanwhile, looks like one of the most fit players on the roster, and both he and Kwame Brown have earned the praise of John Kuester for helping set the tone defensively at the start of games. All preseason stats must be taken with a mountain of salt, but through three games, the Pistons have held the opposition to just 39.9% shooting from the field, winning each game.

"It's really going to be tough for [opposing] big guys to score now," Rip Hamilton said Sunday. "I think they're both probably in the top five defenders in the post in the league, and they [are] really playing well off each other in such a short time."

While Kuester isn't ready to declare who his starters will be, the fact that it's even up for debate speaks volumes for how much Wallace has exceeded expectations thus far in training camp, even though Kuester was already familiar with Wallace from their season and a half together in Cleveland.

"Ben's been outstanding all [training camp]," Kuester said last week. "I'm telling you right now, the guy's still got juice. I keep telling people ... he's a leader, he's somebody that I trust, that I know is going to be able to tell me when I'm right and when I'm wrong, and his energy is contagious for our team."

In addition to energy and intensity, Wallace also brings veteran savvy to the defensive end, an important attribute in a league that has frequently adjusted the rules to facilitate more scoring.

"It's tougher, there's no question about it -- the game has changed from '04, [and] it had changed from '95," Kuester said in regards to rules prohibiting hand-checking and limiting defensive contact. "Each year it has become more of a challenge from a defensive standpoint. But by the same token, the attention to detail of what you want to get accomplished defensively has to come into play even more so. And I think that deals with how you're blocking out people, how you're contesting every shot, making sure your rotations are good, putting bodies on bodies."

That's where having a guy like Wallace can help, whether it's providing on-court leadership to his teammates on the floor, or pointers in practice to the team's four rookies.

"The guys that last in this league are the ones that can adjust," Wallace said. "You've got to change [your] game sometimes to adjust to the rules. And with the young guys coming in, it should be easy for them -- they've never really played with hand-checking or with anything like that. So this is their game. ... We're going to stay on them, we're going to try to help them through little situations and get them to a point where they can help us. Because they're the future of this team."

Regardless of what he has left in the tank -- or as Kuester likes to say, how much "juice" he still has -- Wallace recognizes this is a transition year for the Pistons, and that his greatest contribution may be the habits of hard-work and intensity that he helps instill in his younger teammates. (The early results are promising: Jonas Jerebko and Austin Daye, whose lockers are adjacent to Wallace's, have shown so much intensity that they've already earned one-game suspensions after refusing to back down in skirmishes with veteran opponents.)

"We stress defense, day in and day out. We talk about defense at practice. That's the only way you're going to be able to play on this team is to come out and play solid on the defensive end. And they grasp that; they're picking it up and now they're running with it. It makes us feel good as veterans, as a team, to see them coming along so well."

o. Austin Daye wasn't happy to learn of his suspension, the result of what he claimed was inadvertent contact with Milwaukee swingman Carlos Delfino's face when the two got tangled up during a play last Wednesday. As a result, he won't be allowed to dress when the Pistons travel to Memphis to take on the Grizzlies in the regular-season opener on Oct. 28.

"It really surprised me because it was a basketball play, it wasn't really an intentional thing," Daye told FanHouse. "If I was looking at the guy -- or when they reviewed it, if they saw me glance over and then try to hit him or something -- then I could understand it. But it was really just a basketball play and a basketball reaction. It is what it is. The league's going to fine me, so I'm just going to have to deal with it and support my teammates in Memphis."

o. Kuester on Jerebko's play against the Hawks: "Statistically, you can't look at what he did in regards to six points, six rebounds and 17 minutes and understand the impact that he had on the little things that we want to get accomplished, whether it be shows on the pick-and-rolls, his second and third energy effort going after the boards, whether he got it or didn't get it for other people. I was very proud of him, and I've seen that in him in practice."

o. The Pistons scored seven points on buzzer-beaters to end the first three quarters on Sunday -- Rip Hamilton got things started with an 17-footer to end the first, Rodney Stuckey followed with a brutal crossover to shake his man and free him for an open 18-footer to end the half, and Ben Gordon took the ball the length of the court to hit a 32-foot three-pointer to end the third (video here).

"It's all coaching, it's all coaching," Kuester joked after the game. "It was pretty neat -- Rodney made a great play at the end of the second quarter. And you had [3.7] seconds, I think, at the end of the third, that Ben made that great move to knock down the jumper.

"That was huge, and the only reason I say 'huge' -- don't leave any possessions on the court. That's something that I think is important, and these guys are challenging themselves to do [the] little things, and did a nice job, actually."

Ben Wallace Turns Heads in Detroit originally appeared on NBA FanHouse on Mon, 12 Oct 2009 08:15:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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More Suspensions: Austin Daye, Carlos Delfino Will Miss Season Openers

Tom Ziller — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 19:55:00 EST

Filed under: Bucks, Pistons

The Pistons have four rookies on the roster. Two of them have been suspended by the league for the season opener because of preseason scuffles. (You are on high alert, DaJuan Summers and Deron Washington!) The league announced today that Austin Daye, Detroit's No. 15 pick in the June draft, will be suspended for the first game of the season due to a fight with Bucks forward Carlos Delfino on Wednesday. Delfino will also miss the opener.

Earlier this week, fellow Pistons rookie Jonas Jerebko was suspended one game for a Tuesday altercation with Heat center Jamaal Magloire. Magloire was docked two games. If nothing else, Jerebko and Daye are showing that while the roster has turned over, the ol' Detroit Bad Boys attitude still exists in Motor City.

(While we're on the subject, by the transitive property: Omri Casspi beats up Austin Daye, Austin Daye beats up Carlos Delfino ... therefore Omri Casspi could beat up Carlos Delfino. Can't wait to see that.)

More Suspensions: Austin Daye, Carlos Delfino Will Miss Season Openers originally appeared on NBA FanHouse on Sat, 10 Oct 2009 19:55:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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NBA Suspends Magloire, Jerebko

Matt Watson — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 02:00:00 EST

Filed under: Heat, Pistons

The NBA announced suspensions for Miami's Jamaal Magloire and Detroit's Jonas Jerebko on Thursday, the result of a brief altercation between the two players in Monday's game in Detroit.

After getting tangled while going for the same rebound in the fourth quarter, the two players fell to the ground, where they each took a swing at each other before being separated by teammates. The incident happened quickly and television replays failed to capture a clear angle of what happened, but in the locker room after the game, Jerebko was quick to admit his involvement.

"He got me, I got him back," he told FanHouse. "That's what happened."

Magloire earned a two-game suspension for instigating the incident; Jerebko, a one-game suspension for retaliating.

Jerebko, a second-round pick out of Sweden, clearly didn't think much of the incident, the type of physical play that happens a dozen times a night in hockey, his native country's favorite sport. He also didn't think twice about retaliating, despite giving up 40 pounds and nine years of experience to Magloire.

"We're rookies, but if you get us, we got to get you back. [It's] Detroit basketball." When asked if he thought he caught Magloire by surprise, Jerebko didn't mince words. "He's a dirty player and that's what he makes a living off of. ... Maybe he thinks he can play with us, but he can't. We're pretty tough out here."

The suspensions will take effect in the first regular-season game each player is physically able to play.

NBA Suspends Magloire, Jerebko originally appeared on NBA FanHouse on Fri, 09 Oct 2009 02:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Replacement Refs Struggle in Detroit

Matt Watson — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 06:45:00 EST

Filed under: Bucks, Heat, Pistons, NBA Referees

For the second game in a row, replacement officials have completely botched routine free-throw procedures in Detroit.

During Monday's game between the Pistons and the Heat, the referees failed to whistle a dead ball after Ben Wallace tossed up an air ball on a free-throw attempt in the first half. Worse yet, in the fourth quarter, the officials allowed Will Bynum, a career 77.8% shooter from the stripe, to shoot free throws for Maceo Baston, only realizing their mistake after Miami's bench complained when Bynum drained them both. After conferring, the officials took the points off the board and sent Baston to the line, where he missed both attempts.

Bynum pleaded innocence after Monday's game, telling FanHouse he heard a referee tell him to take the line. From the officials' perspective, I'm not sure what's worse: Bynum telling a fib, which shows how easily they were fooled; or Bynum telling the truth, which proves that all three refs weren't on the same page. Either way, it looks bad ... but not as bad as what happened Wednesday.

From the recap:

Ersan Ilyasova was fouled while shooting a jumper and awarded two free throws. During the next timeout, more than 90 seconds later, the officials decided he had been taking a 3-pointer, and gave him another shot.

He made it, but [Tayshaun] Prince pointed out that the error was only correctable within 24 seconds, so the point was taken away from Milwaukee.

``I told him that they couldn't change it after five minutes or whatever it was, and he said 'yeah, you're right,''' Prince said. ``Then I had to remind him to tell the scorer's table to take it back off the board.''

So the refs not only blew the initial call, but they didn't know how to fix their mistake, needing a player to set them straight. For some reason, I'm thinking Steve Javie or Dan Crawford gets that right the first time.

Will embarrassing miscues like these force the NBA into a corner and lead to a new deal being struck with the regular referees? Perhaps, but even if a new contract is signed before the start of the regular season, it may be a coincidence.

One popular theory among NBA folk is that the league isn't as concerned about forcing the referees' union into making concessions so much as proving to the players' union that they're willing to play hardball once it comes time to negotiate their deal. It's a risky maneuver from a public relations standpoint, but the more I think about it, the more I'm convinced it's possible.

Consider this: if I didn't tell you about the mistakes made by the replacement crews, would you have heard about them? Hardly anyone attends these games -- arenas are generally half full, regardless of reported attendance figures -- and most teams only have two or three preseason games televised. TV highlights are distilled to a handful of key plays, and sports talk radio is dominated by football and MLB playoffs.

In other words, your average fan won't have a clue how awful the stand-in officials are until the regular season, and even then there's a grace period of at least a month before casual fans really start paying attention, meaning David Stern can make his stand now without massive public outcry. If the interim weren't so abysmal for those of us paying attention, I'd almost say the strategy is genius.

Replacement Refs Struggle in Detroit originally appeared on NBA FanHouse on Thu, 08 Oct 2009 06:45:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Allen Iverson Still Bitter About Last Year

Matt Watson — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 18:45:00 EST

Filed under: Grizzlies, Pistons

Allen Iverson's brief time in Detroit was a regrettable experience for all parties involved; fairly or not, he was the most obvious scapegoat (for Pistons fans, his teammates and the coaching staff) during a season in which nearly everything went wrong.

But instead of letting old wounds heal, focusing on a new year and the monumental task at hand of making the Grizzlies relevant, let alone a playoff contender, Iverson ripped off the Band-Aid today by re-living the experience in a scathing interview with ESPN's Scoop Jackson.

SI.com: Dumars' Latest Makeover Falls Flat

From the interview:

"They told me, straight up, 'Allen, we would never disrespect you or your career like that' by making me come off the bench," Iverson said in an interview with ESPN.com Page 2 columnist Scoop Jackson. "That's what they told me to my face. And after that, I never thought about it again. I just went back to playing. Then, they came to me saying that they felt it would be in the 'best interest of the team' if I came off of the bench behind Rip [Richard Hamilton].

"... After that, they told me that if I didn't come off the bench -- the team was going to lie down [not play] on me.

Iverson's pride is legendary, but it's creating a monumental blind spot: no matter the organization's plans early in the year, the Pistons were just 22-28 with Iverson in the starting lineup and almost certainly would have missed the playoffs if they didn't shake things up.

That said, Iverson has every right to be upset at the coaching staff -- just not for the reasons he's stating. He continued:

"... I don't have [anything] bad to say about the organization, especially Joe [Dumars]. I never had a problem with Joe. He's a stand-up person that I have love for and respect. He was not part of any of the problems I had in Detroit.

"But for [the coach] to tell me these things and for him to go back on his word like that, it was the hardest and the roughest season I've ever had."

Detroit biggest problem was that Michael Curry simply didn't know how to use Iverson -- or the rest of his roster, for that matter -- not that he flip-flopped on his decision as to who should start.

By insisting on a slow half-court offense (Detroit played at the second-slowest offensive pace in the league last year) without emphasizing any sort of consistent three-point threat, the Pistons were woefully inefficient. Opponents were allowed to jog back on defense and clog the lane; there was rarely a threat the Pistons would run, and there was rarely a reason to protect the three-point line.

For a player who's made a career out of beating his man off the dribble and finishing at the rim, Iverson was doomed from the start. And if he harbors any ill-will toward Curry, well, get in line; Curry reportedly feuded with Rip Hamilton for much of the season, and he was unceremoniously dumped this summer after a single season on the job.

But the past is the past, and Iverson's a changed man, right? Let's just hope that the Grizzlies didn't make the mistake of promising how he would be used. Despite his lofty goal of getting into the playoffs, the Grizzlies could improve upon last year's 24-58 record by 20 games and still miss the cut.

If it becomes apparent in the second half that the team isn't winning, wouldn't the team be best-served by giving O.J. Mayo and Michael Conley as many minutes as possible instead of an aging veteran on a one-year deal? Will Iverson be giving the same juicy quotes a year from now, this time throwing Lionel Hollins under the bus instead of Curry? Stay tuned.

Allen Iverson Still Bitter About Last Year originally appeared on NBA FanHouse on Thu, 01 Oct 2009 18:45:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Few Jobs Remain Open ... but Ruffin, Bowen Hope the Thunder Has One

Chris Tomasson — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 18:30:00 EST

Filed under: Clippers, Hawks, Hornets, Magic, Pistons, Thunder

The word is out in the NBA. Oklahoma City might be hiring.

In this tough economy, any job for a player these days is a good one. And there is talk the Thunder, with 14 guaranteed contracts and no worries about the luxury tax, might be a rare team that has no problem with a 15-man roster.

That's why veteran forwards Michael Ruffin and Ryan Bowen will be heading to the Thunder camp on nonguaranteed contracts, looking to earn a job.

"I think I've got a chance," said Ruffin, a nine-year veteran who played last season with Portland.

But also thinking that way is Bowen, a nine-year man who played last season with New Orleans.

"They tell us they have a spot," Bowen's agent, Guy Zucker, said of Thunder officials. "And they're looking for somebody similar to Ryan. So we think we have a good chance. They've got a young team, and they're looking for [a good veteran influence]. Ryan is incredibly professional, he's unbelievably smart, he's experienced, and he has no ego."

Some would say Ruffin is worthy of a similar description. Let the battle begin for the 15th spot.

With teams that are going overseas in October beginning training camp Saturday and others starting next Tuesday, teams are filling out their training camp rosters. And not too many are handing out fully guaranteed contracts. Consider that Desmond Mason couldn't even get a guaranteed deal last week from Sacramento.

Among other free agents going to camp trying to earn jobs, guard Morris Almond is heading to Orlando, guard Kareem Rush to the Los Angeles Clippers, center Earl Barron to New Orleans, forward Maceo Baston to Detroit, center Courtney Sims to Atlanta and guard Mario West, a restricted free agent, is returning to the Hawks.

"It's been a tough summer," Ruffin said of players looking for teams. "With the economy, teams are going to keep one or two less players than before. There's less jobs."

But the Thunder might be hiring. Candidates are lining up outside.

Chris Tomasson can be reached at tomasson@fanhouse.com.

Few Jobs Remain Open ... but Ruffin, Bowen Hope the Thunder Has One originally appeared on NBA FanHouse on Tue, 22 Sep 2009 18:30:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Tip-Off Timer: Vandeweghe's 51 Not Enough as Denver Drops Epic Game

Chris Tomasson — Sun, 06 Sep 2009 09:00:00 EST

Filed under: Nuggets, Pistons

Tip-Off Timer counts down the days until the first game of the 2009-10 season. On Sunday, there are 51 days remaining.

On Dec. 13, 1983, the San Diego Chicken showed up at Denver's McNichols Arena, a gimmick needed to try to get some fans to out for what looked to be a mundane Tuesday game between the Nuggets and Detroit Pistons.

That didn't work as a mere 9,655 fans showed up.

Of course, now there might be a few hundred thousand claiming to have been on hand that night.

Denver forward Kiki Vandeweghe scored a career-high 51 points to lead all scorers. But even that wasn't enough as his Nuggets lost 186-184 to Detroit in three overtimes in the highest-scoring game in NBA history.

"We were the two highest-scoring teams in the league at the time, but the result was sort of ridiculous," said Vandeweghe, now New Jersey's general manager.

Yes, the San Diego Chicken was upstaged that night. In the epic, 3 hour, 11-minute marathon, there were 33 ties and 21 lead changes. Six NBA scoring records were set and two others were tied.

It was a night in which Nuggets forward Alex English put up 47 points, and didn't even lead his team in scoring. The Pistons got 47 points from guard Isiah Thomas and 41 from guard John Long.

"It's like Joe DiMaggio's 56-game hitting streak," said Kelly Tripucka, a forward who scored 35 points that night for Detroit as the Pistons set an NBA record for most points in a game by one team. "I don't know if (the records for points in a game) ever will be broken. It's one of the greatest games in NBA history. For something like that to happen today, you'd probably have to play 10 overtimes."

Here's a summary of NBA records shattered that night, all of which still stand:

-- Most points, one team: Detroit, 186.

-- Most points, both teams: 370 (Detroit 186, Denver 184).

-- Most field goals, one team: Detroit, 74.

-- Most field goals, both teams: 142 (Detroit 74, Denver 68).

-- Most assists, both teams: 93 (Detroit 47, Denver 46).

-- Most players with 40 or more points, both teams: Four (Denver: Kiki Vandeweghe, 51; Alex English, 47; Detroit: Isiah Thomas, 47; John Long, 41).

The following records were tied, and remain so:

-- Most players with 40 or more points, one team: Two (Denver: Vandeweghe, 51; English, 47; and Detroit: Thomas, 47; and Long, 41).

-- Most personal fouls, both teams (since 1954-55): 87 (Detroit 44, Denver 43).

Want to hear the craziest part? Both teams shot just 1-of-2 from three-point range, with none made in regulation.

"We didn't use it at all back then," Vandeweghe said of the three-pointer, then in its fourth NBA season.

Nuggets forward Richard Anderson did bank in a three-pointer with two seconds left in the third overtime to cut the deficit to 186-184. But the Pistons were able to run out the clock and prevent a fourth overtime, which could have resulted in both teams reaching the 200-point mark.

To this day, one key play stands out in Detroit's dramatic win. With 6 seconds left in regulation and the Nuggets clinging to a 145-143 lead, Detroit forward Bill Laimbeer missed the second of two free-throw attempts intentionally, and Thomas got the rebound and made a putback with 4 seconds left to tie the score 145-145 and force overtime.

The teams were tied 159-159 after the first overtime and 171-171 after the second overtime, when Tripucka scored all 12 of his team's points. The Pistons finally broke away in the third overtime, helped by the fact they had just one player who ended up fouling out to four for Denver.

"For awhile, we thought the game was never going to end," Tripucka said. "When it finally ended, I looked up at the scoreboard and couldn't believe how many points had been scored."

It might have been Vandeweghe's career-high scoring night, but it left a bad taste in his mouth because the Nuggets lost. For years, Vandeweghe never watched a replay of the game until a fan once sent him a tape of it.

Vandeweghe turned it off after five minutes.

Tip-Off Timer: Vandeweghe's 51 Not Enough as Denver Drops Epic Game originally appeared on NBA FanHouse on Sun, 06 Sep 2009 09:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Debate in the Paint: Forget No. 1 Pick, Give Me Cap Space

Matt Steinmetz — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 10:15:00 EST

Filed under: Clippers, Pistons

Every Tuesday this offseason, two of our NBA experts will go at it on a topic. We came up with the catchy title, Debate in the Paint. This week: Would you rather have a No. 1 pick or cap space?

Give me cap space over the No. 1 pick in the NBA draft every year. OK, maybe not every year but just about every year. Certainly most of the time.

It's pretty simple, really. We know the three ways to improve a team: free agency, trades and the draft. Of those three, the NBA Draft is the least effective.

Sure, this is where you talk about some difference-makers over the past 15 years or so at No. 1: Dwight Howard, LeBron James, Yao Ming and Tim Duncan. But for every one of those, I'll give you an Andrea Bargnani, Andrew Bogut, Kwame Brown, Kenyon Martin, Elton Brand, Joe Smith and Glenn Robinson.

Tim Povtak: Take the No. 1 Pick

While getting the No. 1 pick might energize your fan base (in June, by the way), the fact of the matter is that you're still at the mercy of the draft itself. What good is the top pick if you come away with just a nice player or a role guy? Or worse?

And that's what you get a good portion of the time. It's not enough to simply get the No. 1 pick in the draft. You need to have that pick in a draft where a superstar resides at the top. And that's never a sure thing.

How good is Blake Griffin going to be? Who knows? Maybe he'll be pretty good. Maybe not. Perennial All-Star or just a banger? Skilled or limited? Bogut ... Bargnani ... Brown. See what I mean?

That's why we'll take the sure thing: Cap space. Of course, just because you have money under the cap -- let's say $12 million or so, give or take -- doesn't mean you're an automatic winner.

But it gives a GM more options and allows him to be more active than reactive. Bottom line, cap space gives a GM more chances to succeed than with just one pick. The argument, of course, is that having cap space doesn't guarantee you a superstar.

It doesn't. But acquiring a superstar is only one thing you do with an abundance of cap space. There's other stuff, too. Nothing wrong with saving your money for a rainy day, or at least another free-agent class.

If you've got enough money you can go out and try to get two good players instead of just one really good one. Don't quibble for now about whether or not Ben Gordon and/or Charlie Villanueva necessarily fit that description, just know that's basically what Detroit's Joe Dumars did this offseason.

Money under the cap makes you a player in the sign-and-trade game and also a viable third-party trade broker. Having cap space allows you to make a trade without the money having to match up. Having cap space keeps you in the game.

It can help in plenty of ways, not just the obvious one of trying to sign a star. If you're under the cap and you're a GM, you're likely in good standing with your owner.

That's a lot better than trying to explain why you picked Michael Olowokandi.

More Steinmetz on Twitter: @matt_steinmetz

Debate in the Paint: Forget No. 1 Pick, Give Me Cap Space originally appeared on NBA FanHouse on Tue, 11 Aug 2009 10:15:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Stuckey Hopes to Be Detroit's Leader

Matt Watson — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 15:35:00 EST

Filed under: Pistons

The Detroit Pistons were a miserable team to watch last season, winning 20 fewer games than the year before while slipping from perennial contender to eighth-seeded afterthought.

It's easy to find scapegoats for what went wrong -- Joe Dumars, for trading Chauncey Billups; Allen Iverson, for not being Billups; Rip Hamilton, for not swallowing his pride; Michael Curry, for being in over his head -- but the most glaring problem was one for which everyone was responsible: a complete and utter lack of leadership, both on the court and the sidelines.

The Pistons always seemed to get by with leadership-by-committee -- they won the title in 2004 and achieved a streak of six conference finals appearances as a team of equals, lacking a true superstar but boasting one of the deepest starting lineups in the game.

By the time they backed into the playoffs last season, though, it was clear they were a rudderless ship. Many of the veterans alternated between cranky and disinterested, while the younger players weren't empowered enough to take charge.

In the midst of Detroit's doomed first-round matchup with the Cleveland Cavaliers, I asked one of the young players who the team's leader was, whom the the rest of the team took direction from when things got tough.

Not surprisingly, he couldn't offer a single name, simply saying, "The older guys, I guess."

And from whom did the older guys take direction? "Your guess is as good as mine, man."

As things played out, the notion of Detroit as a rudderless ship was reinforced, not only in how the Pistons were swept out of the first round, losing every game by double-digits, but also how things played out behind the scenes after Game 4.

Rip Hamilton, Tayshaun Prince, Rasheed Wallace -- the only remaining members of the 2004 championship team -- all dodged the media, either sneaking out of the locker room early, waiting in the shower area until reporters on deadline gave up or blatantly ignoring questions while walking through a throng of reporters.

With no one else taking responsibility, young players like Arron Afflalo, Rodney Stuckey and Will Bynum were hung out to dry, unfairly fed to the media and forced to answer for the team's most disappointing season in nearly a decade.

Now that the team is firmly entrenched in rebuilding -- despite the reported return of Ben Wallace, as many as four rookies (Austin Daye, DaJuan Summers, Jonas Jerebko and Deron Washington) could make the roster, and free agent additions Charlie Villanueva (24 years old), Ben Gordon (26) and Chris Wilcox (26) are just entering their prime years -- at least one young player is determined not to let a leadership void disrupt the team yet again.

Stuckey, the team's 23-year-old point guard, recently told Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press that he thinks the team's new, younger makeup will make it easier for him to assert himself.

"We can get on each other and get on each other's butts," Stuckey said recently after throwing out the first pitch at a Tigers game. "When you have those vets on the team, they kind of ... you really can't say the things you want to say to them because they've been in the league 10, 12 years. So having the same age group is going to be good."

As a point guard, Stuckey will be expected to lead by new coach John Kuester and president of basketball operations Joe Dumars.

"I know that I'm going to have to step up this year and be more vocal," Stuckey said. "Me and Joe D, me and my new coach, we done already talked about that.

"I'm ready to step up and take the challenge."

Here's to hoping he's up for the challenge, because Detroit faces an uphill journey back to relevancy even without chemistry issues clouding the way.

Stuckey Hopes to Be Detroit's Leader originally appeared on NBA FanHouse on Fri, 07 Aug 2009 15:35:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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