NBA FanHouse

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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Tip-Off Timer: '86, the Most Bizarre Draft in NBA History

Tim Povtak — Sun, 02 Aug 2009 05:00:00 EST

Filed under: 76ers, Cavaliers, Celtics, Knicks, Magic, Mavericks, Pistons, Warriors, NBA Draft

Tip-Off Timer counts down the days until the first game of the 2009-10 NBA season. On Sunday, there are exactly 86 days left.

When you talk about the NBA in 1986, it's not the Boston Celtics winning their third and final championship in the Larry Bird era that history will remember most.

It's that '86 NBA Draft class, the most flawed, notorious, bizarre class in league history, that will be remembered -- for all the wrong reasons.

It's just so tough to forget. It wasn't a draft. It was a disaster, ranging from tragic to terribly unfortunate, turning sour so quickly that it was stunning.

"It's a draft that you hope could never happen again,'' said longtime NBA executive Pat Williams, who traded away the top pick that year as the GM of the Philadelphia 76ers. "It will go down in history as the most scarred draft we've ever had. It was haunted.''

It started with Len Bias of Maryland, who died of a cocaine overdose two days after being chosen with the No. 2 pick by the world champion Celtics.

It continued with Chris Washburn of North Carolina State, William Bedford of Memphis State and Roy Tarpley of Michigan, all big and strong, taken third, sixth and seventh respectively, who washed out of the league quickly because of drug and alcohol problems. Seven of the top 14 picks in '86 eventually were linked to drug use that scarred their careers.

It was 23 years ago that the NBA received a wake-up call like never before, changing the way it does business, a horrible reminder of everything that can go wrong in the annual race to uncover the most athletic basketball players in the world. We learned in '86 that it's not always the biggest and strongest athletes who succeed.

"It was the drug draft,'' Williams said. "Going in, there were some things that made us uncomfortable with it, so we just got out.''

Of the top nine picks that year, only two (Chuck Person at No. 4 and Ron Harper at No. 8) lasted 10 years in the league. No. 1 pick Brad Daugherty became the only All-Star from the first round of that class, but his career was shortened significantly by injuries.

"Some of the stories that came out of that draft were scary,'' Daugherty said eight years ago. "So many different people had so many different bad things happen to them. It was almost like a curse. I feel fortunate that nothing bad happened to me.''

There were some wonderful success stories in that upside-down draft, but they were unexpected. Mark Price, Dennis Rodman, Nate McMillan, Jeff Hornacek, Johnny Newman -- all second-round picks -- carved out great careers.

"There wasn't much hoopla for the guys in the second round, but I've always thought that drafting is not a science,'' said Magic general manager Otis Smith, a second-round pick in '86 whose career was cut short by knee problems. "It still is kind of amazing how that draft fell out.''

It wasn't just drugs that cursed that '86 draft. Many others picked high in that first round just failed to live up to expectations, either from a lack of talent, desire or good judgment.

Kenny Walker of Kentucky went fifth to New York, but he averaged only seven points and four rebound in his seven seasons. John Williams of LSU went No. 12 to Washington, but he ate his way out of the league. Dwayne Washington (No. 13 to New Jersey) and Walter Berry (No. 14 to Portland) were great college players who just couldn't survive in the NBA.

Washburn (Golden State), Bedford (Phoenix) and Tarpley (Dallas) combined to start just 89 NBA games, fewer than Anthony Bowie, a journeyman who wasn't picked until the third round.

Dell Curry, whose son Stephen Curry was drafted No. 7 last month by Golden State, was one of the lucky first-round picks. He was taken 15th by Utah in '86, and he played 16 years in the NBA, earning a reputation as one of the greatest 3-point shooters in history.

Williams had the rights to the No. 1 pick in '86, but he thought Daugherty was too soft to play in the NBA, and he didn't like the whispers he was hearing about so many of other top talents. He traded the pick to Cleveland for proven veteran Roy Hinson, whose career then nosedived.

"It was a different world then,'' Williams said. "You didn't know everything about players like they do now. Mistakes were made. And once you did, you didn't get a second chance.''

Tip-Off Timer: '86, the Most Bizarre Draft in NBA History originally appeared on NBA FanHouse on Sun, 02 Aug 2009 05:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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NBA Twitter Mailbag: Shaq, Kevin Durant, and the Celtics Roster

Brett Pollakoff — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 15:20:00 EST

Filed under: Cavaliers, Celtics, Pistons, Rockets, Thunder, NBA Twitter

In our inaugural edition of the NBA Twitter mailbag, we've got some interesting topics to get us started. How will Shaq's ego fit in Cleveland? Is Kevin Durant getting the attention he deserves? And what's left on the Celtics' summer to-do list?

These questions and more, answered for you below.

Over / under on number of games it takes Shaq to start (complaining) about touches? I go under 25. -- @ZoDogg34

I'll go under 25 too. Remember, Shaq is willing to fit in on a championship contender at this stage of his career, as long as the team is winning. All it will take is a couple of losses where Mo Williams or Delonte West goes 7-for-24 from the field, and you'll start hearing what we heard in Phoenix: Shaq will recite his career field goal percentage statistics, look at the box score from the game where he only got something like nine shots, and then it'll be on.

Shaq won't criticize LeBron James for taking too many shots. But yes, as soon as he goes through some losses where other guys have some poor shooting nights, there's no doubt he'll start to lobby for more touches.

In fact, let's lower the over/under to 16.

is there any chance Allen Iverson can/will be signed to the rockets for their scoring needs? -- @Abel86

With Yao Ming out for the season and Tracy McGrady out until sometime around the All-Star break, there's no question the Rockets could use some scoring. But Allen Iverson doesn't fit in with the Daryl Morey (super-genius!) template of finding hard-working, team-oriented guys to work towards a common goal. Iverson is a volume shooter, and tends to dominate the ball while turning possessions into a one-man show. Add in the fact that he's personally offended if you should ask him to come off the bench, and Houston just doesn't seem like a place where Iverson could peacefully coexist.

What's Ainge doing with big baby? Marbury? How is he getting daniels? A back up pg? -- @CS_Clips_Falcns

There has apparently been a recent snag in the sign-and-trade negotiations to bring Marquis Daniels to Boston. That doesn't mean it isn't going to happen, but at this point a third team may need to get involved for the Pacers to get something they want in return.

This could also affect the Glen Davis situation, as the Celtics could include him in that three-team deal to get something back for him, instead of simply choosing not to match another team's offer in restricted free agency. The New Jersey Nets are rumored to have the most interest in Davis at the moment.

As for Stephon Marbury, don't expect him back. He rejected the Celtics' minimum offer at the beginning of the month, and at the time said he believed his days in Boston were done.

Durant or LeBron? I guess that's the question now according to Sam Smith. -- @dailythunder

Why are people sleepin' on KD? He's going to lead the L in scoring for the next decade. He's abstract art on hardwood. -- @JustinRWalsh

Kevin Durant personally wants no part of any comparisons to LeBron James; he said so himself via Twitter. But yes, Durant seems poised to be the guy that takes that leap into the LeBron/Kobe/Wade stratosphere.

Darnell Mayberry of The Oklahoman relays this anecdote about Durant's work ethic and attitude, and this, to me, says a lot about what we can expect from Durant in the seasons to come.

As an aside, several times throughout the season I'd joke with Durant about how his shooting stroke is effortless. He never seemed to like my opinion, and each time I voiced it he agitatedly insisted that his shot isn't effortless. While I was referring to the sheer sight and mechanics of it, he made sure I knew that he's given a great deal of effort, through time and reps, to get his form and results to the point they are today. It's one small example of Durant's mentality.

Is Will Bynum a legit #2 point guard in the NBA? Maybe even a lower-end #1, given his playoff performance? -- @WestMIAllStar

Matt Watson: Legit number two? Absolutely. Starter on a bad team? I think so. The only reason people dismiss Bynum is his size -- he's officially listed at six-foot, but remember, NBA players are measured in their shoes, so he's closer to what you and I would call 5-10. That said, he's built like an NFL safety, so he's not going to get bullied by bigger players, and he's probably the most explosive leaper on the team, so he's not going to stopped from attacking the rim.

Bynum isn't much of an outside shooter (to say the least), but that's the only serious flaw in his game. He can penetrate, play above the rim, score in bunches and make plays for teammates (he averaged a team-high 7.0 assists per 36 minutes last year) and be a pesky defender -- just about everything you'd expect from a backup point, or, surrounded by the right players, from a starter.

He didn't come into regular playing time until late in the season (and even then was reduced to garbage minutes while Rodney Stuckey, Rip Hamilton and Allen Iverson gobbled up most of the time) but by the time the dust settled he was the most efficient of all, leading the team with a 17.4 PER in the regular season and 19.9 PER in the playoffs. He'll be Rodney Stuckey's primary backup from Day 1 this season, and by the time he hits unrestricted free agency next summer, he just might get a chance to go somewhere as a starter.

Want to be part of our next NBA Twitter mailbag? Post a question or comment on Twitter.com, and be sure to start it with @NBAFanHouse.

NBA Twitter Mailbag: Shaq, Kevin Durant, and the Celtics Roster originally appeared on NBA FanHouse on Fri, 31 Jul 2009 15:20:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Tip-Off Timer: 88 Regular Season Games for Walt Bellamy

Tom Ziller — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 10:00:00 EST

Filed under: Knicks, Pistons

Tip-Off Timer counts down the days until the first game of the 2009-10 NBA season. On Friday, there are exactly 88 days left.

The New York Knicks traded aging star Walt Bellamy to the Pistons on December 19, 1969, in exchange for Dave DeBusschere. The swap cleared set the Knicks up for their only two championships in 1970 and 1972, as DeBusschere combined with Bill Bradley, Walt Frazier, Dick Barnett and Willis Reed to make a killer squad.

But because of a scheduling quirk, the trade also put Bellamy in the record books. Bells played 35 games in Knick blue during the 1969-70 before the trade. But the Pistons had only played 29 games to that point. Bells played all 53 games remaining on the Detroit schedule, and finished the season having played 88 regular season games. (Bellamy also happened to wear the jersey number 8 throughout his entire career.)

Bellamy is a forgotten great center of the '60s. He was overshadowed by Bill Russell and Wilt Chamberlain, and rightly so. But Bells was a beast, averaging 20/14 for his career, and killing it with a rookie season for the Chicago Packers with 31/19. In most other eras, he sniffs MVP consideration. But during his time, he finished 11th once, and no higher at any other point. He was admitted to the Hall of Fame in 1993.

After just about one year in Detroit, Bellamy moved on to Atlanta, where he actually got to the league semifinals his first season before slipping into eventual retirement. Given the more balanced scheduling in today's NBA -- and the fact that players seem to take a few games off when traded for the physicals and all that -- it's unlikely another guy will ever tally 88 games in the regular season.

Tip-Off Timer: 88 Regular Season Games for Walt Bellamy originally appeared on NBA FanHouse on Fri, 31 Jul 2009 10:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Tip-Off Timer: '89 Detroit Pistons

Matt Watson — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 02:00:00 EST

Filed under: Pistons, NBA Videos

Tip-Off Timer counts down the days until the first game of the 2009-10 season. On Thursday, there were exactly 89 days left.

The Detroit Pistons won their first NBA championship in 1989, sweeping the Los Angeles Lakers to avenge a devastating Game 7 loss in the Finals the year before. A lot of people say the rough and tumble Detroit Bad Boys were a black stain on the NBA, ending the fan-friendly reign of Magic and Kareem's Showtime Lakers while opening the door for the slow-down and slug-it-out style of play that plagued the league for much of the next decade.

And, OK, sure, a lot of people are probably right.

But to dismiss the Pistons of the late 80s and early 90s as just a bunch of thugs is to overlook some of the greatest players and minds this game has ever seen. Four members of that organization eventually made their way to the Basketball Hall of Fame, including the starting backcourt of Isiah Thomas and Joe Dumars as well as head coach Chuck Daly, recently dubbed by Sporting News as one of the 50 greatest coaches in the history of sports, and owner Bill Davidson.

And while those four are enshrined in Springfield, Ma. forever, the rest of the team was incredibly deep, as well. Bill Laimbeer, a four-time All-Star, is still one of the most hated men in the NBA, and Rick Mahorn, his big-bootied partner in crime, was just as ready to mix things up. Vinnie Johnson was a dynamic sixth-man who could have started elsewhere but valued winning more than minutes.

We can't forget the young John Salley or the pre-crazy Dennis Rodman, either, nor Mark Aguirre or James "Buddha" Edwards. And when it comes to trivia-question bench warmers, can it get any better than Fennis Dembo and Darryl "Chocolate Thunder" Dawkins?

Even if the '89 Pistons played at the slowest pace in the league, they could still score with the best of them when needed -- they ranked seventh in the league in offensive efficiency while putting up 106.6 points a night with five players* averaging at least 13 points a game. Put that in your revisionist history pipe and smoke it.

* Well, technically six, but Adrian Dantley (18.4 points per game) and Mark Aguirre (15.5) were traded for each other midseason, so I'm counting them as one.

Maybe they didn't sell as many sneakers as that bald-headed fellow in Chicago, maybe their shiny new arena (the Palace of Auburn Hills debuted in 1989) lacked the mystique of the old Boston Garden and perhaps their fans weren't as glamorous as the star-studded crowds in Los Angeles.

But you have to respect how the 1989 Pistons clawed their way to the mountaintop, paying their dues by losing a seven-game series to the Celtics in the Eastern Conference finals in 1987 and another seven-game series in the NBA Finals in 1988 before finally tasting the champagne and cradling the Larry O'Brien.

Love them or hate them, they earned every moment of glory they attained.

Tip-Off Timer: '89 Detroit Pistons originally appeared on NBA FanHouse on Fri, 31 Jul 2009 02:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Kuester Coaching Pistons Because of Mike Brown

Tim Povtak — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 14:30:00 EST

Filed under: Nets, Pistons, FanHouse Exclusive

Joe Dumars is the one who hired John Kuester to be head coach of the Detroit Pistons, but it is Cleveland's Mike Brown who made it happen.

That's what makes this story different.

After 19 years in the league, mostly as an assistant coach, Kuester is getting his first chance to be the boss on an NBA bench, hoping to lead the retooled Pistons back to contention in the Eastern Conference.

One of his most important tasks will be finding a way to beat Brown, the head coach who gave Kuester the chance to shine last season as his right hand man.

It's no coincidence that Kuester, at age 54, is just now getting his chance after years of waiting in the wings.

In a league filled with huge egos -- particularly coaching egos -- Brown has a unique management style, giving his assistant coaches more responsibility than anyone else in the league.

If you recall during the well-chronicled playoff run of LeBron James and the Cavaliers, it was Kuester on national television drawing up the offensive plays in the huddle while Brown stood a few steps behind, content to just listen. It also was Kuester who ran the offense and dominated the practice court all season with the Cavs.

No other assistant coach in the league carried such clout, or got that kind of exposure. No other head coach in the NBA felt this comfortable delegating that kind of responsibility, and stepping back to let an assistant shine.

"I'll tell you this: It sure enough didn't hurt me,'' Kuester told FanHouse earlier this week. "I've had a lot of people ask me about last season. Mike just puts a lot of trust in his assistants. It helped me (get this job), I'm sure. But that's Mike's management style. It's probably why he doesn't get enough credit himself.''

Kuester had been assistant with Boston, Philadelphia, New Jersey, Detroit and Orlando before joining Cleveland and Brown two years ago. He was a coach previously at George Washington University and Boston University. One of his assistants is likely to be Brian Hill, who was his boss in Orlando but worked last season as an assistant in New Jersey.

"It was a journey to get here,'' Kuester said from his office in Auburn Hills, Mich. "And I wouldn't change anything about it. If this opportunity had never come, I would have been okay with that. But I'm very grateful to Mike for the way it happened. I'm ecstatic now.''

Kuester was an assistant in Detroit under Larry Brown when the Pistons won the NBA title in 2004, and he never had the kind of clout that he was given in Cleveland. Although Dumars liked him in Detroit, he liked him even more when he watched the Cavs from a distance last spring.

"To watch him be able to coach the way he did last year in Cleveland, we all took notice,'' Dumars said. "But that just solidified what we already thought about him. You can't command that huddle in playoff overtime games and have the head coach give you that clipboard if you can't command that team's attention.''

Kuester will be getting a much different Detroit team that he left in 2005. Instead of Chauncey Billups and Rasheed Wallace dominating the locker room room, he has recently signed Ben Gordon and Charlie Villanueva, who join holdovers Richard Hamilton and Tayshaun Prince.

After they stumbled to 39 victories last season, fewest since 2001, the Pistons decided they needed to retool with new players and a new coach. Kuester might not have been their first choice, but he became an intriguing choice.

"I have to pinch myself every day, just to make sure this is real,'' Kuester said. "How blessed am I?''

Kuester Coaching Pistons Because of Mike Brown originally appeared on NBA FanHouse on Fri, 24 Jul 2009 14:30:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.