The Detroit news ~

Learn as They Earn
Rookies face tests every day on and off court, so they ...
By Joanne C. Gerstner

Pistons rookie Jason Maxiell cradled the basketball, figuring out his next move.
He could drive, pass, or maybe even loft a jump shot during this hotly contested, three-on-three game in practice.
While Maxiell was thinking, Rasheed Wallace was yelling from the sideline: "Whatcha doing? Whatcha doing? Don't blow it! Whoo!"
Maxiell stayed fierce, driving for a dunk. Wallace laughed, and Maxiell gave him a little smile.

Notebook
By Joanne C. Gerstner

Team rebounding

Pistons center Ben Wallace is a fierce rebounder. But that doesn't mean he can't use a little help from his teammates.
Coach Flip Saunders worked the team hard Monday, putting added emphasis on rebounding.
The Pistons were outrebounded 99-64 during their weekend Texas swing (Houston and Dallas).

Some doubt Barnes' tale
His claim: He snorted cocaine on bench
By Chris McCosky

To me, it was always one of those urban-legend types of things.
I had long heard stories about how Marvin "Bad News" Barnes once snorted cocaine on the bench during a game when he played for the Boston Celtics.
What do you know, turns out it was true.

Basketball 101: The pick-and-roll
By Chris McCosky

It might be the oldest play in basketball, but time and style changes haven't diminished its effectiveness.

Burning Questions
By Chris McCosky

'Numbers' lie about Pistons
Offense is efficient, crunched stats or not

Alley oop ... to Antonio McDyess

Joanne C. Gerstner's Top 5: Poor starts

Next 5 games

The Detroit Free Press ~

No panic yet on lack of rebounding
By Krista Latham

As Rasheed Wallace might say, ball don't lie, whether it is shot, dribbled, rebounded or hiked into the stands. If you see it happen, it happened.
But stats concerning the ball, they can still tell fibs. A shooting percentage might be high because attempts are few. And there's no way to measure the effort behind a statistic like rebounding.

Booth Newspapers ~

Pistons have to be more rebound-conscious against Nuggets
By A. Sherrod Blakely

The only way the Detroit Pistons can put their first loss of the season (after eight wins) behind them is to rebound -- literally and figuratively.
Getting to the boards will be a priority for the Pistons on Wednesday when they host the Denver Nuggets, one of the best rebounding teams in the NBA.