~ Detroit News ~
Hamilton and Prince are being considered for U.S. Olympic men's team
By Chris McCosky
Pistons Richard Hamilton and Tayshaun Prince are two of at least 35 players being considered for inclusion on the next U.S. Olympic men's basketball team.
"A couple of people asked me about it, but I still haven't got back to them," said Hamilton. "I haven't really had time to sit down and think about it."
Jerry Colangelo, the new head of Team USA, wants to choose the team from a long list of players. He has already contacted, besides the two Pistons, Gilbert Arenas, Carmelo Anthony and Chris Bosh. Soon, he plans to have discussions with Dwyane Wade, Kevin Garnett, Tim Duncan and Amare Stoudemire. LeBron James is also believed to be on his radar.
It's all about 'Sheed as Pistons continue to roll
Former MSU star and Saginaw native Richardson scores 36
By Greg Beecham
Rasheed Wallace has been the consummate team player ever since he joined the Pistons, providing offense, defense and attitude in whatever doses were necessary to keep Detroit on top.
The Pistons needed everything Wallace had to offer on Friday night, and it was barely enough to hold off the Golden State Warriors.
Wallace scored 10 of his 22 points in the fourth quarter, also making a key steal and a heady length-of-the-court pass for Ben Wallace's clinching dunk in Detroit's 106-103 victory.
~ Detroit Free Press ~
By Krista Latham
The Golden State Warriors are on their way up in the NBA. Should the young team keep improving, they could soon be one of the league's elite.
But they're not there yet.
The Pistons hung around in front of the Warriors' second sellout crowd this season and waited for Rasheed Wallace to take over in the fourth quarter Friday night and lift the Pistons to a 106-103 win and 14-2 record.
Hamilton ready to serve country
By Krista Latham
The feeling-out calls from Team USA managing director Jerry Colangelo are starting to trickle in to potential Olympians' voicemails, and one Piston has received the message.
Shooting guard Richard Hamilton needs to return a call to Colangelo, who has begun working on the roster for the 2008 Olympic Games and the 2006 World Championships. ESPN.com reported that Tayshaun Prince also received a call, but he said Friday that he hasn't.
If it came, he'd take it, and as for Hamilton, he is certainly interested in being considered for the team, despite a lengthy commitment.
~ Booth Newspapers ~
By A. Sherrod Blakely
When you see the Detroit Pistons playing so well, it's hard to imagine that five years ago they were one of the worst teams in the NBA.
Developing a culture of winning was not easy, even for a franchise such as Detroit, which had won NBA titles in 1989 and '90 before winning a third in 2004.
Just imagine the challenge for perennially bad teams like Golden State, which played Detroit on Friday, and the Los Angeles Clippers, who will host the Pistons on Sunday.
~ San Francisco Chronicle ~
Vaunted Pistons slip away in final minute
By Janny Hu
No matter how much coach Mike Montgomery downplayed the importance of Friday's meeting with Detroit, a sellout crowd wanted to see the Warriors' response to their disheartening loss against Phoenix.
They wanted to know if Golden State could avoid losing two games in a row for the first time this season. If the Warriors could somehow defend their homecourt against the NBA's best team. If Jason Richardson, in the middle of an All-Star campaign, could come up with another clutch shot and carry the Warriors to an upset win.
Richardson did all he could, sinking a 3-pointer with 12.3 seconds left to bring the Warriors within one point of the Pistons. But Ben Wallace had an uncontested layup on Detroit's final possession and Derek Fisher's desperation 3-pointer banked off the rim at the buzzer.
~ Inside Bay Area ~
But Warriors test well in narrow loss to Pistons
By Geoff Lepper
For Warriors coach Mike Montgomery, the second week of December is still way too early in an NBA season to discuss litmus tests or yardsticks or barometers or any other fancy name you can think for a way to measure yourself against the competition.
It's too bad, because Golden State's meeting with the Detroit Pistons — two-time NBA finalists and owners of the league's best record — on Friday night sure had that vibe.
It felt like a litmus-test game when Michigan native Jason Richardson unleashed an incandescent performance against his hometown team, dropping a season-high 36 points, plus six rebounds and two blocks.