Rasheed Wallace scored 26 points and Richard Hamilton added 23 as the Detroit Pistons cruised to an 84-73 victory.

Chauncey Billups had 11 points and 14 assists, while Ben Wallace contributed 10 rebounds for the Pistons. A night earlier, those players made Detroit the first team with four All-Stars since the Lakers in 1998.

Around the NBA
Arenas picked as replacement for All-Star game
Bobcats still bitten by injury bug
A/P

Gilbert Arenas is headed to the All-Star game after all.

The Washington Wizards guard was picked Friday by NBA commissioner David Stern to replace Indiana forward Jermaine O’Neal, who was voted in as an Eastern Conference starter but is injured.

“It’s an honor. Thank you, David Stern,” Arenas said before Friday night’s game against Cleveland.

Arenas was perhaps the biggest omission on the East team when reserves for the Feb. 19 game in Houston were announced Thursday night. He ranked fourth in the league with an average of 28.2 points per game.

NBA: Notebook
Dunleavy on Clippers: 'We're not a fluke'
Brian Mahoney A/P

The Los Angeles Clippers can't say it any more clearly.

"We're not a fluke," coach Mike Dunleavy said earlier this week.

Though the Clippers just came back from a strong road trip and are in second place in the Pacific Division, there remain plenty of doubters.

After all, this is a franchise that has made just three playoff appearances since moving to Los Angeles and is usually considered among the biggest losers in sports.

But Dunleavy said that time has passed.

"We don't have to say that we're good because all you have to do is look at our record," he said.



Everyone fills his role. The defense starts warm and gets hotter.

At some point, the offense starts rolling and the Pistons get a sizable lead. The bench provides a spark at just the right moment.

And then superior talent takes over, and the Pistons win as they did Friday night, beating the Orlando Magic, 84-73.

All-Stars giddy over selection
By Krista Latham

Lips spread into toothy grins.

Giddy laughter in the locker room.

Camera mugging during the first photo shoot in their red, white and blue All-Star jerseys.

It seemed Friday that All-Star euphoria had descended on the Pistons one day after the team learned that four of its starters -- point guard Chauncey Billups, shooting guard Richard Hamilton, power forward Rasheed Wallace and center Ben Wallace -- would be East reserves.

While preparing for Friday night's game in Orlando, they couldn't contain their happiness for themselves, their teammates, their team and the city of Detroit.

So much hair gel; so little sense
by Ian Cameron

Pat Riley–apparently still dizzy from the %%%%%-slapping the Mavs gave the Heat on TNT last night–had this to say to the Palm Beach Post about about the perceived All-Star snub of Alonzo Morning by the Eastern Conference coaches...


(Almost) Everybody loves a winner
by Ian Cameron

If you think the folks here in DC are up in arms about Gilbert Arenas being left off the EC All-Stars in favor of Rip Hamilton, think again. Perhaps they were withholding their rage until after David Stern named Jermaine O'Neal's injury replacement (rumored to be Arenas), but for the most part, sentiments on sports talk radio here are similar to those of Michael Lee of the Washington Post, who recently wrote the following...


JV game is over; bring on the Heat
by Ian Cameron

No offense to the Orlando Magic, who have some of the most likeable players in the Association (including Grant Hill and Dwight Howard, the Eastern Conference's answer to Amare Stoudemire), but Friday night's Piston win was simply a warm up for Sunday's much-anticipated matchup with the Heat.

Detroit All-Stars glad they'll have company
by DANA GAURUDER

ORLANDO, Fla. - Ben Wallace won't feel like a stranger at the All-Star Game this season. He was the Pistons' lone representative the past three seasons at the league's annual midseason showcase. He'll have plenty of company next weekend in Houston with Rasheed Wallace, Chauncey Billups and Richard Hamilton also being selected to the Eastern Conference team. Billups and Hamilton are fi rsttime selections while Rasheed went twice while playing for Portland, most recently in 2001.

Rookies could go to NBDL

Rookies Alex Acker and Amir Johnson could be sent down to Fayetteville (N.C.), the Pistons' Development League affiliate, after the All-Star break. Both have spent much of the season on the inactive list.

"If we do that, we'd probably send them together," coach Flip Saunders said.

Pistons team up for win
by DANA GAURUDER

ORLANDO - To the naked eye, it seemed like Chauncey Billups had grown eyes in the back of his head.

How else could Billups have known in a split second that Richard Hamilton was racing down the right side on a fast break? Billups tossed a no-look, behind-the-back shovel pass that Hamilton grabbed in full stride and dropped through the basket.

Pistons have to be ecstatic Brown's gone
By Keith Langlois

When you hit my age, either you curl up in the fetal position and wait to be hauled away or you learn to get through every day by constantly cultivating new sources of amusement.

So I'm trying real hard to cultivate those new sources of amusement.

And it's tough. But I've found one.

Every morning, I fire up the ol' laptop and search the Internet for the latest snapshot of the New York Knicks' destruction.

Charting the course of the Knicks' season is like watching the slowmotion replay of the implosion of the old Hudson's Building. You know it's going to end in a spectacular pile of rubble shrouded by an immense cloud of carcinogenic debris - but you can't tear your eyes away.

Jerry Colangelo, the managing director of the U.S. men's national team, has agreed to allow Billups to skip the World Championships in Tokyo this summer to tend to the birth of his third child.

"His wife (Piper) is having a baby and if there's a player or two who might get a pass (for 2006), he would," Colangelo told the Rocky Mountain News.

Billups will compete with the team in the summers of 2007 and 2008.





Cato, a nine-year, rank-and-file player with average skills, is a free agent after the season. With this foot/ankle injury he can't showcase himself, and he can't be a part of helping a team win, therefore he can't make a case that any team needs him next season.




"We have the best team in the league coming in here,'' O'Neal said Saturday. "We have to do everything right, especially in our building. It's going to be an exciting place Sunday, and we look forward to stepping up to the challenge.''

That would be a breakthrough, because such challenges have typically brought out the worst in the Heat. They have 0-2 records against Dallas, Phoenix and San Antonio - the best of the West - and lost their only previous game against the Pistons in December.


THE DETROIT PISTONS should not have four All-Stars.

One is a no-brainer. Two is understandable. Three is pushing it, but arguments can be made. Four, that's an injustice.

For the record, Chauncey Billups is an amazing point guard and Ben Wallace is the most dominant limited player in the game. Rasheed Wallace is one of the NBA's top all-around talents, and the league would be in better shape if kids patterned their game after Richard Hamilton's.

That said, this romancing of the Pistons went too far when the Eastern Conference coaches voted all four on as reserves. While none of the Pistons were voted in by the fans, a few coaches admitted voting all five Detroit starters in as reserves.

Yes, they're the best team in the NBA. Yes, they're a sight to see. No, they're not All-Stars. Not four of them. Here's three reasons why:

by Charlie Rosen
Motor City meltdown?


In a matter of days, the hitherto fore invulnerable Pistons lost three games — to the Nets, the Pacers, and the Hawks (!). Suddenly, there's no more blather about winning 70 games and being better a better team than MJ and the Jordanaires. Why the dramatic fall from grace?
The long, exhausting season is one factor. It's extremely difficult for a team to play top-notch ball night after night, especially when all of their opponents are gunning for them. What better way to establish instant credentials than to beat the Pistons?
Another factor is Detroit's short bench. Carlos Arroyo is a shooting guard in a point-guard's body. Maurice Evans is spectacularly talented but still undisciplined. That leaves Antonio McDyess as the only dependable sub.
Also, the Pistons are still celebrating the unlocking of their individual offensive skills. Scoring is more fun than defending. And the team that scores the most points wins.
Right?
But the most significant factor is the penchant of too many Pistons to operate in cruise control on the defensive end. (Rasheed Wallace is the worst transgressor, with Ben Wallace not far behind.) Typically, they save their most aggressive lock-down defensive efforts for the end-game. However, allowing inferior teams to stay in the game is a dangerous tactic that's susceptible to a hot streak, a cold streak, or a bad call determining the outcome. Playing all-out all the time is the only way to prepare for the winning of a championship. For the Pistons, their playoff run to glory should start with the next opening tip-off of their next ball game.

__________________

Though the Pistons hold a 12-game lead in the loss column over the Heat, Detroit's closest competition in the Eastern Conference, they fully anticipate the giant will become beastly again during the postseason. A Miami victory today could signal a strong finish for the club that took the Pistons through a grueling seven-game series in the conference finals last season.

Wade has hot hand as Heat burn Pistons
Detroit shrugs off game in which guard scores 37, including 17 straight, to erase a 13-point deficit.
by Chris McCosky

MIAMI -- The Miami Heat finally found a way to beat the Pistons on Sunday. All it took was for Dwyane Wade to turn into a character out of an X-box game.

Zigging and zagging, spinning and flying, stopping and popping, Wade scored 17 straight points in the final 4:25 to lead the Heat out of a 13-point hole to a thrilling 100-98 victory.



Two-headed monster defeats Pistons
Miami rallies past Detroit with huge efforts from Wade, O'Neal
by DANA GAURUDER

MIAMI - There are a couple of nightmare scenarios where the Pistons don't get back to the NBA Finals for a third straight season. The first involves untimely injuries. The other develops when the game's scariest duo tells their teammates to get out of the way and let them win it.

Curtain No. 2 opened up Sunday.


Heat expose Pistons' inside game
by DANA GAURUDER

MIAMI - The Pistons have become a perimeter-oriented club, but they still have to score inside once in awhile. That point was driven home Sunday when they were outscored, 66-24, by Miami in the paint. A large reason for the disparity was Shaquille O'Neal's 31 points. Another was Detroit's lack of an inside presence.

All but six of Rasheed Wallace's 15 field goal attempts came from beyond the 3-point line. A poor offensive showing by Tayshaun Prince also aided Miami's cause. Prince had his second consecutive 2-for-12 performance from the field.




Pistons drop the ball in Miami
Published by Matt Watson on February 12th, 2006 in Games.

The Pistons lost a stomach-punch game to the Heat, allowing a double-digit lead entering the fourth quarter to dwindle before losing by two. Dwyane Wade scored Miami's final 17 points to finish with a season-high 37 to go along with eight rebounds and four assists. Shaquille O'Neal scored 21 in the first half and finished with a season-high 31.

It's hard to pin down what exactly went wrong for Detroit aside from a series of breakdowns late in the game. A team that scored 59 in the first half mustered just 39 in the second, including a dismal 14-point fourth. Chauncey Billups, Rip Hamilton and Rasheed Wallace all topped 20 points, but Tayshaun Prince shot just 2-12 from the field to finish with five, with a last-second three-point try to win clanging out to end the game. But the loss is hardly Tay-Tay's fault — the entire team just lost its flow in the fourth as Miami turned up the pressure to win their first game of the season against one of the league's top four teams.


NY Times: Tay was almost an All-Star

According to today's NY Times, Tay Tay had his fair share of supporters amongst the fourteen Eastern Conference coaches1 in their voting for All-Star reserves.



Motown Soundtrack: It’s all in the game
By Adriano Albuquerque

Even if the Detroit Pistons did enough to get part of the world off their bandwagon for a while this week, allowing everyone to start praising the Dallas Mavericks instead, there were still enough coaches in the Soul Train to vote four Pistons to the All-Star Game. It was an honor that put this team in the same group as three Boston Celtics teams, two Los Angeles Lakers teams and the 1982-83 Philadelphia 76ers – all some of the greatest in history.



MIAMI 100, DETROIT 98: Heat's Wade smokes Pistons
by KRISTA LATHAM

MIAMI -- As Dwyane Wade scored 17 straight points for the Miami Heat in the fourth quarter, including the winning fadeaway jumper with 2.3 seconds left, the Heat bench cheered like mad along with the 20,000-plus fans at American Airlines Arena.

On the other bench, the Pistons' stoic gaze never shifted. The players sat still in their chairs. They didn't react during Wade's countless jumpers, nor to the Pistons' few moments of success down the stretch.


PISTONS CORNER: Inside game may need a second look
by KRISTA LATHAM

MIAMI -- Every so often, the question comes up.

Are the Pistons relying too much on their outside game?

The usual answer is that the Pistons take what defenses give them and that as long as those shots go in, there's no problem.



Inside the Pistons
by A. Sherrod Blakely

INSIDE THE PISTONS

A look at the Pistons heading into this week:

Who's hot: Chauncey Billups continues to prove he's one of the NBA's best players this season. In four games during the last week, Billups averaged 19.5 points and 8.8 assists per game.


Heat out to prove they're better than record indicates
by A. Sherrod Blakely

MIAMI -- One of Rasheed Wallace's favorite phrases after an opponent misses a free throw is, "The ball don't lie."

The same can be said about the Eastern Conference standings, in which Wallace's Detroit Pistons (41-8) have a decisive lead over Miami (30-20) for the conference's best record.

That's why the Pistons anticipate the Heat will try to show today that the gap between the two isn't nearly as wide as their records might indicate.



An elite performance
Dwyane Wade had 18 of his 37 points in the fourth as the Heat erased a 13-point deficit to earn its first win over one of the top teams in the NBA. 'It's important for our confidence,' Wade said.
by ISRAEL GUTIERREZ

No team, not even the best team; no trend, not even the most disappointing of trends; and no deficit, not even the most daunting of deficits, could hold down Dwyane Wade on Sunday afternoon.

So if it took 17 points in a row from Wade to bring his team back from a 13-point fourth-quarter deficit against the best team in the league, that's what he would do.


Heat beat Pistons = All is well?
by Greg Cote

The Heat beat the visiting Pistons today, 100-98, fueled by Dwyane Wade's remarkable 18-point fourth quarter -- ending Miami's 0-7 skid against the NBA' s best teams this season.

Miami had been blown out on the road in its previous game, by Dallas. That result caused predictable hand-wringing and Pat Riley-bashing as the rats began to jump ship.Awade

Does this win bring everything back? The disillusioned fans? The championship hopes?


The Formula
by ISRAEL GUTIERREZ

I was talking to an Eastern Conference scout at halftime, one who hadn't seen the Heat play in a while, and he said he thought Dwyane Wade was better under Stan Van Gundy. I agreed and had been thinking this for a while.

The reason is this: For all the experience Pat Riley has, which has helped him get Gary Payton and Antoine Walker more involved in games, he's not really one to let a guard go isolation possession after possession. He's more old school and wants to either go in the post or run some sort of play. But when Stan was coaching, especially in the playoffs last year, he wasn't afraid to just line up Dwyane against his defender and let him go to town. And as you saw in the playoffs, it worked -- A LOT!

Well, look at the second half against the Pistons. Wade lined his guy up over and over, and it worked over and over again.


Guard saves his best for last
Dwyane Wade scored the Heat's final 17 points to outduel fellow All-Star Chauncey Billups to hand Detroit its ninth loss.
by JOSEPH GOODMAN

There's a reason Dwyane Wade will start in next week's All-Star Game. Sunday at AmericanAirlines Arena, Wade offered 17 pieces of evidence.

Wade scored Miami's final 17 points, including the game-winner with 2.3 seconds to play in a 100-98 win against the Detroit Pistons, currently the NBA's best team.

All-Star reserve Chauncey Billups, arguably the Pistons' best player, tried to the match Wade, but came up short.


Riley dances around the pressure
by ISRAEL GUTIERREZ

Perhaps Pat Riley has spent a bit too much time watching ABC's Dancing with the Stars reality show of late.

Because to help lighten the mood in his team's locker room Sunday afternoon, Riley unexpectedly broke into a 15-minute solo dance performance that easily took his players' minds off basketball. The tune? An unidentified Doobie Brothers song, possibly, Listen to the Music.

The moves? No one is quite sure how to explain them.

The motivation? It's all in the mind of Riley.



Wade pushes Heat past Pistons
by IRA WINDERMAN

MIAMI -- This is the victory the Heat needed, and how it needed it.

Down 13 at the start of the fourth quarter, and in position to drop yet another game to one of the league's elite, the Heat this time stepped up.

Or, more to the point, guard Dwyane Wade stepped up.

Sunday's 100-98 victory over the Detroit Pistons counts as only one game in the standings, as do all those previous nondescript victories against the NBA weak and feeble, the ones that had created doubts about a team playing .600 ball.


SKOLNICK: Heat dances to its own soundtrack
by Ethan J. Skolnick

MIAMI -- Forget revamping the roster, seething about doubters and harping on defensive rotations. This was what it took for the Heat to start looking and feeling like the better team it was last season:

A 60-year-old man needed to dance.

If indeed that's what Pat Riley was doing for a tension-relieving 10 minutes, after cranking up the Doobie Brothers' Listen to the Music before Sunday's 100-98 victory against the Pistons.

"I don't know what it was," Dwyane Wade said of the hapless hoofing and accompanying soundtrack.


Wade puts final touch on Heat victory
Winning shot in last seconds caps his record 17-point run
by Ira Winderman

MIAMI -- This is the victory the Heat needed, and how it needed it.

Down 13 at the start of the fourth quarter, and in position to drop yet another game to one of the league's elite, the Heat this time stepped up.

Or, more to the point, guard Dwyane Wade stepped up.



Commentary: One game doesn't alter perceptions
by Greg Stoda

MIAMI — The Heat is about sensational performance; the Pistons are about constant ones.

Therein lies the primary difference between Miami's aspirations of greatness and Detroit's definition of it.


Heat has flashback
by Chris Perkins

MIAMI — Games such as Sunday's are why many feel Heat guard Dwyane Wade is destined for greatness.

It wasn't just that Wade scored a game-high 37 points. And it wasn't just that his game-winning jumper with 2.3 seconds left helped Miami overcome a 13-point fourth-quarter deficit and ease a heavy burden by defeating Eastern Conference nemesis Detroit 100-98.


Riley: Criticism wears on Heat
by Chris Perkins

MIAMI — Heat coach Pat Riley said Sunday that X's and O's aren't the biggest challenge to coaching this team, but rather it's addressing the mental burden it carried because it was losing to the NBA's best.

"There's so much doubt out there about our team," Riley said. "I think we have a very, very good team. I believe we have a good team. I think they believe they are a very good team, but sometimes getting inundated with a lot of, 'We're not good enough; we're not there; this team is poorly constructed,' whatever it is, it sort of gets to guys after a while; so that's one of the biggest challenges."

Saunders projects positivity
Despite rocky stretch, coach feels good even as Spurs, Mavericks close in for top NBA record.
By JoAnne C. Gerstner

The Pistons have lost three of their last five games.

So is it time to be concerned teams such as the Spurs and Mavericks are getting closer in the race for the NBA's top record?
Or time to remember the Pistons are still 41-9, with one game to go before the All-Star break?
Perhaps a little of both.

"We feel good about ourselves, even with what happened (Sunday's loss in Miami)," Pistons coach Flip Saunders said Monday.

"It was like pitching a perfect game, then hitting a guy in the ninth and giving up a homer and losing 2-1 with a one-hitter. There is no question that going into the All-Star break you get seven days off, even though some of the guys will be there, you clear your heads and then you basically come back and it's downhill for those last 31 games."

Pistons Rap
Risk taker
As a player and in front office, Dumars never has feared failure
By Chris McCosky

Just because his team has the best record in basketball and is cruising toward a third straight appearance in the NBA Finals, don't think for a minute Joe Dumars has stopped looking for ways to improve.

If Dumars has proved anything since he has taken control of basketball operations in the summer of 2000, it's he's not afraid to take risks.

That is why he continues to pick up the phone and listen to offers from other teams as the Feb. 23 trade deadline looms. That is why last Friday in Orlando, he sat down with Magic assistant general manager Dave Twardzik to revisit a potential trade he had already turned down a month ago.

Burning Questions
Low-post options are abundant
By Chris McCosky

Burning questions as the Pistons head for the break with, well, questions:

Q. Do you think the Pistons are going to have a problem in the playoffs because they are overly reliant on three-pointers?

A. When the starting frontcourt was Ben Wallace and Cliff Robinson, and the only low-post threat on the team was reserve Corliss Williamson, that's when they had a problem.

Now, with Rasheed Wallace, Antonio McDyess, Tayshaun Prince, and even Rip Hamilton and Chauncey Billups, the Pistons don't lack low-post options.

It was ugly in Miami.

Shaq or no Shaq, the Pistons should never be outscored 66-24 in the lane. And it is true one of the consistent variables in games they have lost is they have shot poorly from the perimeter and not worked hard enough to get the ball inside to where they could at least get to the free-throw line.

Will Thomas be bounced?
Knicks president falters, making or pondering moves
By Chris McCosky

Sure, the Knicks have more money than basketball sense.

Sure, they can withstand multimillion-dollar gaffes perhaps more comfortably than most other franchises.

But as much money as they are hemorrhaging these days, and for so little return on the investment, you have to figure heads are going to start rolling -- and you would think the first head on the block would be Isiah Thomas.

Alley-oop to ... Carlos Arroyo

Joanne C. Gerstner's Top 5: Dunk-meisters

Slam dunks

Detroit News NBA Power Poll

Pistons: Looking ahead




Billups not concerned with slide
Orlando inquires about Milicic, Arroyo
By Chris Silva

After three losses in five games, the Pistons have a chance to start the All-Star break on a winning note tonight when they play the revived New Jersey Nets at the Palace. After tonight, the Pistons are off for a week.

The All-Star game is Sunday at Houston.

San Antonio and Dallas are closing in on the Pistons for the league's best record, but the Pistons' panic button is stored in a far-off place.

Is it that important to head into the layoff with a victory? It depends on whom you ask.

"I don't know if it's that important," point guard Chauncey Billups said. "We need to get the win, of course, just need to get back in the winning column, but I don't know if it's that important.



By A. Sherrod Blakely

The Detroit Pistons are one of the NBA's best perimeter-shooting teams, and like most squads, they tend to play to their strengths.

However, there's a growing sense that they need to do a better job scoring inside than they have lately.

Considering they shoot so many 3-pointers, it's no surprise the Pistons are outscored inside, but not by that much.

Point guard Chauncey Billups said the Pistons must do a better job of establishing an inside scoring presence early in games. However, he doesn't believe the team should be too concerned about it.


In the last two games, the Pistons have been outscored in the lane, 110-54.



By Jemele Hill

New rule for future NBA All-Star Games: To be voted into the starting lineup, you must actually play for a team whose win total isn't around Lindsay Lohan's age.

Detroit's Chauncey Billups and Dallas' Dirk Nowitzki are serious MVP candidates. And when San Antonio's Tony Parker is putting up monster numbers and keeping the Spurs in the running to repeat as NBA champs.

Funny how the most obvious snubs from this year's all-star squad come from playoff-bound teams -- the Denver Nuggets' Carmelo Anthony, the L.A. Clippers' Sam Cassell, and Tayshaun Prince, the only Pistons starter not on the all-star team.

Anthony, the only top-10 scorer in the NBA not on an all-star team, is having his best season yet, and unlike the Cleveland Cavaliers' LeBron James, he's been in the playoffs. Cassell has turned the Clippers -- perennial screw-ups -- into a threat to win the Pacific Division. And Prince could be the most versatile player on Detroit's roster.





Pistons simply want to play well
By Dana Gauruder

Just a week ago, there was still talk about the Pistons winning 70 games. Three road losses later, the Pistons just want to head into the All-Star break feeling better about themselves.

Dwyane Wade's imitation of Michael Jordan won't be the last impression they come away with before the break, but they still must contend with perhaps the league's best trio in Vince Carter, Jason Kidd and Richard Jefferson tonight.


A home loss against New Jersey would give the Pistons a 2-4 record after a 39-6 start and jeopardize their league-leading record. They can already feel the hot breaths of San Antonio and Dallas, who have been quietly rolling along while the Pistons took their lumps against Indiana, Atlanta and Miami.





Nets fired up for Pistons rematch
BY OHM YOUNGMISUK

The Detroit Pistons have been a scary team this season, rolling through the league at a near record-setting pace. But Richard Jefferson says the Nets do not fear the best team in basketball as they enter The Palace of Auburn Hills tonight.

After all, the Nets are the last Eastern Conference team to beat the Pistons in a playoff series, even if it did happen in 2003. They extended Detroit to a seventh game in 2004 when the Pistons won the title. And they defeated Detroit two weeks ago at home.

Jefferson reiterated that the Pistons are the best team in the NBA. But he and the Nets (27-22) walk into this game feeling confident after they defeated them, 91-84, two weeks ago at the Meadowlands. The Nets had to turn in their finest defensive performance of the season. They played with the kind of intensity Lawrence Frank wishes for every game.

But they also needed Richard Hamilton and Rasheed Wallace to miss several shots at the end. The two shot a combined 11-for-38.


By Sam Blake

The Nets this season are 1-1 against the 41-9 Pistons, but both of those games were in New Jersey. Kidd knows it will require something extra to beat the two-time defending Eastern Conference champs in their own building, where they have dropped only two games and have won nine straight since an OT loss to Utah on Jan. 7.

"They're coming off a loss and I don't think they've had back-to-back losses all season," Kidd said of the Pistons, adding "we haven't played well on the road."

Kidd was slightly off: The Pistons actually did drop back-to-back games, at Indiana and at Atlanta a week ago.
The Nets captain, however, was dead-on in describing his own team's subpar performance away from the Meadowlands.

Busy couple of days by Matt Watson and Ian Cameron over at Detroit Bad Boys. Just proves that a disappointing loss now and then brings back all of the passion, humour and repressed anxiety diehard fans possess.


Will Ben answer the bell?
by Ian Cameron

The All-Star break is almost here, and it probably couldn't come at a better time for the Pistons. While their rivals for the best record in the league (SA and the Mavs) are peaking, the Pistons have dropped 4 of their last 8, equaling their total number of losses in the previous 32 games. Team performance has been up-and-down, but one factor has been constant throughout the last 8–toughness is lacking. A very telling stat: the Pistons have been outrebounded in all but one of those 8 games (with the lone victory on the boards being the February 1 win over the T-Wolves).


The Orlando Magic want Darko and Arroyo
by Ian Cameron

Whether or not you think Darko Milicic will ever be a productive big man in the NBA, the Pistons–and most importantly, Joe Dumars–seem ready to make it someone else's concern. Responding to questions about the ever-increasing Orlando trade rumors, Dumars had this to say to Chris McCosky of the Detroit News regarding a potential Darko swap:

"If something doesn't work out, you have to move forward," he said, speaking in generalities. "You are going to make mistakes in this business. The key is to keep moving forward and correct the mistakes as quickly as you can."

(micro: so now Joe is implying that drafting DMC was a mistake?)


If the refrigerator ain’t broke, why fix it?
by Matt Watson

Rasheed Wallace was asked about why the Pistons have been able to maintain the same starting lineup for over 50 games.

And he had a good answer, in typical Wallace style...


Are Alex Acker and Amir Johnson going to the NBDL?
by Matt Watson

If you're like me, you're probably pretty curious what exactly the Pistons have in rookies Alex Acker and Amir Johnson. Trouble is, a team with the best record in the league rarely has an opportunity to put a couple of rookies on the active roster, let alone get them into a game.

However, the time is nearing where those two players might finally get some playing time. . . in the NBDL.


Still burnt by the Heat?
by Matt Watson

Well, take solace in the fact that now that the celebration has finally died down on South Beach, those that follow the team are admitting that perhaps the Heat isn't all that hot...

Pistons 85, Nets 71
Pistons prove doubters wrong
Nets forward Jefferson said Detroit had 'come down to Earth' before his team's lopsided loss.
By Chris McCosky

Coach Flip Saunders has surrendered to the reality that, no matter how much success his Pistons team might have, somebody will always find something to complain about.

"It's a funny thing," he said before the Pistons put an 85-71 whipping on the New Jersey Nets Tuesday. "At the beginning of the season when we were playing well, everybody said they didn't want us to play like that so early because we wouldn't have anything left for the playoffs.

"Now that we've lost a couple of games, they are saying we've lost it."

Fantasy basketball
Individuals on bad teams might help save a season
By Sean Baligian

It's the All-Star break, and you're in crisis mode.
Don't worry. You still have time to save your season.
But don't be fooled by the good teams.
While it's only natural to look at the decent players on good teams, don't look past the many decent players on the bad teams.
With that in mind, let's take a look at some players competing for bad teams that could turn your season around.




Big ups to Billups

Pistons' priceless point guard voted Michigan's Best
By Krista Latham

At one time, the disappointments in Chauncey Billups' career grew like a pile of dirty plates after a banquet, one on top of another, until the rickety stack nearly toppled to the floor.

That was the day Billups, the Pistons' All-Star point guard, almost gave up on his dream.

It was 2000, and Billups, just 23, found himself traded to the fourth team of his young NBA career, the Orlando Magic. He brought with him a shoulder injury that ensured he wouldn't play the rest of that season.

And he knew the Magic likely would opt not to keep him at season's end, so he would move on to his fifth team in four seasons.

Pistons his break with win
run in 3rd makes them 42-9 at turn
By George Sipple

In the final game before the All-Star break, Richard Hamilton, celebrating his 28th birthday, got an unexpected rest.

Hit with his fourth foul early in the third, Hamilton saw his teammates go on a 14-0 run in the third quarter en route to an 85-71 victory over the New Jersey Nets on Tuesday night at the Palace.

"I thought I was going to have an early vacation, to tell you the truth," said Hamilton, who received a technical in the second quarter but finished with 18 points.

The Pistons (42-9) appropriately wore their red jerseys in the Valentine's Day game and are 7-0 in their alternate duds.

Milicic-to-Magic deal not done yet
Agent: Darko just wants to play
By Krista Latham

Backup center Darko Milicic hasn't demanded a trade, said his New York-based agent, Marc Cornstein. But Cornstein said Tuesday that Milicic wants to be somewhere he will have an opportunity to play.

Milicic could get that opportunity.

The Orlando Magic has offered injured center Kelvin Cato and a first-round draft pick for Milicic and backup point guard Carlos Arroyo, whose minutes have decreased this season.

ESPN.com reported late Tuesday, citing anonymous NBA sources, that the deal appeared close to completion.

The Orlando Magic has offered the Pistons Kelvin Cato and a first-round pick for Darko Milicic and Carlos Arroyo.

POINT COUNTERPOINT: Should the Pistons deal Darko?


TEAMMATES: Winter Olympics thoughts

The stars are coming out -- even the B and C list ones




By A. Sherrod Blakely

Trying to stay focused can be a major challenge for NBA players in the last game before the All-Star Game break.

Instead of concentrating on filling the lane, many are thinking more about flying to some balmy desert island for the rest of this week.

Pistons coach Flip Saunders readily admitted he was concerned about that prior to Tuesday's game against New Jersey.

Those concerns were put to rest quickly as the Pistons pulled away in the second half for an 85-71 win.

Pistons contemplating trading Milicic, Arroyo to Magic
By A. Sherrod Blakely

Detroit's 85-71 win against New Jersey on Tuesday was like most nights for Pistons reserve center Darko Milicic.

He sat on the Pistons bench for most of the game, hoping that his opportunity to get serious playing time in the NBA would come.
Milicic, who was scoreless in four minutes, may get his wish.

The Pistons are pondering whether to trade him, along with guard Carlos Arroyo, to the Orlando Magic in exchange for center Kelvin Cato (and his expiring contract) and the Magic's first-round selection in June's NBA draft.




By Dana Gauruder

Life's defining moments collided in a sweaty pile before the Pistons reached the All-Star break. Another sellout Palace crowd witnessed a wedding, a birthday and a burial in less than three hours.

A nervous couple was married on the court during halftime, but the Pistons gave their fans an even bigger kiss off. They finished off their pre-All-Star lovefest with the home crowd by winning their ninth straight at The Palace, shoveling the Nets underneath the floorboards, 85-71, on Tuesday.

Bouncing back with authority after their fourth-quarter collapse in Miami on Sunday, the Pistons had three players achieve double-doubles as they headed into the break with a league-best 42-9 record.

Darko's agent keeps eye on trade rumors
By Dana Gauruder

Darko Milicic walked into the Pistons locker room Tuesday night sporting a buzz cut. The buzz about Milicic's future with the Pistons is drawing even more attention.

Milicic, cooler head and all, could be wearing another uniform after the trade deadline Feb. 23. The Pistons are mulling a couple of offers for Milicic, who hadn't played in the past six games entering Tuesday.


One very public rumor involves a proposal by Orlando to trade Kelvin Cato's expiring contract and a first-round pick for Milicic and point guard Carlos Arroyo.
The Pistons would like to gain salary-cap relief in order to re-sign Ben Wallace, who becomes a free agent in July, and Chauncey Billups, who will opt out of his contract after next season. They'd also like to get a quality young player in return, one already in the league or a high lottery pick.





Nets sputter in Motown
Vince cold in latest road loss
By OHM YOUNGMISUK

About six minutes into last night's game, Vince Carter walked off the floor complaining about how he couldn't breathe.


"It felt like I was playing with a ton of bricks on my chest," Carter said of a cold he was fighting.

About two quarters later, the Nets' offense was gasping for air against the Pistons' suffocating defense. Detroit closed the third quarter with a 22-4 blitz to turn a three-point game into an 85-71 rout at The Palace of Auburn Hills.

"We fell asleep at the wheel," Jason Kidd said.
It was not a Valentine's Day to remember for the Nets. For the occasion, the Pistons wore their red uniforms, forcing the Nets to play in their home whites.




Nets Rejected in Bid to Join the Elite
By DAVID PICKER

Vince Carter sat on the Nets' bench early in the fourth quarter looking as if he had been punched in the gut. Next to him was Jason Kidd, who looked as if he had taken a hit to his pride.

The blows were delivered by the Detroit Pistons, who coasted to an 85-71 victory at the Palace of Auburn Hills on Tuesday night.

The Nets (27-23) were hoping to prove they belonged among the N.B.A.'s elite. The loss was a stinging setback.