[Detroit Bad Boys]

FreeDarko on McSweeney?s

Congrats to Bethlehem Shoals and the rest of the FreeDarko crew for their new spot at McSweeney's. Their first piece, My Faith Is in the Specter, is a gem and might, might explain my absolute loyalty in Darko Milicic's potential. (But probably not, since Darko is still going to be a stud.) Their latest post [...]


Listen up, New York

"I'm in this for the long haul."
–Larry Brown, when asked if he would walk away from the Knicks job at season's end.
That's right Knick fans–it's time for you to take part in one of the most time-honored traditions of 'play-the-right-way' basketball: the frenzied speculation over whether LB will continue to grace your team [...]


Blood from the Shoulder of Pallas

Richard Hamilton hits a midrange shot off of a Billups pass. So many things have gone right for him to get that open look, but we quantify what we easily observe; we value Hamilton’s shot with two points and Billups’s pass with an assist. However, statistics don’t credit Ben Wallace’s pick, or the attention the rest of the defense pays to Rasheed, or Hamilton’s ability to induce fatigue in his defenders, or an opportune play call by Flip Saunders, or a host of other things. Unlike baseball, a basketball game is basically one fluid and exceptionally complex event.

Micro: This is a must read in case you miss the link in the Detroit Bad Boys articles above.

[Detroit News]

Hamilton's jumper sinks Sonics
"I know before I get the ball if the shot is going in or not," Hamilton said. "It's all a rhythm shot. The follow through and the shot are the easy part. It's just getting there and stopping on a dime, and being in the right place at the right time, and getting the shot off."

True basketball fans treasure Pistons' success
The golden era of team play in the NBA is ... now? You may not have heard much about it but while Shaquille O'Neal, Kobe Bryant and Phil Jackson were feuding, splitting up and coming back, the aw-shucks San Antonio Spurs won two titles. The who-are-you-again Detroit Pistons won one, made the Finals twice and maintained a 72-win pace the first half of this season.

[Detroit Free Press]

Pistons reign in Seattle
The score was tied at 96 with 20.9 seconds to play after Sonics guard Luke Ridnour sank two free throws. The Pistons called a time-out and set up a play for Hamilton to run the baseline and get open for a long jumper from the corner. It worked, and Hamilton's shot fell with 0.2 second left.

"Dinosaur" discovers new era
"This is more me," said Delk, a 32-year-old guard. "Not to say the guys in Atlanta are bad guys. They're young guys, and they're building around young players. But this is a veteran team, and veteran guys know how to play with each other, and they understand the game."

Billups lends a big hand
Pistons point guard Chauncey Billups announced Wednesday he's donating $100,000 to and becoming involved with a program that gets Denver's inner-city children into classrooms, mentorships and, hopefully, college.

[Seattle Times]

Sonics hang on till end, but Pistons have last say
With the score knotted at 96-96 with 20.9 seconds remaining, Detroit's Chauncey Billups began the possession at the top of the key, where he proceeded to dribble out the clock. The Sonics were focused on a pick-and-roll between Billups and Rasheed Wallace, and coach Bob Hill designed a defense during the previous timeout to negate the play.

[NBA.com]

Patriots frazzle the Dazzle
The Fayetteville Patriots got another big night from veteran NBA player Mateen Cleaves and a solid debut from a pair of newly-arrived Detroit Pistons to beat the Roanoke Dazzle, 132-120, in D-League action in Fayetteville on Friday .... Acker and his Pistons teammate Amir Johnson who was assigned to Fayetteville on Monday, dominated the final three minutes. Acker scored five, and Johnson hit five free throws to go along with a pair of steals, to shut down the Roanoke run.

[Fayetteville Observer]

Fayetteville assignment should benefit Johnson
“The Pistons are a great team to be with,’’ Johnson said. “Everyone in the organization has taken me under their wing, from the coaches to the players, everybody. The team has a swagger when they go out on the court. They know they’re going to win, and that’s exciting to be part of that. But now I think they want to see me get out there on the court and show what I’ve learned. And I’m fine with that."

Pistons quiet Sonics

The Pistons trailed the Sonics for much of the first half, and with a little more than three minutes remaining in the second quarter they faced a 33-43 deficit. Rather than letting the Sonics turn it into a rout, however, the Pistons caught fire by scoring 17 points in the final 3:15 to enter halftime [...]


Gilbert Arenas is crazy

Wizards guard Gilbert Arenas claims that the Pistons so often get the benefit of the doubt from the refs that "you have to totally outplay them to barely beat them." Umm, Gilbert… have you seen any of Detroit's games lately?

Hamilton gives Billups some big-shot company

LOS ANGELES -- Maybe we need to call them, Misters Big Shot.

Pistons run out of gas vs. Lakers

LOS ANGELES -- Former Pistons coach Doug Collins used to call it fool's gold. It's when a team builds a false sense of security from hitting a bunch of spectacular shots from the perimeter early in the game.




Tired legs, Kobe's 40 leads to Lakers' win over Pistons, 105-94
by KEN PETERS
ASSOCIATED PRESS

Kobe Bryant scored 40 points, Lamar Odom had 24 points and 10 assists, and the Lakers took a 105-94 victory Saturday night over the Detroit Pistons, who have the NBA's best record.

"It was a big win for us and a win that we don't usually get, against a great team like Detroit," Bryant said. "It's probably the biggest home win of the year for us.



Highlights from the March 4th, Pistons @ Lakers Game (Video)




Fayetteville plays Florida this evening. Audio is free, streamed from the NBA D-League website.

Sunday, March 5
Fayetteville @ Florida
5:00 p.m.

http://www.nba.com/dleague/

Lakers Get It in Gear
They beat Detroit for the first time in seven games, a well-earned 105-94 win over the NBA's best team that gives new life to L.A.'s playoff drive.
by Mike Bresnahan

It was like old times at Staples Center, a throwback to four, five, six years ago, when victories were plentiful and all — well, most — was well in the Lakers' sphere of influence.

They took it to the Detroit Pistons on Saturday, beating back the league's top team with a surprising but well-earned 105-94 victory that filled the Laker stretch drive with new life and reminded Laker followers that the past wasn't all that long ago.





Lakers are the elite
Lakers' rally stuns Pistons
by Ross Siler

The Lakers weren't supposed to beat the Detroit Pistons because they hadn't in six games since the 2004 NBA Finals and because the Pistons came into Saturday night's game on pace to win 68 games this season.

They weren't supposed to beat a team that sent four players to the All-Star Game and has been chasing greatness, especially not after falling behind by 13 points midway through the third quarter.

They weren't supposed to beat the team that holds the patent on lock-down defense and 18-0 runs and everything the Lakers did right at the end of the third and start of the fourth quarters.

Out of nowhere, though, the Lakers came up with their most improbable and impressive win since Phil Jackson returned as coach, pushing back to beat the Pistons 105-94 with the Staples Center crowd on its feet in the end.

Pistons fall asleep at the wheel in Los Angeles

Got an IM this afternoon from Ian, who wasn't able to watch the game last night:
4:27 PM Ian: what the f happened to the Pistons last night?
I can sum it up with two numbers: 18-0.
After Carlos Delfino drained a three with 3:06 left in the third quarter, the Pistons basically took a nap [...]

More fuel for the Pistons-Bulls rivalry

Should the Bulls get their act together and sneak into the playoffs — they're currently two and a half games behind Milwaukee for the last spot — we could be treated to a feisty first round matchup between Chicago and Detroit. Steve Luhm of the Salt Lake Tribune examined the rivalry today, digging up some [...]

Alex Acker and Amir Johnson lighting up the NBDL

I had previously mentioned in passing that Amir Johnson and Alex Acker should be able to put up some numbers with the NBDL Fayetteville Patriots if they got the playing time… but even I didn't expect this.
Acker joined Fayetteville just two hours before tipoff on Friday but still managed to score 28 points, three [...]

Bulls want to emulate Pistons

CHICAGO - So the Detroit Pistons won't be beating that 72-10 Bulls record from 1995-96 after losing No. 11 on Saturday night to the Lakers and Phil Jackson. "I thought about that," Jackson admitted.
Still, the Pistons are cruising toward the top seed in the East while the Bulls are in the ninth spot with a shot at moving up one. Wouldn't the NBA love that for a first-round playoff matchup? The story lines are already there thanks to Rasheed Wallace's laughing at and taunting the Bulls in a December Detroit victory and Scott Skiles suggesting the Pistons are more whiners than winners in a commentary on their complaining to referees after a Bulls loss last month. Perhaps that's where Antonio Davis is missed most on a non-confrontational team that needs the coach to do the challenging.

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http://img207.imageshack.us/img207/6137/iverson2ue0.jpg

Scheduling wins and losses

Heard of the term "schedule loss"? It's a term some might use to describe the way the Nuggets pushed the...


It's official: Billups will steer USA

"His inclusion had been known for weeks, if not months, but Sunday it became official. If the USA is to return to worldwide dominance and win an Olympic gold medal in 2008, it will be Pistons point guard Chauncey Billups running the show."


Tough stretch took its toll

"The road losses at Denver and Los Angeles last week were as much related to their recent travel-heavy schedule as any kind of breakdown in their system or their play."


INSIDE THE PISTONS
A look at the Pistons heading into this week:

Who's hot: Chauncey Billups continues to make a strong case to be considered for the league MVP award. In four games last week, Billups averaged 21.8 points and 10.3 assists per game, and had three double-doubles.

Page 2's ode to Bill Laimbeer

In honor of yesterday's Academy Awards, Patrick Hruby of ESPN Page 2 profiled some of the Association's greatest actors in "The Art of the Flop." As you can imagine, the original Bad Boy–Bill Laimbeer–was featured prominently in this piece. Hruby describes the best of all-time this way:
The Godfather. A master at appearing hurt [...]

Keeping up on the farm

Looks like following Alex Acker and Amir Johnson's progress with the D-League Fayetteville Patriots just got a bit easier: Pistons.com just added a Pistons Patriot Games tracker.

The Devil speaks

Duke's Mike Krzyzewski, coach of Team USA on Chauncey:
"I think he's a consummate point guard," Krzyzewski said. "He makes hard passes look easy. He runs the team. He knows the time to score. He feels the nuances of the game. He can flat out shoot it. He's great at end of game situations at the [...]



Billups earns K's praise

Though his wife's pregnancy will prevent Chauncey Billups from helping Team USA in Japan at the World Championships this August,...



Duty calls

"Team USA's most valuable player won't be playing in this summer's world championship, and it's not Shaquille O'Neal, Tim Duncan or Kevin Garnett. It's Chauncey Billups. "


Granting rest for the weary

"Coach Flip Saunders hoped the break would rejuvenate his tired team before the season's final stretch that begins with practice today and a game against Chicago on Wednesday."



Looking ahead: Pistons

"Even though the Pistons have crushed the Bulls three times this season, this still is a nasty rivalry."


Alley oop to ... Pistons broadcaster George Blaha

"Q . Are you a movie buff? A . I usually watch movies at home."


Road tour gets blame for fatigue

"Q . Why are the Pistons looking tired at times, such as down the stretch against the Lakers and Nuggets last week?"


Billups has the game because of versatility

"Whom better then to ask this question: How good an international player will Chauncey Billups be?"



Pistons trying to focus on strong regular-season finish
by A. Sherrod Blakely

AUBURN HILLS -- Like a slew of crunched-up vehicles on the side of the highway you're driving on, there are some things that are just too inviting to ignore no matter how hard you try.

Staying focused on the road ahead will be one of the Detroit Pistons' biggest challenges during the final 23 regular-season games before what they anticipate will be a long playoff run.

Damage control?

At the beginning of the season, the Pistons quote machine was churning out repeated statements like the following from Chauncey, et al:
"We are working on getting home-court advantage. That is our regular-season goal. We all know if we had it last year, we would be starting this season as two-time defending champions."
For 40-something games [...]


Tony Ronzone: Chauncey Billups has international style

Tony Ronzone, Pistons international scout extraordinaire, thinks Chauncey Billups is a good fit to lead Team USA in the Olympics. From the Detroit News:
"Chauncey is just perfect," Ronzone said.
"He can adapt to any style of play. In the international game they play so much zone. That's one of the reasons we've been getting [...]




Looking ahead: Pistons

Wednesday: Bulls



"Psyched" to be Home
by Eli Zaret

I'm writing this flying back on Roundball One, reflecting on a week-long trip with America's most celebrated sports road show. For reasons I can't explain, time feels so extended on the road. One day feels like three and a week feels like month. Although it's a privilege to travel with the world's best basketball team, we're all ready to get back to our own beds and our families. I can’t even wait to walk the dog again.




Motown Soundtrack: Chill Out
By Adriano Albuquerque

What else can go wrong for the Detroit Pistons? First, they start losing with regularity. Then, Tayshaun Prince doesn’t make the All-Star squad. That’s followed by GM Joe Dumars trading away Carlos Arroyo and Darko Milicic and both of them turning into studs instantly with the Orlando Magic. In the All-Star Game, coach Flip Saunders has the “brilliant” idea of using his four players, not tired enough from playing more than 35 minutes a game regularly, for almost two entire quarters each. Now, Rasheed Wallace approaches his first technical fouls-related suspension, Tayshaun Prince wants more of the ball, Chauncey Billups says he’s tired and the team looks like it’s forgotten what was good about them.