So that's what happened to Jeff. Sweet jump shot.

[BEYOND THE ARC]

Down on the farm

Alex Acker and Amir Johnson are making the most of their D-league detour. On assignment to the Fayetteville Patriots while...

[Detroit Bad Boys]

What's eating Gilbert Arenas?

I cannot believe that it took us until now to pick up on this story. According to today's Free Press, Bullets guard Gilbert Arenas has stated that he'd like to play the Pistons in the first round of the NBA playoffs in order to exact revenge on Flip Saunders.
"What g*damned reason could [...]

[DetroitPistons.com]

Carlos Delfino makes trip in support of cornerstone schools
“For me this is great for me because we are in touch with the Hispanic community. From when I was a child, I needed somebody to look up to and to be like. This is also great for the kids. Giving inspiration to the kids is the best part of my job. When the kids spoke it in Spanish, it was exciting.” (Note: Carlos was also excited about taking home some authentic Mexican chow)

[MLive.com]

Disdain for defeat drives Pistons to the top
Said Ben Wallace: "When you lose, you go through a whole lot of different things. Food don't taste right. The sound in your car don't sound right. Your trip to the gym is longer. It's all a part of losing."

Pistons Bulletin: Expect Pistons to pass on Hoiberg; rookies on fire
Folks around the NBA are finally starting to see why the Pistons were so giddy over drafting Amir Johnson and Alex Acker in the second round of last June's NBA draft. While both guys are putting up impressive numbers in the D-League, what has impressed many in the NBA with the two is how they have brought a winning mindset to one of the worst teams in the D-League, and how that mindset has translated into victories.

[Washington Post]

Wizards Are Looking for a Repeat of Earlier Victory Over the Pistons
(Registration Required) When the teams met at the Palace of Auburn Hills on Nov. 25, the Wizards played one of their best all-around games and pulled out a 120-114 double-overtime victory. "They're the best team in the league right now and we're one of the teams that beat them," said Wizards guard Gilbert Arenas.

Pistons Feel That If It's Not Broken, Keep Winning
(Registration Required) The Pistons are the only team that has had the same starting lineup for all 60 games this season, which has contributed to much of their success. Such continuity is hardly the norm in a league filled with constant roster turnover, but Dumars said he has had no trouble keeping this team together.

"It's actually pretty easy because, when you make a change, you make it out of necessity and there has not been any reason to make any moves in terms of our starting five," Dumars said.

[Detroit News]

NBA Notebook
The New York Knicks and Chicago Bulls are subscribing to the theory that everyone is Irish on St. Patrick's Day. Or maybe they're just looking for some luck. The Knicks will wear green uniforms for the first time when they host the Detroit Pistons on Friday night, and the Bulls will be decked out in green the next day when they host the Miami Heat.

[Detroit Free Press]

Fifty victories not a significant milestone
Saunders said the Pistons will likely leave rookies Alex Acker and Amir Johnson in the NBDL until the team returns from next week's trip to Toronto, New York and Charlotte. ... Saunders also said there is no update on talks with guard Fred Hoiberg, who is considering a return to the NBA with the Pistons after off-season heart surgery.

[Foxsports.com]

Bryant, Billups will be key for Team USA
Bryant and Billups are clutch shooters, excellent passers, and incredibly skilled, as well as being strong defenders. On an international stage, Kobe will play much more unselfishly than ever before, while Billups' mature decision-making is unsurpassed. In fact, Bryant and Billups will not only be the squads' most important guards, but will be nothing less than the keys to Team USA's success.

[The Oakland Press]

Pistons' board work has slipped this year
Though the Pistons are trying to run more this season than they did under Larry Brown's guidance, Saunders doesn't buy that as an excuse. "We don't want to leak out," he said. "That's one of the things we talk about to our guards sometimes. We've got to get more rebounds out of our ones, twos and threes."

[NBA.com]

Pistons seek 50th win against slumping Wizards
The Detroit Pistons can become the first team in the NBA to reach 50 wins when they visit the sliding Washington Wizards on Saturday. Owners of the best record in the NBA this season, the Pistons, who have won 54 games each of the last two seasons, would match their franchise best of five straight 50-win seasons with a victory.

[Detroit News]

Pistons hope loss will motivate them
The way Chauncey Billups sees it, getting pummeled by the Washington Wizards 110-92 on Saturday might be one of the best things that happened to the Pistons this season. "For whatever reason, I think we felt like we were going to coast to the finish line and not do what we've been doing all season to be looked at as the best team in the league," Billups said. "We have gotten away from what we do a little bit. Guys are looking too far ahead to the playoffs. You know, we are so far ahead in the East that maybe we've let up."

McDyess has nose for work
From McDyess' standpoint, he wants to do more. He concedes that the broken nose has set him back. He was going to have surgery last week but decided against it. He had been playing at a high level before he took a hard shot in the face in New Jersey on Jan. 31 .... When asked if the nearly four minutes less per game made a significant difference, he said, "Yeah, it does. It makes a difference to me. From 19 to 23, that's totally different. But I'm just taking it in stride and waiting for the playoffs."

[Detroit Free Press]

Pistons fall to Wizards -- again
The Wizards won by shooting 55 percent, including 59 percent through the first three quarters. They led by six at halftime and then pulled away, scoring the first eight points of the second half to build a 14-point lead. Back-to-back 3-pointers from Antonio Daniels and Antawn Jamison then put Washington in full control.

[Washington Post]

Wizards Stun the Pistons Again
(Registration Required) With a little less than six minutes remaining and the Wizards ahead by 23 points, a fan sitting behind the home team's bench rose and yelled, "We own you, Detroit!"

[Washington Times]

NBA's best goes down
The beating was so complete that when an altercation broke out in section 116 with just more than six minutes left, the 20-point lead the Wizards held could do nothing to distract the gaze of most of the 20,173 fans, mostly because the game was over long before the scuffle.

[Fayetteville Observer]

Patriots' defense holds Flame at bay
The Flame was especially vulnerable inside against Fayetteville’s post players Rickert, Kevin Lyde, Ryan Randle and Amir Johnson. That foursome combined for 37 points and 35 rebounds in the game. Johnson, the 18-year-old NBA rookie who is on assignment from the Detroit Pistons, scored 18 points and had six rebounds in 29 minutes of work. [NOTE: Alex Acker didn't fare so well, with 9 points and 4 assists on 3-10 shooting]

[Detroit News]

Pressure defense returns
It wasn't the most awe-inspiring of victories, but for the Pistons, their 94-78 romp over the Charlotte Bobcats Sunday represented the first step on the road to recovery .... Rasheed Wallace , who contributed 10 points, two blocks and two steals, might have made his best play in pregame warm-ups. He stood at the top of the key with a ball in each hand and shot each at the same time. Swish and swish.

[Detroit Free Press]

Pistons step up 'D', get 50th
If there were a 12-step program for struggling basketball teams, the Detroit Pistons would be at about Step 3 in the recovery process. They took Step 1 and admitted they have a problem after getting sautéed on Saturday in Washington. And Sunday, they took Step 2, and reaffirmed their core identity as a defensive-minded team.

Pistons Corner: Focus now on shaking March swoon
"Listen, I've said many times, there's teams that are bad teams in this league, but there aren't bad players," he said. "Any night you give them a comfort level, they're going to go out and beat you."

[Charlotte Observer]

Observations
Looking back, it's astounding the Bobcats beat the Pistons twice last season. Not a single Detroit starter is inferior to his Charlotte counterpart and the benches at best are even.

[NBA.com]

Patriots rally to top Toros
Acker and Daniels scored 23 apiece, while Acker's Pistons teammate Amir Johnson added 21. "I like that kid Acker," said Toros coach Dennis Johnson, the Boston Celtics great who played at Pepperdine in the early seventies. "I've followed his career for a while, watched him a lot on TV. He's silky smooth and he plays with a lot of confidence."

Pistons' defense comes through when needed to whip Bobcats
Monday, March 13, 2006
By A. Sherrod Blakely

AUBURN HILLS -- The exasperated look on the face of Detroit Pistons head coach Flip Saunders following a defensive breakdown by his team on Sunday night said it all.

He's struggling to make sense of the Pistons' recent inconsistent defensive play.


Inside the Pistons
Monday, March 13, 2006

INSIDE THE PISTONS

A look at the Pistons heading into this week:

Who's hot: Newcomer Tony Delk seems to be getting more comfortable as his playing time increases. In his last two games, Delk has averaged 13.5 points per game in just 18.5 minutes per game. On Sunday, nine of Delk's 11 points off the bench came during a critical second-quarter stretch that helped the Pistons gain control of the game.



Wallace hurt in Bobcats loss
Forward expects to play again later this week
RICK BONNELL

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. - Was it a strain or was it a rip?

Actually it was both, doing in the Charlotte Bobcats on Sunday. First, Gerald Wallace strained a calf muscle four minutes into the game. Then, Detroit Pistons guard Rip Hamilton (24 points) had three baskets and an assist in a 9-0 run leading to a 94-78 win.

Wizards put a spell on Pistons

As Ian pointed out on Friday, I was able to make the trek down to D.C. this weekend to join some friends for the Pistons-Wizards tilt at the Verizon Center. We had pretty good seats, the first row of the second level from the opposite diagonal of the Pistons bench — Section 413, Row A, [...]


Pistons spay Bobcats (again) for 50th win

I didn't actually watch Sunday's Pistons-Bobcat game — unlike the Pistons, I didn't have Roundball One waiting for me after Saturday's game, and I was still driving when they took the court on Sunday. But just looking at the box score, it was nice to see that Rip Hamilton and Tayshaun Prince picked up where [...]