http://msn.foxsports.com/nba/teamRep...pe=InsideSlant

During his first two seasons, third-year center Darko Milicic was in a funk over a lack of playing time. With a new coach and a strong preseason, Milicic appeared to be on the verge of a breakout season. But Milicic hasn't played as much as he expected, and he's showing signs of frustration.

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The Sporting News, 11/23/05

Pistons are even better without Brown

It's almost as if the Pistons are toying with teams, but what they are going through, really, is a natural evolution: Virtually all of their players are in their primes, and given their natural tendency toward unselfishness, the team is also in its prime.

The Detroit news ~

Travel-weary Pistons duck Bucks
They withstand late arrival in Milwaukee; Billups and Hamilton are key in final minutes.
By Chris McCosky

In a week or more, this game will be long forgotten. Cold nights in Milwaukee at the end of November don't normally become instant classics.
But as much as any of their victories this season, Saturday night's 85-76 triumph over the Bucks Saturday showed the championship mettle of this team.

Pistons go on late show after loss
Flight to Milwaukee is delayed because of snow and ice; team arrives at hotel at 4 a.m.
Chris McCosky

Just when they thought the night couldn't get any worse -- or any longer.
The Pistons, following a grueling, three-hours-plus, 120-114 double-overtime loss to Washington on Friday night, had to sit on a runway for nearly two hours because of snowy and icy conditions before taking off for Milwaukee.

They arrived at the hotel at approximately 3 a.m. local time, which, according to the players' body clocks, was 4 a.m. A short 17 hours later, they were tipping it off against the Bucks.

The Oakland press ~

Milicic's playing time shrinking
by Dana Gauruder

The first two seasons of Darko Milicic's career were a learning experience. At the moment, the Pistons' third-year center could pick up something from a rookie.
Milicic has not played as much as anticipated after a number of strong performances this preseason. He hasn't been productive in his limited opportunities, and his body language suggests that he's once again frustrated by his role.

Coach Flip Saunders says Milicic, the team's first pick in 2003, should take his cue from 2005 fi rst-rounder Jason Maxiell.

Pistons grind out win over Bucks
by Dana Gauruder

The Pistons might have been tired, but their defense never rested.
After an exhausting double-overtime loss the night before, the Pistons didn't look fluid taking jumpers against Milwaukee on Saturday night. They never stopped getting their arms into the passing lanes or contesting shots at the defensive end as they grunted to an 85-76 win at Bradley Center.

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel ~

Pretty ugly
Pistons do enough to prevail in sloppy affair
By TOM ENLUND

Ugly victories count in the NBA standings too, which was why the Detroit Pistons were not complaining about their unsightly 85-76 decision over the Milwaukee Bucks on Saturday night at the Bradley Center.

The game matched two teams that had played the night before and struggled all night to find an offensive rhythm. In the end, the Pistons showed the perseverance that has carried them to the NBA Finals the past two seasons.

Flip's no flop
Saunders has Pistons off to impressive start
By Charles F. Gardner

Flip Saunders took his sweet time waiting for the Larry Brown saga to unfold last summer.
When the inevitable happened - Brown parted ways with the Detroit Pistons and eventually was hired by the New York Knicks - it cleared the way for the 50-year-old Saunders to be hired as the Pistons' coach.

Thus far, the marriage appears to be on solid ground. Saunders has loosened the reins on the Pistons' offense and led them to an impressive 10-2 record, following their 85-76 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks at the Bradley Center on Saturday night.

Carlos Arroyo chat transcript:

http://www.nba.com/news/arroyo_112305.html

The Detroit news ~

Saunders to test bench strength
Finding playing time for Milicic and Delfino is essential if Pistons are to achieve long-range goals.
Chris McCosky

Saunders knows championships aren't won in November or December. The early months of a season are for building foundations and trust so that when you hit the stretch drive, you know which players you can count on and which you can't.
It's time, essentially, to separate the men from the boys on the Pistons bench.

"We have to start playing some of these guys," Saunders said. "We have to get them some experience so we know where they will be at the end. … We have to make sure we work and develop our bench. Maybe we take a step back in some things to get those guys some more minutes and get them some confidence."

The Detroit Free Press ~

Professor Saunders likes early results
by Krista Latham

Through a long, 82-game NBA season, Pistons coach Flip Saunders prefers to evaluate his team in segments.
Each 10 or 12 games, he said he sits down for a study session to comb the stat sheets, thumb through his computer programs, watch his game tapes and review his thoughts before concluding where the team is at and where it needs to go next.

His first analysis was penciled in for after the weekend's back-to-back with Washington and Milwaukee. It's safe to assume the general results left him smiling, even if only momentarily.

Booth Newspapers ~

Poor shooting the cause of McDyess' early struggles this season
By A. Sherrod Blakely

This isn't the first time Antonio McDyess has struggled to begin a season. However, he understands that the situation now is, well, different than those of the past.

Left knee injuries in the past led McDyess down an early season road of uncertainty -- were the injuries behind him, or just waiting to re-appear?
Poor shooting seems to be the biggest hurdle for McDyess to overcome this season.

Steve Kerr's current ratings:

Are they worthy?

Yahoo! Sports:
Only Detroit, Dallas and San Antonio have established themselves as legitimate upper-echelon teams this season as the rest of the NBA sorts itself out.

lol kerr is good at coming up with jokes about the raptors:

"30. Toronto Raptors (1-13, Last week: 29) – The Raptors better not look past Dallas and Memphis as they anticipate Friday night's big matchup with Atlanta. "

LOL

The Detroit news ~

Garnett rumors won't die
He's staying put, but it's jazzier to stir up pot
Chris McCosky

Q. Why won't all these Kevin Garnett trade rumors go away?

A. Here's my theory on rumors and human nature. Fantasy is more fun than reality. It's why blogs and chatrooms are so popular. People sit in there and weave all kinds of dreams and scenarios. And if enough people talk about something, it takes on life.
And once it has life, people don't want reality to intercede.

The Timberwolves owner came out and said, emphatically, he wasn't trading Garnett and never had any plans to do so. Kevin McHale, vice president of basketball operations, said he had no talks with any team regarding Garnett and wouldn't entertain them anyway.

Hamilton is a 'pest'
Joanne C. Gerstner

Everybody in the NBA knows Pistons guard Rip Hamiltoncan score. But many are discovering he can play tough defense, too.
Hamilton starred Saturday defending Bucks guards Michael Reddand T.J. Ford. He will be challenged again Wednesday when the Pistons play at New Jersey, facing Vince Carter, Richard Jefferson and even Jason Kidd.

U-M was Garnett's choice
He would have enjoyed being on same team as Traylor
Chris McCosky

Kevin Garnett was reflecting last week on what might have happened if the current age restrictions had been in place when he was coming out of high school. He would have had to wait at least one year before applying for the draft.

"I was going to be a Wolverine," Garnett told the Minneapolis Star-Tribune. "Plus, I wanted to play with (Robert) Tractor Traylor. He was a friend of mine."

Driven to recover
Hunter's desire propels rehabilitation efforts
Joanne C. Gerstner

It would be so easy for Pistons guard Lindsey Hunter to stay home and chill.
He could take the day off, lounge in his warm bed and just let the cold winter world go by.

After all, Hunter has been on two NBA champions and earned a good living playing in the league since 1993.
Maybe it's time to retire and permanently become Mr. Dad for his wife and children.
But that won't happen, especially if Hunter has anything to say about it.

Basketball 101: Restricted area
Chris McCosky

There is still a great deal of confusion about those semicircles underneath each basket.

This arc with a 4-foot radius is called the restricted area. It was instituted a couple years ago to stop secondary defensive players from drawing charging fouls while standing underneath the basket.

The rule reads like this:
"An offensive foul for charging should not be called if the contact is with a secondary defensive player who has established a defensive position within a designated restricted area "

That seems cut-and-dried, right?
Naturally, it's not that simple.

Detroit News Power Poll

Joanne C. Gerstner's Top 5: Youth movement

Alley oop ... to Flip Saunders

Chris McCosky: Slam dunks

The Detroit Free Press ~

Coach Harper still has moves
by George Sipple

At the end of Monday's practice, Dale Davis, Carlos Delfino, Maurice Evans and Amir Johnson took turns against each other in one-on-one drills. Assistant coach Ron Harper also participated, and he managed to school each of them at some point in the session.

Joe Dumars, the Pistons' president of basketball operations, sat nearby and watched the performance with Rasheed Wallace and Lindsey Hunter. Wallace routinely yelled criticism, and his frequent target was Harper.
Wallace yelled, "Oh, baby!" after an impressive basket. If he thought a player had been fouled, he yelled, "And one!"

Booth Newspapers ~

Hamilton faces big defensive challenges against Nets
By A. Sherrod Blakely

Richard Hamilton's name probably doesn't come to mind when you think about the NBA's better defensive players.
Still, Hamilton understands there will be games -- such as Wednesday's contest against the New Jersey Nets -- when his ability to defend will be just as important as his offense.

Hamilton's defensive challenge on Wednesday will begin with Vince Carter, the Nets' leading scorer whose size, strength and ability to play well above the rim pose matchup concerns. When he's not guarding Carter, Hamilton will try to defend Jason Kidd, still one of the NBA's top point guards.

Yeah, I think they really are. Although the top 3 may be interchangeable.

Dallas looks awfully good, but I still think the Spurs are going to knock them out of the playoffs. I guess it's too early to be thinking about that stuff, though.