Originally Posted by themicrowave

A. Sherrod Blakely of Booth Newspapers Reports: After a recent practice, Antonio McDyess sat in the trainer's room, his left knee heavily bandaged with a couple of huge, leaky bags of ice. A similar scene a year ago in training camp would have been reason to be concerned. But those moments of trepidation aren't a problem now that the left knee injuries that sidelined the former All-Star forward for nearly three seasons no longer appear to be an issue. And because of that, McDyess began training camp last week with a level of confidence in his left knee that he hasn't had in years.

Originally Posted by themicrowave

Krista Latham of The Detroit Free Press Reports: One week of training camp down, eight preseason games, 82 regular-season games, and 20-some playoff games -- if you count a championship run -- to go. And it was a relatively quiet first week of practice for the Pistons, with no major position battles, no all-star additions and no championship swagger. Still, those hard, physical two-a-days did answer some questions and raise some new ones about the Flip Saunders era. How's the new-look offense coming? Thanks to the players' high basketball IQ, Saunders said he has already put in about five sets from his playbook, with many more coming.

Originally Posted by themicrowave

Joanne C. Gerstner of The Detroit News Reports: Pistons swingman Carlos Delfino learned many things during his rookie season in the NBA. He learned that the most important lessons involve fear, pain and confusion, but also that those things can lead to hope and confidence. Two right knee surgeries, two rehabilitations and more than a few setbacks have made Delfino stronger, physically and mentally. But it took the rehab task of pedaling hundreds of miles on his bike this summer to help him sort the lessons out. It was just Delfino, on his bike, alone with his thoughts.

Originally Posted by themicrowave

Chris McCosky of The Detroit News Reports:No more fake injury reports. No more made up maladies. Doctors are off the hook. General managers are off the hook. The NBA, in its new collective bargaining agreement, has mercifully done away with the old injured list. In its place is an inactive list, similar to what the NHL has. "The new CBA has cleaned things up for us so much," said John Hammond, Pistons vice president of basketball. "Especially from an organizational standpoint. Under the old rules, if you put a player on the injured list, he had to stay there for a minimum of five games. He may not have needed to be on that long. Now, if a guy needs to only miss a game, that's all he has to miss." Here's how the inactive list will work. Teams can carry as many as 15 players on their roster, with a maximum of 12 and a minimum of eight being active. A team can carry 11 active players no longer than two consecutive weeks.