The team: Pistons happy to begin title chase as underdogs November 1, 2006 BY KRISTA JAHNKE The NBA's general managers recently shared their thoughts on the upcoming season through their annual preseason poll. The 28 executives who responded voted for Miami, San Antonio, Dallas, Phoenix, Minnesota and Orlando as the teams that have a chance to win a title this season. The Pistons have had more success in the past five years than all of the teams on that list, save the Spurs. The Pistons are coming off a season in which they won 64 games, advanced to the Eastern Conference finals and lost mainly because of badly timed injuries and a little too much wear and tear. Press clippings November 1, 2006 Detroit Free Press What they're saying about the Pistons in publications across the country Feel the in-ten-sity! November 1, 2006 Detroit Free Press Setting your TiVo in advance? Ten games you shouldn't miss on this season's NBA schedule: PISTONS CORNER: Rose will pick a team today November 1, 2006 BY KRISTA JAHNKE Last week, Joe Dumars emphatically gave his roster a seal of approval, saying, "I'll tell you what -- I like our team." But the Pistons' president is not one to shy from making a move he thinks will improve his squad. That's why Dumars will wait for word today from free agent Jalen Rose on whether he'll take a small role off the Pistons' bench for the veterans' minimum salary
Bucks at Pistons | Tip-off: 8 tonight, The Palace | TV/radio: TV20/WDFN 1130 For better or worse Pistons will miss Ben Wallace but probably will be better in many ways. Chris McCosky / The Detroit News Chauncey Billups and Tayshaun Prince are two-fifths of what might still be the NBA's best starting unit. The Pistons cannot win the NBA championship this season. That's what scouts and general managers across the league are saying. Not that the Pistons could maybe win if this and that would happen. It's a flat-out consensus -- the Pistons cannot win the title.
The Detroit News Wallace ejection caps ugly opener by Chris McCosky The Pistons might or might not be able to survive the absence of one Wallace. But the Milwaukee Bucks showed emphatically Wednesday that they will not survive the absence of two Wallaces. Guards let defense down by Chris McCosky The easiest target for criticism when you team yields 70 points in the lane, as the Pistons did to the Bucks in a 105-97 loss Wednesday, is the frontcourt defenders. The Detroit Free Press MILWAUKEE 105, DETROIT 97: Pistons fall in bland opening By Krista Jahnke It was only one game, a season opener, when jitters are high and the promised land of the playoffs is so far away. But if the first 48 minutes of the post-Ben Wallace era were indicative of what this season will look like for the Pistons, it will be a long five months. PISTONS CORNER: Playbook growing every day By Krista Jahnke Pistons coach Flip Saunders estimates he used half of his hefty playbook last season. Now, with the freedom of having an offensive-minded center in Nazr Mohammed and a player who can break down opponents off the dribble in Ronald (Flip) Murray, he's rapidly adding to that percentage. Mohammed's night full of ups, downs By Chris Silva Earlier this week, Nazr Mohammed said his top priority for opening night was to blend in with his new teammates. That took some time in his first regular-season game as a Piston. And when he did get comfy in his new environment, he was taken right out of it.
[Need4Sheed] Need4Sheed.com Is One Year Old Today Link To Original Article If you are wondering, Pistonsforum.com was 1 year old on September 1st 2006. [Detroit Bad Boys] Pistons wallpaper Do you like Pistons-related wallpaper that doesn't really make sense but still makes you feel nostalgic? Of course you do. So go put "What Would Buddha Do?" on your desktop. Link To Original Article [Detroit Bad Boys] Pistons wallpaper The fallout of Rasheed's quick ejection in Wednesday's game continues. He left Thursday's practice without answering questions (just like he was out of the locker room on Wednesday before the media was let in), leaving his teammates to answer questions for him. Pistons.com's Keith Langlois spoke about the situation: Rasheed Wallace?s undeniable image problem springs almost [...] Link To Original Article
Pistons: Zero Tolerance | HOOPSWORLD.com | NBA News and Information Pistons: Zero Tolerance By Yael Shacham
RealGM: Wiretap Archives: Billups Has Interest In Milwaukee? rumor mill at work... According to a close friend of Billups, the veteran point guard has interest in Milwaukee. And the interest might be mutual when the time is right.
Yeah I thought that was funny... Chauncey doesn't want to talk about his situation but his friend conveniently leaks his interest in the team with the most money... I just can't see him as a Buck... purely a leverage ploy.
I agree I believe it's false. And you can bet money if Billups left Detroit it wouldn't be for the Bucks. [sign]Welcome To Detroit City[/sign]
How the West is won By Keith Langlois “Most of the time you get a concentration of games – four in five days or something like that,” Porter said. “That’s really tough. Go back-to-back, get a day off, back-to-back again. You don’t get a day off between games a lot of times. It puts a lot of pressure on your bench. You’ve got to make sure you rest guys. That’s the biggest thing.
From NY Daily: Detroit had a chance to get Allen Iverson this past offseason, after the Celtics failed in a bid at the draft to deal for Iverson. But Detroit's Joe Dumars never gave it much thought. "There's no way I'm trading Chauncey Billups," Dumars recently told associates.
Even after the Pistons handled the Lakers convincingly on Friday, that Saturday loss to the Warriors was enough to keep the Pistons as only 20th best in the eyes of the LA TImes NBA poll. Sign Up - Los Angeles Times That same beat writer Mark Heisler also weighs in the Sheed Stern rules Sign Up - Los Angeles Times
"Some "crazy thoughts" used to run through Darko Milicic's head when he was buried on the bench in Detroit. He said the one he wrestled with the most was leaving the team, unannounced, and boarding a plane home to Serbia. And maybe he'd just stay there and play for his country's team, bidding the NBA a not-so-fond farewell."
PISTONS CORNER: Fine line of playing time link: PISTONS CORNER: Fine line of playing time Pistons find good rotation Murray, Hunter have produced well as primary backups, Saunders says. It took 10 games, but the Pistons' rotation seems to be coming into focus. link: Pistons find good rotation - 11/21/06 - The Detroit News Online
NBA Insider: Pistons firing again "It’s just all effort," Billups told the Detroit writers last week. "We’ve got good defenders. But it’s been a huge transition without Ben (Wallace). He made up for so many our mistakes and now we don’t have that luxury. We have to hold each other accountable. We have to hold our own feet to the fire and when we make a mistake you have to say, ‘My fault, I wasn’t there,’ or, ‘Why weren’t you there?’" link:MySA.com: KENS 5: Sports How East Was Lost: Mediocrity and Parity Welcome to the N.B.A. Eastern Conference, where the line between mediocrity and parity is blurring nightly. Joe Dumars, the Pistons’ president, coined a word to explain the trend: paridocrity. "We’re a team in transition," he said in Philadelphia, "and it’s a conference in transition as well." link:http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/26/sports/basketball/26hoops.html
Sam Smith interview with Matt Dery of WDFN, talking about Ben Wallace... http://www.pistonsforum.com/nba-stuff/5273-disgruntled-ben-wallace-what-shame-5.html#post60800 Also includes Matt Dery of WDFN sounding off on the "protection" Ben received from the local press.
