Showing posts with label Detroit Pistons. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Detroit Pistons. Show all posts

Friday, November 28, 2008

Practice? ... Iverson Skips Thanksgiving Practice


The Detroit Pistons held a morning practice session on Thanksgiving. But he team's newest player, guard Allen Iverson, didn't show up. According to Detroit coach Michael Curry, part of the rationale for holding a Thanksgiving practice was to help Iverson get acclimated to his new team's system and to develop chemistry with his new teammates:

"Some things you have to do," Curry said, "to pay the price to get to where we need to be."

Detroit will fine Iverson, and he won't start when Detroit hosts Milwaukee Friday night.

Iverson's indifference to practice is nothing new. After missing a practice when he was playing for the 76'ers in 2002, Iverson famously told the Philly media that he didn't understand why skipping practice was a big deal:

"Practice? ... We talkin' about practice, man! Practice! ... It's about practice ... We talkin' about practice ... How da hell can I make my teammates better by practice!?!"

Perhaps another press conference in which Iverson wittily ponders the merits of practice is on the horizon.

Tuesday, November 4, 2008

Iverson to Detroit; Billups, McDyess to Denver

Allen Iverson is headed to Detroit.

On Monday, the Denver Nuggets traded the 33-year-old, 13 year NBA veteran guard -- who happens to be in the final year of a $21.9 million dollars contract -- to the Detroit Pistons for guard Chauncey Billups, forward Antonio McDyess, and Senegalese center Cheikh Samb.

Monday, May 26, 2008

Detroit Beats Celtics, Evens Series

Tonight, Detroit defended their home court and pulled even in the Eastern Conference Finals by beating the Celtics 94-75. The series is now tied at 2-2.

The Detroit Free Press live blogged tonight's game. Their live blog can be found here.

Celtics, Lakers Hold 2-1 Series Leads

Last night, San Antonio kept the Lakers from taking a 3-0 series lead in the Western Conference Finals by holding off Kobe Bryant and his Laker teammates 103-84. The Lakers now hold a 2-1 lead.

In the East, the Celtics beat Detroit 94-80 on Saturday night. The Celtics lead the Eastern Conference Finals 2-1. The Detroit Free Press chronicles injured Detroit point guard Chauncey Billups' struggles.

Saturday, March 1, 2008

More NBA Veterans Joining New Teams

It looks like Dale Davis won't be joining Detroit after all. That's because Theo Ratliff agreed to a contract buy out with Minnesota, and appears to be headed to Detroit.

And point guard Sam Cassell has been bought out of his contract by the Clippers. If he clears waivers, he's expected to sign with the Celtics to back up Rajon Rondo.

Thursday, February 28, 2008

NBA Teams Stock Up on Veterans

P.J. Brown is back in the league. Yesterday, the 6' 11", 240 pound Brown (who had previously been out of the league this season) signed with the Celtics.

Brown attributes his decision to play for the Celtics to the urging of Paul Pierce and Ray Allen:

"They just pulled me over and said, 'Man, we'd really love to have you on the team,' " said Brown before last night's game against the Cavaliers. " 'With your experience, we think you can help our young guys and add some stability to our team. As a player, we still think you can play. Your defense and rebounding fits in with what we're trying to do."


And P.J. Brown isn't the only veteran big man who has caught on with a playoff bound NBA team in the last couple of days. Jamaal Magloire just joined the Dallas Mavericks.

According to the 6'11", 265 lb. Magloire, the decision to go to Dallas was easy:

"I've admired the team and the organization," he said. "I had a chance to come here and jumped at the opportunity. I've worked tremendously hard, even not playing in New Jersey. I'd be the first one in and the last one to leave and I hope I'm able to show that out on the court.

"Everything pointed in the right direction. There were other teams, but I thought this was the best fit. What also made the decision easy is this is a team that does have an opportunity to win a title. And to be a part of that is special."



And the Detroit Pistons are looking into the possibility of bringing back veteran forward Dale Davis:

"Former Piston Dale Davis could re-sign with the Pistons as early as Thursday, according to his agent.

"We're in pretty serious talks with them," said Chubby Wells, Davis' agent. "We hope to have something done soon."

Davis needs to sign with a team by the end of this week in order to be eligible for the playoff roster.

"He'll be signed in time for that," Wells said."



Every year, playoff bound teams look to add playoff tested veterans, especially big men. Don't be surprised to see a few more late additions to teams before playoff rosters have to be set.


On A Side Note:

Isiah Thomas has indicated that Stephon Marbury may have played his last game as a Knick. According to the New York Daily News, Thomas told reporters:

"Going into next season, we're still going to need another guard," Thomas said. "There's certain things that Nate (Robinson) and Jamal (Crawford) are extremely good at, but to have them do it for 48 minutes a night, you still need a third guard to kind of come in and help with some ball-handling and do some other things. And Fred (Jones) has done a good job. But we need to get better back there."

When asked if Marbury could be that guard, a suddenly nervous Thomas replied: "Let's talk about the Bobcats. Can I get a question about the Bobcats?"


Marbury is out for the season after undergoing ankle surgery. But Isiah has told him to stay away from the team:

"Marbury, who has appeared in just 24 games, decided to have season-ending ankle surgery last month. He no longer attends games and, according to one team source, Thomas has told Marbury to stay away.

Marbury will earn $22 million next season, his final year under contract."


Not that Marbury is likely to be too upset about not having to play for the rest of the season. After all, since he's recovering from ankle surgery, he's probably enjoying having a legitimate excuse for hanging around the crib all day, high on drugs (prescription painkillers, of course).

Aww hell, who are we kidding? It's not like Marbury actually needs Vicodin or Oxycontin. That cat smokes more weed than Snoop Dogg.

Stephon Marbury is one of the most perpetually blazed dudes in the league.

Check out this video of an obviously baked Marbury appearing on the local sports show, "Mike'd Up," on NBC Channel 4 in New York.

The video is kind of long (about 9 minutes), but it's well worth watching it all the way through. The weed seems to kick in harder as the interview unfolds. By the 5 minute mark, he's clearly losing it. By the 8 minute mark, he's really, really fkuced up.

But the most amazing part of the video isn't Marbury's obvious altered state, but rather the amazing professionalism displayed by the show's host (especially when confronted by Marbury's erratic behavior near the end of the segment).

Saturday, March 10, 2007

The Rasheed Wallace We All Know and Love

By Have Jumpshot Will Travel (a.k.a. Trashtalk Superstar)

Friday night, Detroit Pistons center Rasheed Wallace earned his seventeenth technical foul of the season and was, subsequently, suspended by the NBA. Way to go 'Sheed. Before your arrival in Detroit, you had long led the league in "T"'s and were generally viewed as the personification of the stereotyped NBA "thug." But we were told that you had "matured" and "grown as a person" in recent years. Glad to see that you're still keepin' it real. Don't let all tha haters get to ya, dawg.

Rasheed, you did a great job of keeping yourself in check during that '04 NBA title run. You joined the Pistons at the trade deadline and fit in nicely on what went on to be a championship winning team. You were the "mature" Rasheed Wallace, finally putting the team ahead of yourself. You even held it together in '05, when your Pistons lost to the Spurs in the NBA Finals. But last year you started to let your personality out of its cage. You started racking up the technicals again. You stopped being a "team guy." Interestingly, your team failed to get back to the Finals.

Al Gore once said, "a leopard can't change its stripes." Well Rasheed, I didn't know that leopards had stripes, but I'm glad that you haven't changed yours. Just as the "new" and "mature" Lindsay Lohan will eventually need to be "hospitalized" due to "exhaustion" or "dehydration," the "new" and "mature" Rasheed Wallace can still be counted on to put himself ahead of his team.

Yeah, Rasheed, screw all that team bullshit. It's still all about you.


Have Jumpshot Will Travel (a.k.a. Trashtalk Superstar).