Detroit Bad Boys

Pat Riley–apparently still dizzy from the bitch-slapping the Mavs gave the Heat on TNT last night–had this to say to the Palm Beach Post about about the perceived All-Star snub of Alonzo Morning by the Eastern Conference coaches:
“I’m disappointed in it,” Heat coach Pat Riley said. “He deserved it. Ben Wallace and the other guys […]

Need 4 Sheed — our first and favorite source of Pistons video content — has captured John Thompson’s interview with the entire Pistons’ starting five from last night’s TNT broadcast. Check it out here.
Oh, and while you’re watching, note the similarities between Rip’s outfit and this guy’s:
   

J.E. Skeets, at his new digs, The Basketball Jones, has an announcement:
In a concerted effort to get the entire Detroit Pistons team in Houston, NBA Commissioner David Stern announced a new event for the All-Star Saturday Night line-up – the Quaker Oats® Hustle Back On D And Try To Block A Lay-up Challenge.
The star-studded […]

If you think the folks here in DC are up in arms about Gilbert Arenas being left off the EC All-Stars in favor of Rip Hamilton, think again. Perhaps they were withholding their rage until after David Stern named Jermaine O’Neal’s injury replacement (rumored to be Arenas), but for the most part, sentiments on […]

Not to be outdone by the NY Daily News, the NY Post’s Peter Vecsey has revealed the entire Eastern Conference All-Star lineup ahead of today’s announcement. Piston fans will be happy to know that in addition to Chauncey, Rip, and Ben, Rasheed Wallace (whom Chauncey calls the team’s MVP) has also made the squad. […]

According to the NY Daily News, Chauncey, Rip and Ben will be named to the Eastern Conference All Star squad when reserves are announced tomorrow. Still no word yet on whether Sheed will replace injured Jermaine O’Neal in the lineup; check it out:
[Larry] Brown voted for all five Pistons starters to make the East […]

Chad Ford might be feeling a bit like a jilted girlfriend now that the national media has fallen for the Pistons. After all, Ford was one of the first nationally to sing the praises of Joe and the Pistons back in the pre-championship days. He has been a staunch defender of every coaching/roster […]

If current Rockets coach Jeff Van Gundy were back with the Knicks–in the Eastern Conference–the Piston starters’ chances of being named reserves for the East’s All-Star squad would probably be improved by a vote. Here’s Van Gundy, explaining his voting philosophy for the Western Conference reserves:
“I’m going to vote for all winners, nobody under […]

I have to stop myself from getting too worked up over games like last night’s 7-point win over the AI-less Sixers. The natural reaction, if you’re judging solely by the lineups and the final score, is to surmise that the Pistons’ effort-level was lacking or that the dog days prior to the All-Star break […]

The All-Star starters were offically announced, and as we knew all along, none of the Pistons were voted into the Eastern Conference starting five. Was Detroit disrespected? Hardly. It’s hard to argue with the star power of Allen Iverson and Dwyane Wade, even if Chauncey Billups has been more efficient. Shaq will probably start every […]

Matt wrote earlier about writer David Fleming coming home to Detroit and singing its praises on ESPN’s page 2.
Now for the flip side. Bill Emkow (who is largely responsible for MLive being considered a valuable source of sports information due to his work with the Detroit Lions forum) has posted a portion […]

One of my favorite non-Pistons, Kevin Garnett, had this to say in the Minneapolis Star Tribune after the Pistons blowout win over the T-Wolves last night (their second blowout win over the T-Wolves in the last nine days):
“This is a well-oiled machine,” Kevin Garnett said, held to a low-impact 14 points and 12 rebounds. “They […]

The Super Bowl has completely taken over Detroit, and like most people that live around here, I’ve been more than a little curious to see how the city would be portrayed in the national media. But I’ve yet to see a single article trashing the city, and instead have seen dozens of articles preemptively coming […]

Piston fans take different approaches to dealing with a loss. Me, I like to change the batteries in my smoke detectors, since they’ve obviously been sitting for a while.
But some fans, drunk off the success of a 37-5 start, fall deep into despair as soon as the Boys in Blue have a rough game […]

As a team, the Pistons have clearly blown away everyone’s expectations. Individually, Chauncey Billups has played like an MVP, Rip Hamilton is averaging a career-high 21.6 points per game and Rasheed Wallace may end up being a reluctant All-Star starter. But how would you grade the rest of the team?
The guys over at PistonsForum […]

Maybe some of you saw already saw NBA.com’s Chase for 70 feature, this already, but I just happened to stumble upon it tonight. It’s the schedules of the ‘06 Pistons and the ‘96 Bulls side-by-side, updating after each game. After beating the Grizzlies on Friday, Detroit is 36-5, on pace for a 71-11 err, 72-10 […]