Hamilton Questionable; Wallace, Wilcox Doubtful

Surprise, surprise...more Pistons injuries. Starting shooting guard Rip Hamilton is questionable for tonight's home game against the Miami Heat with an injured right ankle. Starting center Ben Wallace (knees) and reserve forward Chris Wilcox (back) are doubtful.

Hamilton's injury is to the same ankle that forced him to miss over 20 games this season, though this recent injury is unrelated to the one earlier in the year. Starting point guard Rodney Stuckey also rolled his ankle but is expected to play tonight.

Don't be surprised to see Wallace shut it down for the season. In fact, now's the best time for the Pistons to play their rookies as many minutes as they can handle during these last nine games of the season, so having the injured veterans sit makes the most sense.

Steve St-Pierre
Sports Writer
In Play! Magazine
sstpierre@inplaymagazine.com

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Missing Wallace No Excuse For Struggling Pistons

Ben Wallace has been a pleasant surprise for the Pistons this season. Normally the team's starting center, Wallace is currently nursing sore knees and could miss the rest of the season. Detroit has surely missed his defensive presence, but that's no excuse for the team's lackluster play this season.

The Pistons have complained that the reason they're missing the NBA Playoffs is due to their numerous injuries. While that's certainly true, it doesn't excuse the awful performances of the players suiting up, specifically guard Ben Gordon and forward Charlie Villanueva. Both players were signed last summer to be the faces of the Pistons' transition to a new era, but neither of them have panned out. They've had plenty of setbacks between the two of them in terms of injuries, but they're both healthy now yet contributing next to nothing.

Now, Joe Dumars, Pistons President, has to figure out what he's going to do. He used up his cap space acquired from the Chauncey Billups trade to sign Gordon and Villanueva. Seemingly, the only possible way to improve this franchise is going to be through the draft. The team could be picking in the top five and will have their choice of quality centers to choose from. Other than that and the possibility of trading the expiring contract of forward Tayshaun Prince, the Pistons appear stuck with these players they've invested in.

If Dumars fails to bring in substantial talent this summer, it's going to be awfully difficult to continue selling this product to a passionate fanbase in a struggling economy.

Steve St-Pierre
Sports Writer
In Play! Magazine
sstpierre@inplaymagazine.com

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Wallace Still Out; Bynum Day-To-Day

The injury bug continues to stick with the Pistons. Since returning for one game, center Ben Wallace has continued to sit with sore knees. Little-used reserve Chris Wilcox has also been out, and now guard Will Bynum is day-to-day with a back contusion.

Last night during Detroit's home loss to the Indiana Pacers, Bynum hurt his back during the first half after falling hard to the ground. He told reporters he was having trouble breathing but that he was OK.

With the playoffs now out of the picture, it wouldn't be a surprise to see Wallace just shut it down for the season as he'll be a free agent this summer and would like to re-sign for one last season with the Pistons.

Steve St-Pierre
Sports Writer
In Play! Magazine
sstpierre@inplaymagazine.com

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Stuckey, Wallace Return; Wilcox Out

The Pistons expect injured starters Rodney Stuckey and Ben Wallace to return to the team's lineup tonight when the team takes on the Pacers in Indiana. Both players practiced yesterday, leaving backup forward Chris Wilcox as Detroit's only injured player.

Wilcox has missed the last 12 games with a sore back. Stuckey, who collapsed during a game against the Cavaliers in Cleveland, has been given complete medical clearance to return. Wallace has missed time with a sore right knee but says he's feeling fine.

Both Stuckey and Wallace are expected to come off the bench for the time being.

Steve St-Pierre
Sports Writer
In Play! Magazine
sstpierre@inplaymagazine.com

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Prince Plays Through Injury

The Pistons lost again last night at home to the Cleveland Cavaliers, but in a surprising twist, small forward Tayshaun Prince actually played. He took a tough hit to the back the night before and looked as though he wouldn't be playing for a while. In fact, he played 44 minutes, scoring 15 points to go with seven rebounds, eight assists and a steal.

It's still likely the Pistons will look to begin resting their veterans now that the team is no longer competing for the playoffs.

Steve St-Pierre
Sports Writer
In Play! Magazine
sstpierre@inplaymagazine.com

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Prince Injures Back Again

Pistons small forward Tayshaun Prince reinjured his back last night in the team's loss in Boston against the Celtics. He collided with teammate, forward Jason Maxiell, whose knee hit the center of Prince's back.

Nothing further has been reported regarding the injury, but Prince was in extreme pain. Speculation is that he could miss a considerable amount of time, perhaps the rest of the season. Detroit is already without point guard Rodney Stuckey and center Ben Wallace, both of whom are hoping to return before the end of the season.

The only bright spot for the Pistons is that Prince's injury opens up additional playing time for the team's three rookie forwards: Austin Daye, DaJuan Summers and starter Jonas Jerebko.

Steve St-Pierre
Sports Writer
In Play! Magazine
sstpierre@inplaymagazine.com

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Bynum Flourishing At Point

Pistons guard Will Bynum is now the team's starter at the point indefinitely in place of the injured Rodney Stuckey. Bynum has excelled at running the team's offense and setting up his teammates, never more apparent than last night's win against the Washington Wizards when he recorded a career-high 20 assists.

It was the first time a Piston dished out 20 assists since Isiah Thomas had 21 on April 12, 1985. Bynum had eight assists in the first quarter and 10 before even taking his first shot. In fact, he told reporters in a highly-spirited post-game chat that he wanted to chase the franchise record of 25 but that he didn't want to force the issue.

It'll be interesting to see how the Pistons will respond with their backcourt rotations once Stuckey returns. It may or may not be this season, but John Kuester, Pistons Head Coach, will have some major decisions to make. The knock on Stuckey all year is that, while a scoring-machine, he has lacked the ability to truly conquer the point guard position.

Bynum is a restricted free agent this summer. It's not likely Detroit will let him get away, and the team will have to consider using Bynum as the primary point guard if he continues to demonstrate this kind of playmaking ability.

Steve St-Pierre
Sports Writer
In Play! Magazine
sstpierre@inplaymagazine.com

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MEDICAL STATEMENT REGARDING RODNEY STUCKEY

In Play Magazine

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. – Rodney Stuckey underwent a completely negative cardiac evaluation under the direction of University of Michigan’s (Fred Morady, M.D.), Cleveland Clinic’s (Thomas Dresing, M.D.) and the Detroit Medical Center’s (Luis Alfonso, M.D.).

The combined opinion is that Rodney may return to a progressive exercise program.

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This Day in NBA History

March 8, 1971
The Milwaukee Bucks defeated Seattle 104-99 to run their winning streak to 20 straight games, the second-longest winning streak in NBA history, behind the 33 consecutive games won by the Los Angeles Lakers during the 1971-72 season. Milwaukee finished the 1970-71 season with a 66-16 record and went on to capture the NBA Championship.

March 8, 1994
Chicago’s Scottie Pippen and Pete Myers became the first set of teammates in NBA history to convert four-point plays (three-point field goal and free throw) in the same game, with both turning the trick in the fourth quarter of the Bulls’ 116-95 win over visiting Atlanta.

March 8, 1996
Utah coach Jerry Sloan won his 500th career NBA game after the Jazz defeated visiting Houston 109-89.

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Stuckey Hospitalized After Collapse

Pistons point guard Rodney Stuckey collapsed on the team's bench at the 2:30 mark of the third quarter of Detroit's loss last night in Cleveland to the Cavaliers. He was carried out on a stretcher with an oxygen mask and transported to Cleveland Clinic.

Tests came back negative, and the team says Stuckey should return to Detroit today. The 23-year-old guard experienced similar dizziness last season and wound up missing two games. He's started every game for the Pistons this season, but should he have to miss time, veterans Will Bynum, Ben Gordon and Chucky Atkins would likely split the minutes at point guard.

It was an emotional scene following the game when both teams huddled and prayed for Stuckey and his family. Members of both teams admitted to be shaken by the incident and remained adamant that his health was more important than the game itself.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Steve St-Pierre
Sports Writer
In Play! Magazine
sstpierre@inplaymagazine.com

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Wallace Day-To-Day With Sore Knee

Pistons center Ben Wallace is day-to-day with a sore right knee. The team is hopeful that he'll return tomorrow night in Cleveland against the Cavaliers.

Either way, Detroit is going to need more from its bench if it even wants to compete against the Cavs or anybody else this season. Key reserves Ben Gordon, Charlie Villanueva and Will Bynum are now healthy, and they need to step it up. Sure their minutes have been inconsistent, but it's been because of their ineffectiveness in those minutes.

Steve St-Pierre
Sports Writer
In Play! Magazine
sstpierre@inplaymagazine.com

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DETROIT’S JONAS JEREBKO AND NEW ORLEANS’ DARREN COLLISON NAMED T-MOBILE ROOKIES OF THE MONTH

NEW YORK, Mar. 1, 2010 – The Detroit Pistons’ Jonas Jerebko and New Orleans Hornets’ Darren Collison today were named the Eastern and Western Conference T-Mobile Rookies of the Month, respectively, for games played in February.

Jerebko ranks first among Eastern Conference rookies in field goal percentage (.564) and second in scoring, (10.2 ppg) rebounds, (6.0 rpg) steals (1.0 spg) and blocks (0.54). On Feb. 16, Jerebko scored a team-high 21 points in 21 minutes, in a 108-85 win over Minnesota.

Among all rookies, Collison ranked first in scoring (21.6 ppg), assists (8.3 apg), steals (1.8 spg) and minutes (41.7 mpg) in February. He also finished his first month as an NBA starter by scoring 35 points in the Hornets' 108-100 loss at Dallas. Only one other rookie in the last 25 years had scoring and assist averages that high in the same month with a minimum of three games played: Allen Iverson (April 1997 -- 33.6 ppg, 8.7 apg).

Jerebko in pre-game warm up. Photo by Brian St-Pierre

 

Here is a recap of the month for both Jerebko and Collison:
Jonas Jerebko, Detroit Pistons
Feb. 6 vs New Jersey Registered 20 points, seven rebounds and shot 9-9 field goals in a 99-92 win over the Nets.
Feb. 10 vs Sacramento: Scored 11 points and grabbed seven rebounds in a 88-95 loss to the Kings.
Feb. 16 vs. Minnesota: Notched 21 points and two rebounds in a 108-85 win over the Timberwolves.
Feb. 17 @ Orlando: Posted 13 points, three rebounds and two steals in a 91-116 loss to the Magic.

Darren Collison, New Orleans Hornets
Feb. 10 vs. Boston: Scored 25 points and dished nine assists to go with four steals and three rebounds in a 93-85 win over the Celtics.
Feb. 19 vs. Indiana: Finished with 18 points and a career-high 13 rebounds, adding 12 assists and three steals in a 107-101 victory over the Pacers.
Feb. 21 vs. Houston: Posted 26 points, nine rebounds, four assists and four steals in a 102-94 win over the Rockets.
Feb. 28 @ Dallas: Recorded a career-high 35 points to go with three rebounds and three assists in 100-108 loss to the Mavericks.

Other nominees for the Eastern and Western Conference T-Mobile Rookies of the Month were Golden State’s Stephen Curry, Milwaukee’s Brandon Jennings, Minnesota’s Jonny Flynn, New Orleans’ Marcus Thornton and Sacramento’s Tyreke Evans.

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