One of my favorite hoop sites is basketball reference.com

Today, why don’t we look at playoff games for a player’s career?

So who has the most NBA playoff games in their career that is still playing?

1. Robert Horry 244 – Somehow this guy gets himself on teams that win it all and he makes big shots.

2. Shaquille O’Neal 203 – The big guy was the dominant player in the game for most of his career.

3. Tim Duncan 155 – The big fundamental always seems to get the job done and creates a mismatch on the court.

4. Derek Fisher 154 – Just like Robert Horry, this guy finds a way to play for winning teams and makes big shots.

5. Kobe Bryant 152 – What Kobe did last year cemented his legacy as one of the best players in the game for all time.

6. Rasheed Wallace 149 – The mercurial center for the Pistons can be whatever he wants to be on a given night and he plays superb defense.

7. Lindsey Hunter 141 – Lindsey may be done, but Joe Dumars keeps talking him into one more year. The speedy backcourt player is one of the best one on one defenders of quick point guards.

8. Sam Cassell 136 – You could see age catching up to the quick shooting Sam Cassell as he played for the Celtics last year. Sam could always get his shot off in the playoffs, which is a special skill in itself.

9. Bruce Bowen 130 – a key member of Tim Duncan’s team, Bruce can stop any forward or big guard in the league.

10. Chauncey Billups and Tony Parker 117 – both excellent guards at the point position for their respective teams. Tony is more of a penetrator and Chauncey is known for his big shots.
Photo source Newscom

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Joe Dumars admits it is not a big year for free agents.

“With all due respect to the free agents out there, this is not one of the stronger classes,” Dumars said earlier this month. “So that’s why I’d emphasize more trade now than any other time.”

This unrestricted class is highlighted by Washington Wizards forward Antawn Jamison and guard Gilbert Arenas, and includes Boston Celtics forward James Posey, New Jersey center DeSagana Diop, Clippers guard Corey Maggette and center Elton Brand, and Sacramento forward Ron Artest. Some of those players are still deciding whether to opt out of the final years of their deals. They have until Monday to make the call.

source

Out of that group, who would belong in a Pistons uniform? Posey, maybe? Brand, maybe? Both would cost too much for what they bring.

Undersized but hard to stop Elton Brand shoots over Jermaine O’Neal, the newest Toronto Raptor

Image details: Indiana Pacers v Los Angeles Clippers served by picapp.com

And what about the Pistons free agents?

The Pistons have five free agents from last season’s roster — small forwards Hayes and Walter Herrmann, guards Juan Dixon and Lindsey Hunter and center Theo Ratliff — to possibly negotiate with.

The Walter Sharpe draft pick means Hayes or Herrmann or both are gone. Dixon never proved out. Hunter was fantastic in the playoffs and is talking one more year, before taking a seat in the front office. Ratliff is a great cheap big body for games like playing Dwight Howard and the Magic.

Joe D is looking to shake up the team with a trade and not try to sign a free agent.

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Who will do this if Rasheed Wallace is gone?

Image details: Boston Celtics v Detroit Pistons, Game 6 served by picapp.com

It is simply amazing to me, your basketball writer, how fans and writers alike can simply take a one game loss and magnify it to immense proportions.

The Secret

Here is a little secret. Boston, another NBA team and a good one at that, beat Detroit. The U.S. Army did not storm in to Detroit and destroy the city. The Marines did not try to take out the Palace, which is in a suburb of Detroit called Auburn Hills. There was no Naval support in Lake Erie or on the Detroit River.

Detroit went to the Conference Finals for the 6th straight time and that seems to tire out the fans and writers more than anything.

Are the Pistons getting old? Yes, but then again the Boston big 3 of Ray Allen, Paul Pierce, and Kevin Garnett are already old.
Are the Pistons as hungry as they used to be? No. That is human nature.

The Question

Will Joe Dumars break up the Pistons? That is the Question.

First, let’s look at contracts. Who is under contract for next year?

It appears that 9 out of the top 10 players are under contract for next year.

The sole exception is Lindsey Hunter and he will most likely retire and move into the front office. Someday you may see Lindsey sitting next to Joe Dumars in the stands and wouldn’t that be something.

Here are the other 9 with their position, age, and next 3 years of contracts, if any.

Rasheed Wallace PF 33 $12,540,000 $13,680,000

Chauncey Billups PG 31 $10,000,000 $11,050,000 $12,100,000

Richard Hamilton SG 30 $9,750,000 $10,562,500 $11,375,000 PO

Tayshaun Prince SF 28 $8,675,620 $9,500,000 $10,324,380

Antonio McDyess PF 33 $6,373,900 $6,960,000 $7,000,000

Amir Johnson F 21 $3,666,666

Rodney Stuckey PG 22 $1,569,600 $1,687,320 TO $1,805,040

Jason Maxiell PF 25 $1,041,360 $1,877,572 QO

Arron Afflalo G 22 $944,520 $1,015,440 TO $1,086,240

(Note: TO: Pistons have option to renew or let player become free agent. PO- Player option. QO: Pistons can make a qualifying offer to the player, who then becomes a restricted free agent, which means the Pistons can match any other team’s offer.)

Source of salaries hoopshype.com, to see updated chart

Play like Joe Dumars

To understand Joe D, you must keep in mind that he likes to build a team that is good now without sacrificing the future. So, when Rasheed Wallace’s contract is up after next year, he will be old and will not be offered a max deal. Teams could outbid for him and the Pistons would lose him like Ben Wallace. This may mean that Joe would look to move him now while he has high value.

This presents a problem, due to the fact that Detroit was really one big man short all year. Amir Johnson did not develop into starter minutes and Theo Ratliff, a late addition is old.

Chauncey and Rip are aging, but still under contract for the next two years. Rodney Stuckey will begin to see some of their minutes. If he excels and many think he will, then one of those two could become expendable. Would Joe Dumars make that move now? Doubtful, because Rodney has not established his outside game enough and he is more combo guard right now than point or 2 guard.

Joe Dumars will certainly be looking for another big man down low. Perkins killed them in the Boston series and the Pistons used multiple fouls to guard Dwight Howard. They cannot hope to win a title without more beef up front.

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Rasheed says – You will now be eaten alive!

Rasheed is the reluctant superstar.

At times, Rasheed is as dominant as any player on the floor and at times, Rasheed just seems to disappear.

When Wallace disappears, he can do it quietly just as well as he does it loudly. Most of us remember the loudly, but long time watchers also notice the quietly.

But like a sleeping Bear, beware when Rasheed wants to be the dominant force. He will wake up and eat your team alive.

The Rasheed that showed up in San Antonio was of the wake up the bear variety.

You just cannot stop Rasheed when he wants it and he wanted it against Tim Duncan and the San Antonio Spurs.

Final Score Pistons 90 Spurs 80.

Wallace was all head-shakes and scowls after two frustrating losses to Boston and Dallas. He was all smiles, dancing and dunking here Thursday.

“We could lose 10 games in a row, but we’re the type of team, we don’t hang our head. We don’t walk around moping — that’s not us,” said Wallace, who produced 23 points, 15 rebounds, two blocks and three steals in the Pistons’ reassuring 90-80 win over the defending champion Spurs at the AT&T Center where the Spurs had won 17 of 19.

“We all want to win too much,” Wallace continued. “Everybody in here is a winner.” source

Rasheed is one of the most quotable players in the league with a refreshing view on everything. Tim Duncan of the Spurs is at the opposite end of the quote spectrum. When asked what happened, he replied.

“It’s not even the turnovers,” Duncan said. “It’s just everything: The missed shots, the turnovers, the turnovers turn into easy baskets, us working hard and them getting an easy play at the other end. Just all of that came at once tonight.” source

Even though the pesky defense of Lindsey Hunter on Manu Ginobili produced a couple of turnovers and a 7 point outburst that helped determine the game, it was still a night that belonged to Rasheed.

“When Sheed is locked in and focused like that, he is, without a doubt, our No. 1 option,” said Billups, who added 11 points for Detroit. “He does something out there that nobody can do.”

The Pistons and Spurs could easily meet in the NBA Finals, so for Rasheed to have his way will alter how Tim Duncan and the Spurs play Wallace the next time.

You just cannot wake the bear and expect to have a pleasant conversation. You have to run for your lives when Rasheed wants to play!

NBA Basketball Fan Question Who else would qualify as a reluctant superstar?

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Allen Houston – a great career ends

Allen Houston ended his comeback with the New York Knicks.

Good thing, too, or Isiah Thomas would have had one more embarrassing moment to deal with; cutting one of the all time scorers and popular Knicks would not have made for good press.

Squibster remembers Allen’s early days in the league with the Detroit Pistons where he teamed up with Lindsey Hunter to give the Pistons shooting and speed. Allen was the shooting.

His days as a Piston ended in free agency when the Knicks offered him a then outrageous sum of 57 million bucks. Later he signed a max extension with the Knicks for 20 mill. That move sort of hamstrung the Knicks from making other big moves.

If you get a chance to see Allen shoot a hoop ball, study it closely. He has classic form. His wrist is so supple that his hand goes almost flat facing upward toward the ceiling of the Madison Square Garden, and then with a quick release at the peak of his jump he drills another long jumper.

His shot was, as they say, a thing of beauty.

NBA Allen Houston factoid Allen’s high school won the 1988 Kentucky high school championship.

So why did Allen want to come back?

Houston rejoined his former team late last week, two years after he was forced to retire because of chronic knee pain. However, the Knicks already had the maximum 15 players under contract, and Thomas said he only gave the 36-year-old guard an invite to camp because of his history in New York. source

And why did he end the comeback?

“While my body and my knees, in particular, feel fine, I know what is required for me to be truly effective in the NBA again, and it involves a timing and progression that would not be fair to Isiah and the Knicks right now,” Houston said in a statement released by the Knicks. “With the season opening less than two weeks away, I think it is best for the team to move on without me. I appreciate the opportunity that Isiah and the Knicks have given me, and I wish the team nothing but success.”

You know that sounds good and all that and no knock on Allen, but his time has past and he needs to hang it up. He could see the handwriting on the wall. The roster was full and no one was going to be traded or released to make room for a 36 year old with gimpy knees.

Yes, Allen has played Father Time one on one and Father Time won!

NBA Basketball Fan Question Do like when veterans try to hang on past their prime?

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