Ahh, remember those warm nights in college when girls would streak across the softball field? Whatever happened to those days? Sorry, getting a little off the subject.

Tayshaun Prince

Tayshaun Prince has started 439 games in a row, which in the modern NBA with all the travel, is quite a prodigious streak. Painfully, especially for Tay, it will come to an end tonight.

His games-played streak was second among active players, trailing Andre Miller, and his games-started streak of 439 was the longest active run.

The bad news was compounded by the fact that coach John Kuester said that shooting guard Rip Hamilton definitely will miss the Toronto game and is unlikely to return Friday.

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When you look at Tayshaun Prince he seems so thin and so frail that no one would have guessed that he would become one of the league’s leading iron men.

NBA factoid: Robert Parrish played in 1,611 games in his career an NBA All Time record.

Tay last sat out a game in his rookie year and last did not start in his second year. Prince had trouble winning the confidence of Rick Carlisle in his rookie year and frankly did not show up until the playoffs. It was in the playoffs that Carlisle discovered that Tayshaun could back his man down and score with an odd looking twisting left handed shot. It was almost unstoppable due to the fact that it had never been seen during the regular season.

Tayshaun will be among the missing for tonight's game

Tayshaun has played in 537 games and another 118 games in the playoffs.

NBA factoid: A.C. Green played in 1,192 straight games and NBA All Time record.

The injury has come at a bad time for the Pistons with Rip Hamilton out as well. This Piston team does not have the depth or number of veterans that the Pistons teams of recent past.

Photo source Newscom

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Just listen to Tayshaun Prince tell it like it is concerning the next season for the Detroit Pistons. He claims they will have plenty of firepower from the top to the bottom of the lineup.

On how the new pieces will fit: “As a coach, the more firepower you have, they say the more problems you have. But I’m pretty sure he’ll love that problem. … With Ben (Gordon), his ability to score the ball at will, almost, will be helpful to us. And Charlie (Villanueva), being able to play inside-out, will cause some problems, being able to put him in pick-and-rolls. We’ll definitely have a lot of firepower on the perimeter.
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The real key was picking up Ben Gordon. Most of my friends just don’t seem to understand how valuable Ben can be to that team. Over the years of watching teams go into the playoffs one thing has become very clear. The level of defense in the playoffs is way greater than the level of defense during the regular season.

Ben Gordon and Rip Hamilton will have the same jersey now!

You will see players that can score at will during the season and can’t get their normal shot off in the playoffs. This is where Ben Gordon can pay dividends. He can get off his normal shot in the playoffs and be a dependable high scorer. If you look at the Pistons roster, Rip Hamilton has that ability and has proven it. Charlie Villanueva will also be expected to produce in that manner, so the Pistons could have as many as 3 playoff type scorers on the team.

Now they have to get into the playoffs.
Image: Zuma Press

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Today in a deal with the Denver Nuggets, Joe Dumars sent Aaron Afflalo and Walter Sharpe packing to free up salary cap money in search of signing a big man.

Sharpe had hardly played at all and Aaron Afflalo played a little bit more, but not even enough for us to remember how to spell his name. Afflalo came to the Pistons and surprised everyone with his strong defense, but strong defense does not get you on the court when you have offensive liabilities and Rip Hamilton is ahead of you.

So who is Joe D after?

The team is reportedly interested in Celtics restricted free agent Glen Davis, a second-year power forward who is coming off a breakout postseason run when he replaced an injured Kevin Garnett.

Davis, who is listed at 6-foot-9 and 289 pounds, is considered a little short for the power forward but is able to compensate with his size and bulk. He has a good midrange jumper and is a good rebounder.

If the Pistons make Davis an offer, the Celtics would have seven days to match.

Other free agents that could fit the bill are Knicks center Chris Wilcox, Spurs power forward Drew Gooden and Cavs power forward Joe Smith.

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This begs the question, will the Pistons try to make a move on Carlos Boozer or is there something wrong with him? It has been rumored that Rip Hamilton or Tayshaun Prince would have to be involved in the deal and the Pistons were not ready to go that route.

Tayshaun Prince for Carlos Boozer?

Hmm, why not? Boozer is a career double double man and by the time the Pistons can go for the NBA title Rip Hamilton and Tayshaun Prince will be all used up.

Hamilton is going into his 11th year and Prince is going into his 8th year, just like Boozer.

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Allen Iverson doing what he does best

So with Rip Hamilton coming back, who will it be? Allen Iverson or Rip Hamilton in the starting lineup?

Will it be Hamilton, guard Allen Iverson or power forward Amir Johnson?

After practice, Curry said a decision hasn’t been made but his comments seemed to indicate where he was leaning.

“We’ve seen just from the data in our games that we know defensively … it’s no secret when we got two bigs and (Tayshaun Prince) at the three-spot we’re our best defensively and at the end of the day that’s normally what’s going to drive most of our decisions,” Curry said.

If he keeps that line of thinking that would mean either Hamilton or Iverson would come off the bench.

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Allen Iverson has been a surprise to many, as he has played well and the Pistons have been able to win with him in games.

One can’t help but notice that when the younger Pistons, Amir, Maxiell, Stuckey, and Afflalo are in the game the Pistons are much faster and play well with Iverson. When the older Pistons, Prince, Hamilton, and Rasheed Wallace are on the court, it is a much more half court game and the pace is noticeably slower. Iverson does not fit quite as well with that group.

The real question is not who should be starting, but how do you mesh both players into the lineup. The Pistons need the relentless scoring of AI and his up tempo game, but come playoff time the game goes more half court and the curl plays for mid range jumpers by Hamilton become very important to winning.

Coach Curry has to find a way to get both players involved.

Photo source Newscom

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Rodney Stuckey can fly past you, but is he ready to pilot the Pistons to victory?

Chauncey Billups was traded for Allen Iverson. Chauncey was on the decline. He no longer dominated in the playoffs and often left the team stagnant. Don’t get me wrong, he was a Piston warrior, but they were not going to win it all with Billups.

AI will share time with Stuckey and bring more speed and penetration to the offense. This will allow more players to play, like Afflalo, Amir, and Maxiell with an up tempo style.

Is AI the answer? Probably not, but change was needed and Chauncey was from Denver. Joe D cut a deal that seems to benefit both teams.

he’s the guy who has averaged more than 40 minutes a game during his NBA career.

And he says he’s ready if the Pistons want him to revert to his old playing style.

“Yeah, that’s just the competitive nature that I have,” said Iverson, 33. “That’s just inside me. I want to be the guy with the ball. I want to be the guy making the decision. But that’s just not the case anymore, and I have to adjust.

“I don’t have a problem with it. I think the bigger picture is winning a championship.”

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Philly is involved in that transition from making the playoffs to being consistently good and challenging to go farther in the playoffs.

EB is not the answer for the 76er’s but he is an important piece to the puzzle.

Philadelphia is still searching for that leader on the court and depending on leadership from the coach. Someone has to rise up and lead with their play. That was the importance of Billups to the Pistons. The 76ers need to find their Billups.

Detroit now belongs to Tayshaun and Stuckey. This will be an experiment due to the fact that neither player has an outgoing personality, a personality to get the team to follow them. This could be where the relentless play of Allen Iverson will fill that void until those players can take over.
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Chauncey Billups cannot believe his hometown Nuggets did not want him

Hey, you had your chance and blew it. It is hard to believe that nobody in the NBA wanted Rasheed Wallace or Chauncey Billups.

It is difficult to fathom that no team could have improved themselves by dealing for Tayshaun Prince or Rip Hamilton. But that is exactly what happened.

Only Rodney Stuckey is untouchable. The rookie showed great promise in the playoffs last year.

Now Joe D says the deals are done. He is still not happy with the way the season ended. On the Piston tour this past week, Joe D says the expectations are the same, NBA Finals or bust.

New coach Michael Curry is supposed to light the fire under their behinds.

It remains to be seen.

Billups, Hamilton and Prince are entering their seventh season in Detroit, hoping to at least advance to the conference finals for the seventh year in a row.

But Dumars is confident new coach Michael Curry will motivate the old nucleus to play hard.

“Part of the reason we hired Michael Curry was that he can instill a sense of urgency in how we play and the discipline that we play with,” Dumars said. “Those two things were missing last year, in my estimation.”
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Ron Artest says, “You think deal for Ron-Ron is laughable, but it is not!”

Ron Artest

Now really, after the Malice in the Palace, do you expect Joe Dumars to pick up Ron Artest?

Sure enough, a second source close to the Pistons has indicated Detroit is pondering a trade for Ron-Ron. I’m not sure of the opinions of the Pistons’ powers-that-be – namely team president Joe Dumars and owner Bill Davidson – but it says plenty that the chatter surrounding the mere idea is spreading around them.

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Fire sale on Billups and Prince

All kinds of rumors on Chauncey Billups and Tayshaun Prince.

Detroit has offered to trade Chauncey Billups and Tayshaun Prince twice, only to be turned down both times. Denver didn’t want to part with Carmelo Anthony, and Houston refused to give up Tracy McGrady. Houston is dead set on building around McGrady and Yao, unless someone knocks them off their feet with an offer for T-Mac.

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My friends were aghast at such trade offers. Chauncey and Tay have become Piston icons. But really think about it. If you can pick up a high scoring player this year and next year you lose the big Rasheed Wallace contract and can pick up another star and you have Stuckey waiting in the wings to play point guard or maybe combo guard and developing players Amir Johnson and Jason Maxiell, well? It just seems like that may work.

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Rasheed Wallace is expensive, but available

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

Chauncey Billups? He is available.

Rip Hamilton? Yeah, him too.

Rasheed Wallace? Well, more expensive, because his rather large contract expires next year.

Tayshaun Prince? He may be a throw in on other deals, go figure.

Joe Dumars said all four are available. He wants to shake things up. Umpteen million trips to the conference finals with only 1 NBA title just does not get it done.

Still, where is the deal?

Dumars has said he wants another team’s best player. But can they get that player? I don’t think so. Reportedly, Detroit wanted Carmelo but Denver was only offering Camby or Iverson. I see that exact scenario playing out with pretty much every team in the league. There will be no Carmelos out there, just a bunch of Cambys. And for what the Pistons would have to give up, I don’t think that makes them better – just different.
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The Pistons are already over the cap, so a deal needs to be done or the 5.4 million dollar exception is to be used.

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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.

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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

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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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Carmelo Anthony tells Coach George Karl, “Hey, Detroit is over there and they win more playoff games than us”

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Right now the story goes like this, and we keep getting new stories.

Denver wanted Chauncey Billups. Hey, no surprise there, Chauncey does a lot of charity work in Denver, where he went to college.

The news leaked out and the vice President of the Nuggets, Mark Warkentien, called Joe Dumars of the Detroit Pistons to apologize for starting up the rumors. Mark asked Joe if he was interested.

Warkentien confirmed that the Nuggets were interested in Billups and asked who the Pistons might be interested in. Dumars said Anthony. As the conversation progressed, Dumars added Prince to the discussion because, obviously, Prince plays the same position as Anthony.

Warkentien said the Nuggets weren’t looking to trade Anthony at that time, and asked if Dumars would be interested in Marcus Camby or Allen Iverson. Dumars said no. If the Nuggets wanted Billups, then they were going to have to give up Anthony.

The discussion ended there. Again, that was two weeks ago
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Does the trade make sense?

Yes, for Denver. They gain two excellent defensive players to go along with Camby to give Denver a very defensive look. Billups still has a few great years left and Prince is only 28.

Yes, for Detroit. Carmelo could be putting up his 25 points a night at the small forward this next year and the following year Rasheed Wallace’s contract comes off the books and Carmelo Anthony could find himself paired up with another superstar.

Is there no trade? Who knows.

Joe Dumars factoid - Joe’s son, Jordan Dumars committed to South Florida. He is a little taller than Dad.

Carmelo Anthony

There may be more Carmelo to come.

Now, is this thing dead? Well, it might be after today. Duffy and Andrews are meeting with the Nuggets, at Anthony’s request. Part of the meeting will deal with Anthony’s recent DUI arrest. The other part will be to discuss Anthony’s future with the team.

There is a chance that the meeting could turn ugly — especially if the Nuggets don’t properly support Anthony in the DUI case — and hasten the Nuggets’ desire to trade him.

But most likely, the Nuggets will re-declare their love for Anthony and make a firm announcement that he will remain a Nugget and they have no interest in trading him.

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