NBA Obsessed takes you into the hit and run game of NBA Basketball.

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.

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NBA Obsessed takes you into the hit and run game of NBA Basketball.

As a follow up to the Part I of Rodney Stuckey is candy and a Rose blooms - Part I, your intrepid author would like to show you some interesting comments by Coach Michael Curry of the Detroit Pistons.

Keep in mind, Joe Dumars hired Curry in part because he is such a great student of the game and the players of the game.

This comment came after the Pistons beat the Bulls.

After the game, Pistons coach Michael Curry described Phoenix’s Steve Nash, San Antonio’s Tony Parker and Denver’s Chauncey Billups — who started the season with Detroit but was traded, in part, because of Stuckey’s development — as the gold standard of NBA point guards.

Next, Curry identified New Orleans’ Chris Paul, Utah’s Deron Williams and New Jersey’s Devin Harris as a trio who have “separated themselves … as a young group of guards pushing Nash and Parker and Billups.”

Then he mentioned his own guy.

“I think Stuckey is in a group with Derrick Rose and (Boston’s Rajon) Rondo as the up-and-coming next group of guards,” Curry said. “It’s going to be interesting to see how they all continue to mature and grow as players. All three have different skill sets, but all three have the kind of demeanor that it takes to be very successful in this league.”
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NBA Obsessed takes you into the hit and run game of NBA Basketball.

Found this by Jamie Samuelsen who blogs for the Free Press in Detroit.

Sheed had two points through the first two and half quarters. He picked up a technical, and then realized that he was the best player in the building. He dominated offensively and shut down Tim Duncan.

I’ve been writing this blog for about a year and I’ve probably spent more time on my inner angst about Wallace than any other topic. I love him and I hate him. The Pistons have to dump him, yet somehow can’t win without him. He’s the best player on the team by far, and the most detrimental at the same time. Yep, that’s our Sheed.

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Yeah, in Detroit it is all about Rasheed. When he arrived in Detroit, Wallace matched up with the other Wallace, Big Ben, and the two of them started shutting down teams left and right and eventually took home an NBA title.

That was all well and good, but Rasheed has never wanted to be the star and is often reluctant to take over a game. When he is in the mood, he dominates.

Detroit will probably release him at the end of the year for the value of his contract and use it to pursue a younger free agent.

So why do you drop the enigmatic Rasheed? Well, if you have noticed, as the years have crept up on Rasheed, his game is moving further from the basket. Larry Brown was the last coach to get Rasheed to post up on a regular basis and that is a shame, because Rasheed is unstoppable down low.

So instead of complaining about Sheed maybe you should marvel at all the things Rasheed Wallace does well, because the Sheed replacement may not bring what Sheed takes with him.

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NBA Obsessed takes you into the hit and run game of NBA Basketball.

Allen Iverson growls, bares his teeth

The story of Allen Iverson the Piston is still unfolding. Sometimes on the floor Allen Iverson is such a relentless player that the Pistons look unstoppable as a team and sometimes you wonder when he will fit in.

Right now he needs to learn the defense.

“Those are all things he can do, but he’s coming from Denver,” Curry said before Wednesday’s win, in which Iverson scored 16. “He’s done it in his career, but they haven’t played defense out there the last couple years.”
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It would be nice if the team had an extended time off period to learn the defense with A.I in it, but they don’t. Oh, and the missed practice was for conditioning, which Allen does not need. In the NBA a lot of veterans are so beat up that an extra practice can be counterproductive.

Nobody can question Iverson’s toughness or professionalism. He has never — repeat, never — dogged it during a game in his career, still the ultimate measure of a player’s character. Performing half-speed at something you love repulses the man. The evidence of that controlled recklessness is a long medical ledger of fractures and contusions.
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Allen is not talking about why he missed practice, but Coach Michael Curry thinks it is no big deal.

But earlier, Curry again emphasized that Iverson’s absence wasn’t a major issue — the coach would get through Friday, Iverson would pay his undisclosed fine and the team would put it in the past.

“He apologized to his teammates, he apologized to all of us. … Really that’s it, we’ve moved forward,” Curry said. “I know the story is going to keep going, but we’ve already moved forward from that.”

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And once Iverson does learn the defense…

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Jason Maxiell taking it to the rack

Coach Michael Curry and the Detroit Pistons have their first victory on the books and Curry played a lot of the young guys. This is the new look Pistons.

Joe Dumars, the masterful GM, is mixing up a new brew for Halloween and many of the future Piston pieces are involved.

You will see Rodney Stuckey, Amir Johnson, and Arron Afflalo playing lots of minutes. It is a massive youth movement after failing to move any of the veteran players in the off season.

The Pistons will be the same, only different.

But Jason Maxiell remained a crucial piece of the pie and they were not sure he would be around.

Jason Maxiell will be a restricted free agent

Maxiell has a game that belongs down on the paint, but he is a couple of inches short, much like Ben Wallace was as a Piston. So how do you resign a guy that other teams want, but will probably never be a starter except under almost perfect team conditions?

In other words, Jason has the long arms, aggressiveness, and perfect shot blocking ability that you want, but the lack of pure size makes him more of a situational player. He can star, but not consistently star.

You don’t want to lose him, but you can’t over pay him. That is the key.

Well, unlike Ben Wallace, they did not lose Jason Maxiell.

Pistons power forward Jason Maxiell accepted a contract offer today and will not become a restricted free agent following the season. The deal is for $20 million over four years.

The deadline for him to reach an agreement was today.

Maxiell, 25, was a first-round pick out of Cincinnati in 2005 and has averaged six points and 3.7 rebounds per game in his career.

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Jason Maxiell will remain a Piston for 4 more years.
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The Detroit Piston Michael Curry 16 rules will not allow Rasheed Wallace to get casual

The big deal in Detroit Piston land is the signing of Michael Curry as coach.

Joe Dumars tried to trade the whole roster except for Rodney Stuckey and instead ended up hiring a new coach.

Will Michael Curry make a difference? Absolutely, because he believes in accountability. Something that was sorely lacking since Larry Brown left.

Michael has what he calls the 16 rules and they are used to grade a player 0 to 100 with every player trying to get to 100.

Technicals have been an issue with Rasheed Wallace through the years and, you guessed it, that will be a violation of one of the 16 rules.

“Is the technical foul or mistake harmful?” Curry asked. “If it does, then it’s going to go against the grading system.

“The guys are always trying to score the highest or grade out at the highest possible grade they can.”

He said Tuesday that one of the rules is to leave the officials alone. From his comments Wednesday, you know being professional and being the aggressor are two more.

He declined to reveal the others.
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But this is Rasheed Wallace? Won’t he just break the rules?

No. Rasheed and all of the players have a great deal of respect for Michael Curry, first as a Piston player, then an assistant coach, and now as a head coach.
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Yeah, Rip rips Flip. Say that 10 times quickly. Heck, say ‘10 times quickly’ ten times quickly.

Enough with the quickly. Rip was unhappy last year in what should have been a very happy year.

“I have always been happy,” Hamilton said Wednesday. “I had a son (at the start of last season), which was one of the greatest times of my life. That was not a disappointment. Nothing off the court was a disappointment.”

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Instead of having a great year Rip was often out of the game mentally and emotionally. He became the mini-Rasheed Wallace, in terms of mood swings on the court. Too many Rasheeds is not good for the soup.

One thing my own coaching years in multiple sports (and the addition of being a father) has taught me is that young people want to have discipline. No they don’t want to be punished or spanked or benched. That is not what is being said here. What they want is an informed notion of how they should behave. It makes life easier. What they want is to know what is expected of them and how they can be their best. They need the accountability to be their best.

Coach Michael Curry agrees.

“Players like to be challenged, and they want discipline, even if they fight at times,” coach Michael Curry said.

“Rip was frustrated because he didn’t feel that everybody was being held accountable. Our goal as a coaching staff this year is to do a better job holding everybody accountable every day.”

Hamilton has been a happy camper thus far and is anxious to turn the page on last season.

“I don’t want to talk about (Saunders), either,” he said. “It’s a new season, and I am glad MC is the coach. You can’t look to the past. I am glad to move on and focus on the season ahead of us.”

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NBA Obsessed takes you into the hit and run game of NBA Basketball.

Michael Curry will try to right the Piston ship

The NBA is proud to bring a brand new coach to your area. They did it for 8 teams.

Think about that. 8 new coaches.

Ever heard of a brand new coach immediately winning it all? It has probably happened, but not to my knowledge.

Usually you just fired the last coach because the team stunk so bad he could not make them win.

So this year we bring you the 8 trying to make the magic happen.

Michael Curry, Pistons

Curry, 40, was an assistant to last year’s coach, Flip Saunders, who was fired. From 2000 to 2004, Curry was president of the National Basketball Players Association. He’s also a former NBA vice president for basketball operations and played for six teams in an 11-year career.
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Michael is lucky. He inherits a veteran team with a real honest to god chance to win it all. The team knows him. The GM, Joe Dumars, knows him. Heck, the hotdog vendor in section 133 knows him. Michael Curry was a defensive minded team oriented over achiever as a player. He even used to plan out bike trips and movies for when the players were on the road.

But can he coach? Well, he can as an assistant, but can he as the head coach?

Vinny Del Negro, Bulls

Del Negro, who has no coaching experience at any level, follows interim coach Jim Boylan, who replaced Scott Skiles. Del Negro, 42, formerly was assistant general manager for the Phoenix Suns and played for five teams in a 12-year NBA career.

Scotty Skiles and Jim Boylan is a tough act to follow. Vinny has his hands full with that crew in Chicago. Skiles whipped and beat them to play defense and play as a team. Boylan found out they are lacking depth, size, speed, etc. Good Luck!

Erik Spoelstra, Miami Heat

Club President Pat Riley named Spoelstra, a seven-year assistant, to succeed him. Spoelstra, 37, is the youngest coach in the league.

This guy just has the job on loan until Pat Riley sees a good enough team to take over. Sure doesn’t hurt to have Dwyane Wade and the Matrix auditioning for jobs.

Larry Brown, Charlotte Bobcats

Have witnessed Larry up front with my Pistons and he is an amazing coach and complicated man. He is always chasing after something that is missing in his life. Some think he is looking for his father that left him at young age, not literally, but figuratively.

Larry will put them in half court sets and make them play playoff style basketball. If teams listen, they win, but most young players do not want to play that way. Example: Chauncey Billups was close to a triple double one night and Larry pulled him and said “You don’t have a clue as to how to play point guard for me, do you?” Think about it.

Rick Carlisle, Dallas Mavericks

This one will be fun to watch. The Dallas Mavericks and Dirk Nowitzki were often shooting before crossing half court and now will be playing half court. Rick was the Piston coach before Larry and he alienated so many people that he had to be fired with a winning record. Chauncey Billups used to say they knew exactly what plays would be run in the last two minutes as Carlisle called all the plays. Rick also does not like to double on defense. Can Dirk defend?

Mike D’Antoni, New York Knicks

Mike has his hands full until the Knicks can clean house and find some D’antoni style players. He needs speed and outside shooting to go along with a pass first dribbling point guard, a la Steve Nash. Mike is a great coach and the players love his style. The ball gets shared and the pace is quick.

Can he play enough defense to win a title though?

Must be Michigan week in the NBA or something

Michael Curry, Detroit Pistons
Larry Brown, former Detroit Pistons coach
Rick Carlisle, former Detroit Pistons coach
Vinny Del Negro replaces Jim Boylan former assistant at Michigan State University
Before Jim Boylan was Scott Skiles former player at Michigan State University
Mike D’Antoni was brought in to replace Isiah Thomas former Detroit Piston
The D’Antoni wanted to trade Zach Randolph former player at Michigan State University
Terry Porter, former Detroit Pistons assistant coach
Scott Skiles, former player at Michigan State University
Scott will work for GM John Hammond and he worked under Joe Dumars of the Detroit Pistons.

Terry Porter, Phoenix Suns

A hustling guard as a player and an average coach at Milwaukee, Terry will have some talent to work with, but will drastically change the style for the Suns. Terry is a real believer in defense.

Scott Skiles, Milwaukee Bucks

Scott will have some hungry players in Michael Redd and Richard Jefferson. Maybe not enough talent to win, but that has never been an issue with Scott. He just wants you to bring the desire.

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Rodney Stuckey going to the hole

The Pistons have enjoyed phenomenal success through the recent years to the point that making the Conference NBA finals and not making the finals is seen as a major disappointment.

Heck, last year Joe Dumars even put the whole starting team up for fire sale, if anyone would trade for them.

But there is one guy that was ruled untouchable. That guy is 6′ 5″ Rodney Stuckey. Here is a point guard that can go to the hole at will. Here is a point guard that is brimming with confidence and can’t wait for the season to start. Here is a point guard… well you get the point guard point.

New coach Michael Curry has all the confidence in the world in Rodney Stuckey and vice versa.

Curry has indicated that he likes the scoring Stuckey and veteran big man Antonio McDyess could bring from the bench.

“When you have both of those guys anchoring your second unit, it allows your other role players to play their roles and not play outside of themselves,” Curry said.

Stuckey and Curry have formed a mutual admiration society — Stuckey thinks the new coach will fully exploit the talents of the team; Curry has indicated he will emphasize more running and more pressure defense, stuff that Stuckey wants to hear.

“He’s going to give us opportunity to showcase our talent, and when the young guys get out on the court, we are going to do what we do and go out there and play hard and play good defense and it’s going to lead us to victories,” Stuckey said.

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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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