We're talkin' about 2 weeks without The Answer.

It was announced yesterday that Allen Iverson will miss the next 2 weeks due to a sore back, and if everything is good by then, his return will be at home against the Los Angeles Clippers on March 20th.

He has missed the past 3 games, and after his MRI came back negative, wanted a second opinion from Georgetown University doctors, who suggested he stay out of the game for 2 weeks.

The Pistons are considered one of the best franchises when it comes to the player's health, so it's pretty rare for them to seek 2nd opinions, but MC has said it's up to the individual.

He will be reevaluated after those 2 weeks.

I'm hoping for the best. I already miss him.

Go Pistons!

We're talkin' about 3 straight wins, Mr. Big Shot's return.

With Allen Iverson out for the 3rd game [back injury] and the Nuggets Carmelo Anthony out [suspended], The Pistons beat the Nuggets Tuesday night - 100 to 95 - for their 3rd straight win in a row and Chauncey's 1st game back at the Palace since being traded back in November.

His entrance was beautiful. Pistons fans were definitely ON THEIR FEET for Chauncey “Buh-Buh-Buh Billups.”
All the Billups love from Pistons fans last night - also beautiful.

"I may forget the game and what happened, but the ovation and warm welcome the fans gave me, I'll never forget." He said.

I was one of those fans that was rooting for my team to win, but also cheering on Chauncey. But don't get it twisted - He was the only Nugget I cheered for because I got caught up in the moment ... he was still a Piston to me last night.

And I'm not one of those "Iverson sucks, this trade was dumb, bring back Chauncey, you'll never be Billups" people, as you all know. And I'm certainly not one of those people crying about him being gone.

Lately it's been crying about Iverson being gone. And even though with Iverson out the Pistons have turned their 8 game losing streak into a 3 game winning streak, I'm waiting to see how Curry's latest change - A.I. off the bench - works out.

With the Pistons playing the way they have been, I'm excited to see if, finally, A.I. wlil be The Answer that Joe D said we were getting back in November.

I'm not giving up on A.I. the Piston yet, because I'm one of the very, very few Pistons fans that still thinks this trade will pay off this season.

Note: The Pistons are 23-28 with Iverson and 7-1 without him.

"I really feel bad for Allen, because it's really not his fault," Chauncey Billups said about Allen Iverson.
"He's played one way his entire career, and that one way is not the style of play that this team needed. He's still a great player and can still probably score 30 on most nights in a different situation. But that's not what this team needed. You can't get an apple and expect him to be an orange."


Our next game is Friday where we will stay in Detroit and play the 21-39 Golden State Warriors. The last time we played them was back in November. we beat them 107-102.

We're talkin' about getting back on track.

When asked about the Iverson-less Pistons [Iverson left the game in the 1st quarter 3 games ago, and has missed ther last 2 games with his team], the Boston Celtics Paul Pierce spoke The Truth:

"You can tell they're playing the same system they played before Iverson got there. Those guys that are out on the court, they're comfortable with each other. You know when Iverson is out there, they're still trying to figure out how to use each other, how to all be successful."

As hard as it is for me to admit, I agree. The Answer to the Pistons trade, as I've mentioned time and time again, was what I always wanted but never believed would happen, and I loved it. But something has just been off. Lack of chemistry? Sort of. Different styles of play? Definitely.

Curry didn't bench A.I. because he thought he was doing a bad job, because if you have been watching Detroit basketball since the trade, you can clearly see that he is still giving it his all - mind, body, and heart- and playing the same way he has played his entire career.

He has played one way for 13 seasons. The Pistons knew they'd have to change their game when Allen got there, and adjust to him and his style, which is to get the ball, keep the ball, and attempt to take down anyone standing between him and the basket, and score. [Throw in some circus shots and plenty of crossovers.]

But with so many superstars and so much talent in Detroit, it just didn't work. I, for one, can see how much he has tried to change for this team. Just last season, he was 3rd in the league in scoring. Since coming to Detroit, his numbers have dropped, now averaging 18 points per-game.


Curry has tried everything from small-ball to 3 guards to position changes to benching the team captain, and none of it worked in the Pistons favor. So he hopes that this final change will get his team back on the right track and produce W's.

So far, so good.

In the last 2 games, Orlando and Boston, the Pistons played without Iverson and won both games, putting that 8 game losing streak behind them and starting a new streak - a winning one.

And the way the Pistons bench played against the Celtics [J-Max had 8, Walter Herrmann had 11, Will Bynum had 9, Kwame Brown added 2] people are wondering how Iverson will fit in there now.

Rip Hamilton knows how A.I. must be feeling.

"He's a starter in this league, and he's a starter on our team, too." He said.
"When they told me I was coming off the bench, the thing I tried to do was say, 'OK, do this for the team; hopefully we get to where we want to get to.' I believe he's a starter, man, but it is what it is."


As for me, I never gave up on my team, even when everyone around me that claims to be a fan did. I've been hopeful and optimistic when we were being called "lowly" and "sinking", and confident that we would eventually figure things out.

I am just as confident as I was back in November when I got the news telling me that my home team would be acquiring my favorite player - one of the greatest scorers in NBA history.

We're talkin' about Beantown vs. Motown

My favorite basketball match-up to watch. Celtics and Pistons. Ohhh rivalry renewed.

First off, I want to thank my job for not scheduling me tomorrow. This game is an early one [1pm].

Anyway, let's talk.

The Celtics have beaten us in all 3 games we've already played against them this season. But after these past 2 Pistons games, I can see that we're getting our swagger back. They're playing like the Pistons that we all know and love lately, and I'm loving it. We even got a "Ball Don't Lie!" call-out last night from Sheed - it felt like the good 'ol days of Deee-troit Basketball. And I think we can beat them this time. *Knock on wood*

Rip has been an excellent sixth man for the Pistons, but when he was told he would have to come off the bench, he thought it would help the team, and so did Coach Curry.
“We just felt this is the best decision for us to be the best team this season.”

It wasn't. With Rip coming off the bench, Detroit went 4-12. That's not good.

Last night @ Orlando, Rip was back in the starting lineup and lead the Pistons with 31 points to help erase an 8 game losing streak.
It was announced at the start of the game that Allen Iverson would be the new sixth man.

All these blog sites and what-not have been saying that the Pistons are giving up on Allen, and vice-versa. Like having him come off the bench means he's sucking, which is definitely not the case. He plays, litterally, every game like its his last. And yes, we hear him say that 18288192 a day, but it's true.

But sending him to the bench in no way means they don't think he's a valuable asset.
They want and need him.

Michael Curry: "We need Allen. We need Allen, no different than when Rip went to the bench and we needed Rip. We need all our guys to play well."

Antonio McDyess: "You definitely can't say we're a better team without him. A guy of his caliber, that plays the game as he's been playing, scoring ... you can't say that. We were fortunate enough to win a game without him last night. This guy can definitely bring scoring, and bring mental strength to this team that we need."

But can A.I. succeed as a sixth man?
I didn't, and still don't know what to think about this. We're yet to find out.

"It's not an easy transition, especially when you're used to being 'the man' and not coming off the bench. It's something that you're going to have to adjust to. But once you adjust to it, you realize it's a little bit easier coming off the bench than starting." - McDyess

Iverson's whole career, he has been his best with the ball in his hands for long periods of time.
But Detroit is a different team, with a different style. They share the ball.

And it is because of that - as I've said since all the talk about "Pistons suck now with Iverson, bring back Billups, blah blah - they haven't been the same.
He's just not used to playing like this.

Maybe that will change with him coming off the bench. It does make sense.

Anyway,
A.I. didn't play last night, and we still don't know if he'll play tomorrow.
But if he does, I predict good things. He's never come off the bench, so we don't know how it will go, but I am seeing visions of a beast off the bench.

Boston also has a new man off the bench ... Stephon Marbury! Crazy, crazy, crazy. It's still crazy to me. But I knew it would happen.

I didn't see it, but I hear Marbury played great in his Celtics debut.

Tomorrow Steph will try to help his new team with a 4 game regular season sweep against the Pistons.

The Pistons must work their asses off to beat Boston tomorrow. They've shot 39.2% and have not gotten more than 80 points in their first 3 games against the C's.

We can do it!

We're talkin' about Rippin' it up.

"The way we've been starting is the way Curry wants it, I've said I'm happy to come off the bench as long as we're winning. But we're losing. Something's got to give. I'm all for doing whatever it takes for the team, but coming off the bench with us not winning, something's got to change."

And it did. Last night, MC made yet another change to the Pistons lineup and put Rip back in the starting lineup. So guess who's the Pistons new sixth man? A.I.

In his 13 years in the NBA, he has never come off the bench. He has always been a starter.

Back in n '04 when he was still a Sixer, A.I. skipped a game against the Pistons when he was told he would have to come off the bench after returning from an injury. This is how he reacted back then:

"A lot of people might look at it like it's a selfish thing or something like that. Why wouldn't I start? I'm the franchise player here. I don't know any franchise players that come off the bench. I don't know any Olympian that comes off the bench. I don't know any All-Star that comes off the bench. I don't know any former MVP that comes off the bench. I don't know any three-time scoring champion that comes off the bench."

But we all know that Allen has grown a lot since then, and he did say he'd be willing to do whatever it takes for his team to win a ring, and he'd be willing to do whatever the coach wants him to do. Even practice!

But is this the right move? I have mixed feelings. I'm just gunna watch and see how this goes before I say anything harsh. But I will say this: We all know he is an amazing player and he could be an amazing sixth man. He could play SMASHINGLY with the 2nd unit since he will be playing with players who aren't as good. He would be on the court at crunch time, when it matters, to help win games because of his ability to get to the line.

I'm not sure if it has anything to do with the fact that he didn't play last night [back injury] because that's hard for me to swallow, but the Pistons played amazing last night. They played like ... the Detroit Pistons. Like the Pistons who have always been talked about when talking about the East Elite. Like the Pistons who know each other, trust each other, and work as one.

Rip's first game back in the starting lineup and he scored 31. Stuckey had 22, and Tay added 17. We beat the Magic 93-85. We ended the longest losing streak in 14 seasons.

"It's nothing on Allen. He's just a guy that needs the basketball. And because of that, it reduces the amount of time Stuckey has the ball in his hands. That has taken away some of Stuckey's aggressiveness. Hopefully, this can help Stuckey out." Michael Curry said before last night's game.

"We need more guys to play better together, and play in sync. Hopefully, this will help."


The Pistons next game is a rematch of last year's eastern conference finals ... we're going to Boston.
The C's have won all 3 games we've played them this season, including 2 by double digits.
It's not clear yet if A.I. will return for this game ...

We're talkin' about ... changes.

Please, please excuse me from saying this, but ...

Is this the Detroit Pistons or the Washington Wizards?! What is going on here? I have no idea. We're on an 8 game losing streak, which hasn't happened to Detroit since the 1994-95 season.

The Pistons are now 2-9 in February, with 1 game to go [@ Magic].
In the last 4 Februarys combined, the Pistons have lost just 8 games, going 38-8 over-all.
We have fallen to below .500 for the first time since 2001.
It's been 7 years since the Pistons didn't reach the Eastern Conference finals. [I still think we will this year, but there are lots of nay-sayers.]
It's been 8 years since the Pistons had a losing record for the season.
It's been 8 years since the Pistons didn't win 50 games in the regular season.

Iverson's back pain came back [he injured it the night before] early in the 1st quarter last night. I was sad, pissed, and lost hope of us winning that game. But after he left the game, the Pistons played like the old Pistons. Like ... champions. And I hate to say that and not include iverson, but its true. I don't know why.

But then Sheed got a tech in the 4th [just what he needs, right? Psh] and then was ejected from the game with 7:55 left in the 4th quarter after picking up a 2nd tech for the night ... all in 27 seconds.

If Sheed didn't throw the towel in [literally and figuratively] I have no doubt in my mind that we would have won, and ended this awful, embarrassing losing streak.

Coach Curry needs to go. I still believe that. Not A.I., not Sheed. I wish him and Joe D weren't secret lovers. He'd be gone by now.

But, I'm a huge fan, so I'm not giving up. Not yet, folks. We're not dead, we're not done. We're now the 7th seed in the Eastern Conference, and there is still time to climb.

We're talkin' about haircuts!

HE CUT OFF HIS CORNROWS.
Yes, it's true. For the first time in 13 years, Allen Iverson has shaved off his signature cornrows.

I apologize if you were one of the many people in my phone I sent a text to saying "OH MY GOD A.I. CUT OFF HIS BRAIDS I AM SO SAD I AM CRYING WAH WAH WAH."

And that was before I actually saw it.

My sister and I were sitting in the movie theater waiting for All-Star Saturday Night to start [which was dope, by the way. Well worth the money, and the 3D was amazing] and I got a text from a friend saying "A.I. cut his hair off." and I flipped out. Like, really.

He looks younger, if that's even possible. He is 33 and looked like he was in his early 20's even with the braids, but now he looks ... wow. I thought I'd hate it, but he is still the most beautiful man on earth, and I'm getting used to the cut. It's just still to crazy to see.







_______________________________________

Another change that we all knew was coming but nobody wanted to discuss or think about ... Stephon Marbury to the Boston Celtics.

It's official like a referee with a whistle.

I kinda like it. It makes me giggle. Welcome back to the game, Starbury.