Whoever says we need to trade RIP is CRAZY!!! Have you all forgot what this man has done for this team! All the effort he’s put fourth over the years. He was one of the key components to our championship run. He was the leading scoring for 4 years. And now that A.I. has come in u just wanna boot him to the curve? Whats wrong with you people. I know RIP may not be better than A.I. But dammit he was a PISTON way before A.I. was! AND he has a ring and A.I. DOESN’T!

U people disgust me sometime

2. i dont like it. i think j-max needs to get a go at the 4. but amir needs to get a try so i guess he’d be my second option after jmax.

3. its at 5. now il go thru the games kings-win(6), clippers-win(7), portland-win(8), then c-bil and melo stop our win streak in denver at 8.

4. i dont know man…i like his endurence and i’ll miss that jumper. yeah i geuss i’ll trade him for a decent big.

peaceeeeeeee-happy 2009

And for #4:

I don’t think we should trade Rip. He’s a great player. One of our shooting guards needs to move into a sixth man role and be like Vinnie Johnson.

Pistons assign Walter Sharpe and Alex Acker to D-League!

I think this might be the right move for Walter Sharpe.

Now we have the chance to see Walter playing *g*

http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090102/SPORTS0102/901020389/1127

I think the Starters should be Stuckey, AI, Prince, Amir, Sheed and off the bench Rip, Afflalo, Max and Dice.

I think they should be our top 9 players. Guys like Bynum and Hermann and Brown are there when you need them for specific matchups or for energy during a rut.

Stuckey, AI, and Tayshaun CAN’T average 40 minutes a game. That just doesn’t work in the long run (05-06 Pistons).

So either Curry plays Bynum and Herrmann, or he gets players that he will play.

1.) I think he is really hurt.
2.) I like Amir in the starting lineup.
3.) I don’t know, I there will be a though 4 game west-road-trip, including Denver and Utah… 8 games, maybe 9!

4.) I wouldn’t trade him!

2008 is over! And the Pistons found their rhythm! They are playing much better with 2 Bigs out there and having Tay on the 3. So Amir, Maxiell, Kwame and Afflalo getting more playing time and that’s good for the team.

I have one question: Do we really need someone else in this team?

I think we are already a good team, who doesn’t need a trade (in this season).

Let’s have a look on our roster:

PG: Stuckey, Bynum
SG: Rip, Iverson, Afflalo, (Acker)
SF: Prince, Herrmann, (Sharpe)
PF/C: Rasheed, McDyess, Maxiell, Johnson, Brown

For this season, we have enough Bigs on our roster.

The Backup for Prince is already there but not in use (Walter!).

Maybe we need a third PG. Curry doesn’t use Bynum a lot. (I don’t understand it). But in my opinion, we could need a third PG, if Stuckey gets injured again! Now I’m missing Lindsey! But at this point, we already have a good backup (Bynum!).

But what about our SG-Position!?
There we have 3 good guys. Sure, we are able to trade Rip, but I wouldn’t do it this season.
What will happen next year with(-out) AI? I don’t know, you don’t know! If we won’t win the championship this year, he could go to another team… So we need Rip and Afflalo!
“Let things play out”! Now it seems to me, if we have found our rhythm. If we will have another trade, we will have another period trying to find a rhythm…

Ok, Rip is hurt, but I won’t put him on the bench. Let’s bring Iverson off the bench to create more space for the second unit. I love this idea!

We all know the “I have a bigger goal“-statement of AI. Maybe he is ready to come off the bench!? I would try it. At the end, we have to put one of them (Ai or Rip) on the bench and let them only play 10-15 min together (3 guard lineup, if necessary!?)! We could play the 3 guard lineup with Tay on the bench and having 2 Bigs on the floor! Only for something like 10 minutes! That gave us the opportunity to involve our 5 Bigs!

Interesting….

My only concern is that Camby’s nearly 35 years old, while Rip is almost 31.

And if you trade Rip for Camby, then you got to trade Kwame. Too many big men now. And also bring in a backup SF and PG.

I think this is because Joe D is gonna trade him. For the thing we desperately need; Bigs.
I think a straight up trade of Rip for Camby would be great for the Pistons. We would have a Ben Wallace type 5 again, with Sheed dominating PF’s, Tay at his natural position, AI at Shooting Guard and Stuckey at PG.

I’m sorry but that lineup is lethal. Add to the that the fact we have one of the deepeset benches in the league (unlike Boston) and i think we could make a very deep run in the playoffs.

I would be sad to see Rip go, but it’s for the greater good of the team cos Rip and AI on the same aint happening. And why would we trade AI when his contract expires soon and we get loads of free cap space to sign a superstar to go along with our alrady stacked team?

The Ritz disease can take an injury that normally keeps you out two to three games and cause it to have you out until Its confirmed that Allen Iverson isn’t starting over you.

Its just funny how Rip has been Mr. Durable his entire career up til this point. I mean, DUH…his whole face is broken and that didn’t seem to stop him.

I’m not saying that Rip didn’t do anything to cause himself some degree of injury. I just think the part of his body that’s hurting the most is his aching heart.

2. Amir or Kwame need to start. I can’t decide yet. Amir brings youth, athleticism and so many intangibles and hustle. Unfortunately Amir’s defense isn’t up to par and Sheed has to play center in this lineup.

Kwame though lets Sheed play his natural PF position. His defense is a little above average, although his offense is, uh, not good.

So do you want Kwame’s defense and size or Amir’s athleticism and speed?

So far so good with Amir though.

3. I think this streak can last for a while. The Pistons haven’t exactly played elite teams lately (except Orlando). A lot will depend on Rip, Sheed, and Dyess’ statuses. That’s a lot of firepower that will be missed. It may work against a Vince Carter-less Nets team, but not against Utah or New Orleans.

I think w/ this current lineup (assuming Sheed and Dyess play) that the Pistons will win the next 8 games. Other than Denver and Portland the schedule is relatively light.

4. Trade Rip? Hmm….well if you trade Rip, who’s your starting SG next year? I’m more concerned about getting a backup PG and SF, since Will Bynum and Walter Herrmann aren’t being played by Coach Curry. Stuckey and Tayshaun can’t play 40+ minutes every night.

So no, I don’t trade Rip. I move Iverson to the bench. Who cares if he likes it or not? It’s not about him, it’s about what’s best for the team.

If I had to trade Rip though, I trade him for a PF. I know Utah would love Rip and Boozer is a PF, but I don’t know. Boozer seems kind of shady to me, not to mention that he’s having surgery soon.

So I don’t really know who I would realistically trade Rip for.

Grade I — Only a few muscle fibers are stretched or torn, so the muscle is mildly tender and painful, but muscle strength is normal.

Grade II — A greater number of muscle fibers are torn, so there is more severe muscle pain and tenderness, together with mild swelling, noticeable loss of strength and sometimes bruising (called ecchymosis).

Grade III — The muscle tears all the way through. Either it rips into two separate pieces, or the fleshy part of the muscle breaks away from the tendon. Grade III muscle strains are serious injuries that cause complete loss of muscle function, as well as considerable pain, swelling, tenderness and discoloration. A Grade III strain also causes a break in the normal outline of the muscle, often producing an obvious “dent” or “gap” under the skin where the ripped pieces of muscle have come apart.

2. I love Amir in the starting line-up cause small ball is gross. Anyway, the starting line-up should be Stuck, Rip, Tay, Mir, and Sheed.

3. I think it’ll last at least 10 games. That would be nice…hopefully we can get 10 str8 wins.

4. Nobody!!! I want Rip to stay! If we get rid of him, seriously I will not watch the Pistons anymore.

Happy New Year’s Folks!!!

http://www.mlive.com/pistons/index.ssf/2008/12/mri_reveals_richard_hamilton_h.html

1. I’m not sure, but I’d like to think that Rip wasn’t faking an injury. Rip probably won’t play Friday, so what in the world did he do if he’s really injured?

2. I love Amir in the starting lineup. Did you see him in the first quarter today? He was on fire! Awesome stealing, dunking, later blocking!a

3. Hopefully this will last at least 10 or 15 games!!!