Come back off the ledge – radio reports to the contrary, Rip Hamilton has not been ruled out for Game 6. When those suggestions were being made Thursday, neither Flip Saunders nor anyone else had even taken Hamilton’s temperature yet.
The Pistons didn’t get back from Boston until well after 3 o’clock Thursday morning, so when Saunders met with reporters at 11 a.m., his answer to the Hamilton question was, “Don’t know yet. We won’t know until this afternoon. So he’s like all of our other guys, hopefully sleeping.”
Hamilton had an X-ray after the game in Boston that was negative and it’s listed as a strained right elbow. Together with Chauncey Billups’ strained right hamstring, it’s been a straining postseason so far. Hamilton now becomes best friends with strength coach Arnie Kander, just as Kander and Billups became virtual roomies during the Orlando series, scheduled for treatment with Kander Thursday afternoon ... and evening, and Friday morning, and probably right up until tipoff.
“He’s going to be sore today,” Saunders said. “If we had to play today, I don’t think he’d play. It’d be different if it was his left arm, but it’s his right arm – his shooting arm. You know, the golden arm. So I think that he’s going to need to get it polished up a little bit before he can play.”
If Hamilton can’t play, Saunders said “more than likely (Rodney) Stuckey” would start in his place. Juan Dixon would be the likely candidate to come off the inactive list and get minutes behind Stuckey at shooting guard with Jarvis Hayes and Arron Afflalo also in the mix.
No, Stuckey was not trying to miss the second free throw with 4.5 seconds left and Boston leading 104-102. He missed the first, then the ESPN crew speculated he would intentionally miss the second. Before Garnett shot his free throws, they showed a replay of Stuckey reacting by grimacing and closing his eyes – but that was to his miss, not his make of the second free throw.
“Because of where it was, no,” Saunders said. “He was trying to make that one and we were going to try to get a steal in that situation.”
Rasheed Wallace picked up his sixth technical foul of the postseason when Mike Callahan slapped him with one late after Lindsey Hunter was called for a personal foul. Wallace appeared to react by kicking out his right leg – but he wasn’t reacting to the Hunter foul; rather, he was showing Callahan what a Boston defender had done to him on the previous possession.
Wallace, of course, is now one technical foul away from serving an automatic one-game suspension, which would be a heavy penalty if it comes in a potential Game 7 of the conference finals or during the NBA Finals.
“We’ll talk to him,” Saunders said. “Usually when he gets this close he’ll know to tone it down a little bit. We’ll talk to him.”
Saunders, as he was following the Game 5 loss, remains upbeat about his team’s frame of mind and chances to still win the series.
“As I said after the game, we’re not going to go away. I really believe if we get to Game 6, we’re going to have a good opportunity in Game 7, because I think our players were upset. We’ve got a good mind-set. Usually when we have that mind-set, I feel good about our guys, so I think right now I’m more anxious to play Game 6 and get after it and know that our crowd’s not going to score any buckets for us or anything else, but they’re hopefully going to give us the boost we need. As I told our guys after the game, I was proud of them. We spilled our guts on that floor in the fourth quarter. And we’re going to do that for 48 minutes on Friday.”
Saunders brushed off any deeper meaning over suggestions that Lindsey Hunter and his teammates were upset when he sent Billups back in the game for the stretch run.
“I told (Hunter) after the game, I want my guys to play. When he’s out there, he’s a competitor. But as I said after the game, as coaches we make decisions that players question, you guys question, everyone questions. And not ’til it plays out do you find out if it’s good or bad or whatever. … The other thing you have to understand, too, is if it’s close and you don’t play (Billups), then the question is, ‘Why didn’t you play him?’ Because he’s Mr. Big Shot. So there’s never any easy decision.”
now we are almost at the end of the line.
rasheed had been emotional after the game, and the referees are doing their job of taking over the game for boston and ousting detroit in the finals.
yeah the pistons are more hungrier than boston. they say boston is hungrier than us because they are the favorites this year unlike us the underdogs. but keep thinking mind. we will make it in 6.
last year we dont have options at the bench now we have. and we must use them at these series so they may play for themselves. and accquire more extra minutes.
if rip can't play why not use other bench. jarvis hayes. juwan dixon.
why not use other bigmen. they are sitting at the bench man? hermann isn't playing and samb as well.
i want them to see on action this game 6. so hopefully we may bounce back the game this friday night.
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