Have a shootaround the interwebs to serve as mental preparation for tonight's game against the Wizards. 

 Charlie Villanueva is averaging 22.5 points and a little over five rebounds over the past four games.  He's coming off one of the best games of his career where he scored 30 points on 13-17 shooting against the Bobcats.  How did he celebrate the win and the off-day that followed Wednesday's win? By playing Call of Duty until four in the morning. That's. Awesome.

 Is this a make-or-break season for Rodney Stuckey?  The Baseline seems to think so.  They say that by the third year, it's clear how an NBA career will shape up.  That's a bold declaration when it actually rings false for the most recent Pistons point guard, Chauncey Billups.  Chauncey's career didn't take off until he came to Detroit, his sixth NBA season, when he was 26-years old. Stuckey will turn 24 this spring. So I'd have to respectfully disagree and say that this season is not make-or-break for Stuckey. 

 In that same article, Stuckey admits he's been inconsistent and that is something he needs to work on.  Patrick Hayes looks at some of the other players from the 2007 draft class who have dealt with consistency issues.  

 Speaking of consistency, the Pistons front court rotation (aside from Wallace and Villanueva) has been anything but that.  Dave Pemberton of Pistons Point mentions that John Kuester is looking for one of his big men to step up and make his job a little easier formulating the rotation.  Right now, Chris Wilcox, Kwame Brown, and Jason Maxiell are battling for minutes, but neither has really stood out amongst the three.  Kwame Brown probably has the edge, however. 

Pemberton also has a piece on Kwame Brown and how he is trying to add arc to his shot.  The more arc you have, the better chance you have at making shots.  It's science -- just ask "Rainbow Joe" Dumars.

 The Wizards recently signed 5'5" guard, Earl Boykins.  As Mike Prada and Kyle mentioned to me in their podcast, Boykins could be a guy that lines up against Will Bynum tonight.  [via MLIVE]

There has been a whole lot of hoopla surrounding Lebron James' comments about how he may change jersey numbers to honor Michael Jordan's number 23 and that the NBA should follow suit.  Kwame Brown agrees and John Kuester says Jordan's certainly a candidate to have such an honor.  I guess this resurfaces the debate, "who is the NBA's best player all-time."  While majority probably agrees that Jordan is the best all-time, if there's any doubt, I don't think it should happen.  Lebron certainly can do what he wants to honor Jordan, but I don't think the NBA should follow in his large footsteps.

Dan Feldman at Piston Powered asks the somewhat rhetorical question, "why did the Pistons spend so much money on Ben Gordon and Charlie Villanueva?"  He suggests Dumars probably sees more in these two that most other teams did not.  A few more games of them carrying the load might help people realize that.

 A night after Will Bynum may have had the dunks of the year, Dwyane Wade made an awfully strong bid.  Last night, Ty Lawson had a very Bynumite dunk that probably deserves to ranked up there when it's all said and done, too. Oh, yeah, we're just eight games into the season.

 Speaking of "Bynumite," a Lakers fan caused a stink in the comments about my usage of the term because apparently Lakers fans have been calling ANDREW Bynum that since 2005.  Natalie at Need4Sheed boasts that she coined the term and a couple other sources seem to believe that, too.  I don't know who to believe (I tend to be a homer), but with all due respect to each party involved, it's not exactly a groundbreaking nickname for anyone who knows the word "dynamite." I think Lakers and Pistons fans can share it just fine, but has Andrew Bynum ever dunked like this?.

 Looking ahead to Sunday's game against Dallas, the Free Press is reporting that Josh Howard may not play for the Mavericks.  Howard has played the past three games after coming back from ankle surgery, but it seems like the Mavs hurried his return and he needs some more time to recover. 

 If you ever have any tips or questions, you can email me at Motownstringmusic@gmail.com.