Chauncey Billups returned to Michigan to deal with an undisclosed personal matter. He’s not expected back in time for Saturday’s game, which means Rodney Stuckey should get his first start. In fact, we could even see a little bit of Lindsey Hunter … with an emphasis on little. From Chris McCosky in the DetNews:
Hunter has played in just one game — for six minutes at San Antonio — since Dec. 26. He has been battling the flu for a couple of weeks and hasn’t even practiced much. So, when it was suggested to Hunter that he might have to play 20 minutes tonight, he reacted in mock horror.
“Twenty minutes? Me? Right now?” he said. “No, no.
“Like I told them (the coaches), use me sparingly. Stuckey’s playing 40 minutes.”
Guess that means significant time for Afflalo too, and maybe a few minutes for Dixon. Seems like this would have been a nice time to still have Flip Murray, because relying so much on two rookie guards (and maybe one that just joined the team) is chancey (not to be confused with Chauncey) especially on the road. But the Clips have their own injury problems these days, and I hope our bigs can take advantage of the absence of Brand and Kamen.
Let me be the first to say, I wonder what Chauncey’s personal issue is, and I hope it turns out OK.
Hell, I’ll take an L if it means getting starting experience for our major up-and-comers… Although against the Clips, I’m not worried.