The Pistons are on the road, where they've only won one stinking game this season, taking on the Houston Rockets tonight. Let's shoot the roundball rock around, nothin' but internet.

• The big story last night dealt with the Pistons' plane needing to make an emergency landing after a "distress call." Apparently there were "problems with the hydraulics operating the aircraft’s left-side landing gear," but it was never serious and the 44 passengers didn't even know about it until they landed safely. I'm not an aerospace engineer, but my wife's dad is as smart as one and he says that even if a major system failed, aircrafts have enough backups so that a single failure wouldn't pose any real problems. We have exclusive audio from the cockpit right before the safe landing.
• ShirleySurely, there's a good joke in here about Austin Daye flying the plane from three-point range and everyone being safe because he can't hit anything from out there, right? Right? Someone smarter/funnier than me (anyone) want to clean/change that up for a laugh? Kthnx. [Really bad Daye stats from MrHappyMushroom]
• Before the Pistons embarked on a two-game road trip, and four games in the next five nights, they held their first practice in 11 days [via MLIVE]:

"As opposed to trying to cure all your ills, you just put a couple things under the microscope," Frank said, then rattled them staccato, mostly related to shrinking the floor defensively though post digs, pick-and-roll defense, not chasing shot fakes, and "multiple efforts to get back into the play."

Offensive work focused on sets and reads, and pick-and-roll execution, Frank said.

• The Pistons are 26th in the NBA in FG-percentage (42-percent). Per mySynergySports, they're worst at scoring on Isolayshaun (32-percent), off screen (34-percent), and pick-and-roll ball handler shots (35-percent).
• Even if they don't mean it, the players are saying the right things this season: Rodney Stuckey says he would be just fine with a bench role:

"I think starting is only getting your name called at the beginning of the game," Stuckey said. "I'm just trying to help my team win." [...]

Stuckey said he has "no ego" one way or the other. He said he's far more concerned with recovering fully from his injury, something that will only take time.

"Nah, I don't really care. If I start or come off the bench, I'm blessed," Stuckey said. "Whether I'm the sixth man, seventh man, I don't worry about that."

• Vincent Goodwill reported on Twitter that Charlie Villanueva did not make the trip, so he will be out at least the next two games. Will Bynum is day-to-day, which sounds healthier than just being Daye.

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The Pistons open their home for the 2011-2012 season tonight against some team from Cleveland I've never heard of before. In observance of that, let's do a little morning shootaround. (Apropos of nothing really, I'm having amusing flashbacks to about 13 years ago when one of my best friends ripped off his really cool tear-aways prior to one of our AAU games only to reveal he was wearing nothing but tighty whities. Mannnn, was he embarrassed.)

• Want to write a preview/game thread for DBB this season? Sign up here.
• Believe it or not, Lawrence Frank doesn't like people getting too worked up over a team's bad start to a season:

"I think that's one of the most grossly overrated things in basketball," he said. "Philadelphia had one of the worst starts you could have [last year]. Bad luck, the perfect storm, yet they came back and made the playoffs.

"One of the worst starts you could have" got Frank canned. But he's right in the sense that the Pistons can't let one game affect their next like it sounds they did last year when they blew a seven point lead in the final two minutes of the opener. However, he could be bracing fans for the worst -- take a look at the Pistons next ten games after tonight's.


• I mentioned in the recap the other night that it'd be good for Ben Gordon to get into a rhythm of shooting 10-15 shots per game. I should've just said 15 shots per game because that's the only way to maximize a shooter like Gordon. Gordon had a bounce back season last year in terms of shooting percentages, but was underused -- Gordon needs to find that early swagger.
• My favorite part of the Austin Daye interview Watson linked to is where Daye talked about working out with Kevin Durant:

"KD just loves hoop ... "


Probably a typo, but it'd be cooler if it wasn't. "How U? Good, I love hoop."

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Day numero uno of training camp was yesterday, so I think now would be a good time for us to get going again with the morning shootaround the internet for Pistons priming. Where do we start, though?!?!

• Jonas will show us the way.
• 'Ben Wallace all but commits to returning' for a 16th season:

"Oh no, I'm here," Wallace said. "I'm giving everything I got. At the end of the day, if that's good enough to play on this team, or if I have to sit on the sideline and be a great teammate, that's what I'm going to do."

• Vocal leader Tayshaun Prince sat out of practice, but Keith Langlois points out that it was not mutinous behavior; it was "strictly because of formalizing the contract signing," as Joe Dumars said it's just a verbal agreement right now. So you're telling me there's a chance he could still disappear during The Darkest Hour? My sources, or reckless intuition, wants to convince me he'll be traded soon ...
  As for Rip:

• @ripcityhamilton
  Rip Hamilton Thank u to all my Detroit fans. Love all of u. U will always have a special place in my heart. Yessssssirrrrr
  Dec 10 via Twitter for iPhoneFavoriteRetweetReply

• From Langlois' Day 1 wrap:

[Dumars] couldn’t divulge why a buyout instead of the amnesty provision allowed by the new CBA. The likely answer, though, is that a buyout means Hamilton didn’t get the full value of the remaining two years on his contract. The amount of the buyout, under the rules of the old CBA, at least, would be divided over the two years left on his contract for cap purposes.

Dumars said the Pistons will have "a mid-level exception – there are three (different ones) now" at their disposal and he held that out as one possible, perhaps likely, avenue to add another veteran big man to the frontcourt.

With Hamilton removed from the equation, the door is ajar for No. 1 pick Brandon Knight to crack the rotation. Joe D said "sometimes that’s the best thing for a young player, to get thrown into the water." I watched Knight shoot after practice and one thing is immediately clear: He has an effortless NBA 3-point stroke.

• Pistons are reportedly not close to re-signing Stuckey, but Dumars said the ceiling on the contract the team would match is "very high." Get high, ink high dollar contracts.
• Unverified Stuckey Twitter account, which has been retweeted by Pistons beat writers, suggests he wants out of Detroit.
• Frank thinks Brandon Knight can have a big impact in the lockout shortened season, just like Paul Pierce did in 1998-99 and ... Michael Dickerson? Jonas Jerebko was then forced to spew some cliches about the teammate he's had one practice with. Oh, and Jonas...
• After practice, Greg Monroe and Ben Wallace commended Frank for doing a great job with the team in his first practice. Wallace said Frank brought energy and showed leadership. Frank said he's trying to build team unity and brotherhood. Unity and brotherhood >>>> Mutiny and buffoonery.
• I smell a tasty new DBB meme: Joe Dumars pretended he didn't know what 'palatable' means in this 11 minute interview. He also said he expects the Pistons to make the playoffs like he expects LSU to beat Alabama. Alabama alum Vince Ellis said that's not going to happen.
• In case you missed it, the Pistons signed four players to their training camp roster.
• Terrico White and Wrong DaJuan were in camp with the Hornets on Friday.
• Chris Wilcox signed with the Celtics.
• As you know, Lamar Odom was traded to New Orleans before Khloe Kardashian David Stern nixed it. Odom's a really sensitive guy, so he cried, showed up late to camp on Friday and then left without practicing. Lakers assistant head coach John Kuester assured head coach Mike Brown that this was totally normal player behavior.
• Cat in the house? Don't need more meows.
  
  
• I like links. I collect links for the morning shootaround. I can't collect all the links, but I want more links. That's where you come in. Now, your links, and continued good talk.

What a cruel, cruel (hilarious?) joke it would be if the Pistons stopped Rodman's number half way up to the rafters and Mason yelped over the PA, April Fools!!!!!! Greg Mooooooooooose beeeebop-robocop-Monrobocop-Monroeeeee wears that number!! And then we'll retire it in his honor...

Okay, not that funny maybe. Especially since Kuester would probably find Rodman in his truck later with a .22 caliber rifle. Hey, I don't know what you've got planned with that, and if I did I wouldn't know how to handle the situation, but let me use that when you're done.

But, seriously, tonight is the Dennis Rodman number retirement ceremony. Other Bad Boys will be in attendance to see a great, well-deserved honor for one of the baddest of Bad Boys. And, with that, it seems like it's as good of a time as any to end the DBB shootaround boycott, er, excused absences and hit up some links.

• A timeline of Rodman's NBA years via Detroit Free Press.
• Teammates remember Rodman fondly, including an amazing throwback photo gallery. 
• Eli Zaret takes a look back at Rodman's career. What a great road from late 2nd round pick (Jack McCloskey saying Rodman didn't know how to play) to winning consecutive DPOYs (Jack McCloskey saying Rodman ruined one of his suit coats), to his trade to the Spurs, to tonight (Jack McCloskey saying Rodman is the greatest defender that has ever played). This is probably a nice preview of the tribute video you'll see tonight.
• Chris Iott at MLIVE did some crowdsourcing on Rodman via the Twitters. Some high, well-deserved praise for The Worm. Of note: former Piston blogger @PistonsNation thinks tonight is a publicity stunt.
• Terry Foster's column on Rodman includes a Snooki lede. 
• Artsy Rodman computer wallpaper at Need4Sheed.
• Maybe Dennis Rodman can find his way: A re-published 1993 column by Mitch Albom.
  
  Other Pistons links after the jump:

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I haven't done a morning shootaround since the last total lunar eclipse on the winter solstice, but I think it's time, what with the 9-19 record and all. I will say, if Richard Hamilton wasn't so darn distracting, we could probably post some layup drills a little more often.

• Richard Hamilton, distracting?!? Yup, sources told Detroit News' Vincent Goodwill that Rip Hamilton has become a distraction to the team. [insert Red Panda here]. One team source said, "he quit on us." I'm sorry, but how could you not see this storyline (or something remarkably similar) coming? Rip Hamilton just happens to come down with an "upset stomach," the same day Coach John Koostis says he's going to start Ben Gordon (in place of Rip)? My Dad delivered the zingers while we watched the game together: "Upset stomach? I bet it's more like 'upset at coach.'"
• Will Koostis stick with Gordon or cave to Rip after a single (successful) game? Chris Iott at MLIVE takes the words from my grubby fingertips:

The Pistons seem to play better when they are shorthanded, when the players who are in the lineup know they are going to get minutes and can fight their way through the tough stretches without fear that they will be replaced. That seems especially true when it comes to Gordon and Hamilton.

 Who should start? Who should get the majority of the minutes? 

Kuester might have an important decision to make. But it looks to me like he has already made it.

• Justin Rogers at MLIVE has audio of a Joe Dumars interview with ESPN 96.1 during which Dumars says he'll sit down and have a long talk with Rip if he needs to. He needs to (trade him). 
• Speaking of trades, Joe Dumars told Matt Dery last week that he hopes to be close to a deal. An audio clip on Pistons.com, which was mysteriously removed, revealed Dumars telling Keith Langlois "there's nothing." Dan Feldman at PistonPowered and tads here think Joe Dumars was misleading fans and full of crap, respectively. Dan Feldman has since posted a mea culpa, which I don't think was entirely necessary, but probably a fair move.
  
  I honestly believe Dumars is hopeful of pulling the trigger on some type of a deal and is trying. I think the "there's nothing," answer to Langlois' question could just as easily suggest there's nothing (imminent?) beyond initial trade talks, as opposed to zero trade discussions whatsoever. Do I think Dumars (or any other GM for that matter) says things to simply appease the fans? I'd guess it's done a whole lot more than we think or are let on, but I don't know if there's enough evidence or context here to insinuate Dumars has been caught being slimy in this instance. If Dumars isn't attempting to make a deal (and people need to understand there are a lot of variables at play, so I'm not too impatient, yet) then please scooch over to make room for me on the JDIAFI wagon.
• Kuester and Rip lead the NBA in technical fouls.
• Remember when Jason Maxiell stole it from David West and slam dunk shot it to seal the victory? Yeah, that was awesome: 
  
  
  More after the jump

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Okay, it's the afternoon, but I fell asleep early-ish last night and was held up this morning. Anyway....straight to the layup lines, don't worry about stretching. 

• One of the biggest questions after 'how did we lose that game?' had to be 'where was our No. 1 pick, Greg Monroe?' Hurt? Not ready? John Kuester explained on Thursday, sort of: 
  

"What happen is that you have four bigs, and Greg is going to be a big key to this situation. I have a tremendous amount of confidence in him. Max had played with more energy than I had seen in Greg at times, and yet Greg is going to be someone that is going to continually work hard. His chance is going to come.

 "A lot of it also dealt with the timing and the situation itself. Greg is going to play. Trust me. He's going to get his opportunity."

• Patrick Hayes at PistonPowered wonders if we should read anything more into the DNP. If your definition of "he's going to make an impact right away" includes game one, then something obviously changed. Read into it all you want. To me, let's see how at least five games play out. For what it's worth, Jonas Jerebko didn't see any minutes until the third game last year and Austin Daye only saw a minute in the 2nd game of the season. 
• NBA Play Book looks at Richard Hamilton's half-ass gamble for a loose ball late in Wednesday's game that led to Morrow's go-ahead three with 30 seconds left.
• Kid Rock is going to be honored and have his banner updated tonight. I'm not a Kid Rock hater like a lot of people, I really like that he reps Michigan hard, but I can't believe he has his own banner. Also, if you didn't want to stab your ears every time you heard it on TBS during the MLB Playoffs, "Born Free" will be heavily featured.
• Ridiculous Upside has a pretty cool video of Rasheed helping out at practice with the Albuquerque Thunderbirds. Of course, Darvin Ham is the head coach of that NBA-DL squad. The two have remained friends over the years and Ham has asked 'Sheed to come help out. 'Sheed said he wasn't going to help too much, but turned out to be the loudest person at the practice. I think we have a future coach in denial right now.
• Get your kool-aid on Twitter now: Keith Langlois has an account. Assuming he actually starts tweeting (he hasn't, yet), I'm really excited about this. Not only does Langlois seem like a genuinely nice guy, but he's as close to the team as anybody. And perhaps on Twitter we'll get a little less of the Pistons.com bias. If Twitter is your thing, you should definitely follow DBB if you're not already. You can also follow me, if you'd like.
• Ben Gordon flew to Chicago recently to film their version of Judge Judy. He wanted to be there for a teen who was running with the wrong crowd. Ben Gordon knows how hard it can be on the streets and wanted to help the kid, who idolizes Gordon. The show (which aired yesterday, sorry) is flying the 15-year-old to Detroit for the game tonight.
• Good interview of beat writer Chris Iott over at Need4Sheed. Interesting tidbit on Will Bynum's shoes to start it off -- Arnie approves.
• Interesting viral marketing or stalker? Either way, I bet Kevin Durant has some smoked turkey on that pizza. Yup.
• Check out this awesome children's LeBron Halloween costume.
• Wizards got worked in Orlando last night.
  • And, wow, the Jazz have looked miserable in their first two games.
    
    Somebody will be back later with a game thread. Until that glorious time comes, leave any other links or chatter below

No more tired legs! Pistons roll out their 10-man rotation tonight in New Jersey. Let's shoot it around to take care of our six P's (prior practice prevents piss-poor performance). 

• A Boston Celtics win has never been so gratifying. If only we could multiple the Heat's opening night loss by ... a lot. 0-1's not really a hole, but leave it to the Heat index to ask the question. The last team to go 0-1 and win the NBA championship? Our 2003-2004 Detroit Pistons. What's more groan-worthy is that the 1997-1998 Bulls started the season by losing to the Celtics, beat the 76ers in their next game and, then, much further down the road, won the NBA championship. Miami's next opponent? The 76ers. It's a good thing these patterns are as useful as a poopy flavored lollipop. (H/T @pistonpowered)
• The Suns got worked in the 4th quarter last night, which left Steve Nash seeking team "cohesion."
• My legs are getting so tired of season previews -- let the Pistons season begin! However, Chris Iott compiled all the previews you could possibly get in one setting. Yours truly makes a guest appearance.
• DBB's own handsomerob1 gives us his NBA/Pistons predictions over at Detroit4lyfe. If you want an NBA coach fired, ask Rob to put in a word -- he was perfect in predicting which coaches got canned last year.
• Chris Iott also informs us that Ben Gordon and Charlie Villanueva will headline the season preview show on Fox Sports Detroit before tonight's game. The show will include an interview of Rodney Stuckey given by the point guard who was drafted a slot higher than Stuckey seven years before him ... Mateen Cleaves! 
• The Detroit News has your roster breakdown, but you've seen that before.
• Did the open competition in the preseason materialize? Patrick Hayes has his verdicts at Piston Powered. It's hard to argue that the opening night Pistons lineup doesn't include the five best Pistons from the preseason.
• As TDP pointed out in the FanShots, Adrian Wojnarowski predicts that Austin Daye will win the NBA's Most Improved Player award. Interestingly enough, the Pistons realistically have 4-5 players who could step up and make a run for this award. One of them already won the award in 2000-2001.
• Nice fresh look over at Need4Sheed and this photoshop of Jonas Jerebko & Arnie Kander is worth a ticket at the box office.
• If you're heading to the Palace at all this season, you might notice some changes. 
• I wonder how LeBron feels about Justin Bieber getting an NBA championship ring last night. This is what photoshop competitions are for... 
  
  Share any other links you have in the comments. Chat it up, stretch it out and get ready for the 2010-2011 Pistons season. MFMP will be back later with the game thread. Odds after the jump.

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Pistons start life after Jonas by hosting the Bucks tonight in their second preseason game. Let's hope for an energetic, but injury and disease-free game. For now, let's shoot around the interwebs, and stuff.

• Kuester discussed the fallout from the Heat game yesterday at practice. Here's his response to a question about what the Pistons lose:
  

  "The energy," Kuester said. "He was starting to come in his own with his energy and how he communicated with players. He was really starting to take on a little of a leadership role for being such a young player."

• Within the same link above, Monroe admitted to having some first-game jitters, and understandably so: 

Monroe was quick to say after the game that he made some mistakes -- mostly because he was nervous. He said he watched the tape, and his mistakes will be corrected.

• Obviously, somebody needs to step up in Jerebko's absence and Monroe is one player that's going to get an added opportunity to do so. Ironically enough, it was injuries that allowed Jerebko to prove his worth last season. Monroe could step up and really help mitigate the loss of Jonas. In the wise words of our own Garrett Elliott, FOR JONAS!
• The other Piston that needs to step up, of course, is Charlie V. Natalie at Need4Sheed gives the official call out and, I think, speaks for all of us on this one.
• I posted this in the FanShots, but I'll relink it here: Charlie V. v. Austin Daye in NBA2k11. I won't spoil the ending, but CV31 does a disservice to the DBB name. (BTW - I think Pistons.com is no longer allowing others to embed their videos. If that's true, that's really CV-on-D-weak. I'd like to believe our loss is their loss. ANYWAY, somebody who was at the event put up on YouTube a little clip of the game & some girl's scalp, and the video is totally embeddable):
   
• Rip Hamilton missed practice yesterday due to the birth of his second child, a baby boy. Maxiell was not given visitation rights. 
• Chris Wilcox is a third big-ish player that might have to step up in Jerebko's absence. He was limited in practice on Thursday, as the Pistons are being very cautious with his injury. I'd be very surprised if he played tonight. 
• Shameless plugs, but if you're on Facebook - Like us. Tell your friends. Also like SB Nation Detroit, even if you don't.
• The other night, Mr. Ref had enough of Grant Hill and Reggie Evans slappin' each other's butts. He told them to take it to the locker room. 
• Share any other links you might have in the comments. Check you later for the game thread.