It's one thing to lose a game, but it's another to be completely embarrassed. This weekend, the Pistons were utterly destroyed by the 76ers and Knicks, a pair of sub-.500 teams who weren't even playing at full-strength (the Sixers were without Elton Brand; the Knicks, Nate Robinson).
But, for at least a few moments, let's put all that negativity aside and celebrate the (expected) return of Antonio McDyess. At some point today, he's expected to sign a new contract with the Pistons, the first day he's eligible to return since accepting a buyout and clearing waivers in Denver. (Were the league office open on Sundays, he could have technically returned yesterday, but he's expected to be in uniform on Tuesday in Washington.)
Micheal Curry spoke before Friday's game about getting McDyess back -- from my article on FanHouse:
"I'm not going to start Dyess," Curry said. "Same thing as the beginning of the year – if I start Dyess, it puts Dyess and Sheed, both our scoring bigs, in the starting lineup.
"It don't make any sense, we'll be back in the same position where we're trying to figure out who can come off the bench and provide that scoring punch in the front court. What we need Dyess for is to be that scoring punch so that we can reduce Rasheed's minutes and we can continue to spread the floor for [Rodney] Stuckey when he comes in the game, as well."
Read the whole thing for the rest of Curry's comments.
Update: Also, from my FanHouse article on Curry shaking up the starting lineup:
I suggested a couple of weeks ago that the Pistons should move Iverson to the bench, allowing the rest of the starters to regain their rhythm while giving Iverson a chance to dominate the ball with the second unit. With Rodney Stuckey thriving both as a scoring threat and playmaker in the last several games, I asked Curry in his pre-game meeting with the press on Friday if he ever thought of swapping the two in the starting lineup.
Curry was blunt with his response, looking perhaps a bit confused why I even asked the question: "Nope." Six seconds of awkward silence followed before another reporter changed the subject.
After losing a pair of games, Curry is ready to concede change is needed ... except instead of swapping Stuckey for AI, he might be swapping Stuckey for Kwame Brown. (Can't believe I didn't think to ask about that ...) I don't think it's a horrible thing to try, but it certainly doesn't feel like it could be a permanent switch. Getting Stuckey into the starting lineup is progress; getting Curry to realize his top three guards don't belong in the lineup at the same time is apparently too much, too soon.