Great holiday news for Pistons Fans.
“After Wednesday night’s 110-96 victory over the Knicks, he was one of many players who grumbled when coach Michael Curry decided to hold practice on Thanksgiving morning.
Iverson was the only no-show today. He will be fined an undisclosed amount and won’t start Friday night against the Milwaukee Bucks at the Palace.
Rodney Stuckey will start in Iverson’s place against the Bucks.” The Detroit Free Press
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Next post: Yes, we’re talking about Practice
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I think that was a poor decision by Curry to hold practice on Thanksgiving. Everyone knows family comes first and players are in other states for weeks at a time. But they can usually count on having holidays to themselves. I don’t know how many teams held practice today but I don’t like that decision
I think that it is pretty reasonable to hold a practice on the morning of Thanksgiving – I don’t think that they would miss much family time in the morning. It is pretty bold for Allen Iverson to be the only one to not show up since he is the newest member of the team.
Yea, I’m surprised he had the nerve to do this, especially because he is new, and wants to win a championship so badly. That just shows what character he has. It’s unfortunate, he already has proven that he is that kind of player.
And truthfully, the practice was probably going to be about him and help him offensively and defensively. That’s so disappointing.
I’m missing Billups more and more.
I am glad that AI missed practice.
Stuckey deserves to start after yesterday’s game and continue to start.
AI won’t be back next year so keep him on the bench
He can join the Marberry Man as the all malcontent backcourt.
Practice? . . . We’re talking about practice? . . . Not even a game, but practice . . .
i can’t agree with Mike more
can’t wait to see Stuck get the start
this is what you get when you have AI. this is how he is and I don’t think it was bad for MC to have practice seeing as you got blown out at home by the worst team in the league.
Lets go Stuck!
Not a fan of this behavior.
I was hopin we wouldn’t be talkin about practice this season!
Lookin forward to getting his sorry ass outta Detroit – no way we should resign this malcontent.
Well isn’t he just of to “a great start”.
Do you think Joe D will talk to him about this?
I would trade him for Aaron McKie…
y would u hold practice on thanksgiving
i dnt blame AI…
Big AI fan. Totally believe Thanksgiving is an important Holiday, but I work year ’round. There’s a ton of folks that would kill for a three-hour work day on Thanksgiving. But I guess for $2o million, what do you expect. Maybe if he got paid what the guy working down the street at the video store got paid, it would be different. What a drag. Hate it when superstars make being a fan so hard.
If Rip, Sheed and Tayshaun who are the anchor of the Pistons came to practice on a holiday, why wouldn’t AI? What makes him so special in this team (or in the NBA) anyway? He hasn’t won anything yet. I say we start Stuckey all the way, and let AI come off the bench. Then probably we’ll know his true colors. As they say, adversity brings out the best (or the worst) of a person.
not sure if u guys saw this maxiell mix yet ?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TEhH701RND0
Truth is, I would have skipped too.
Still, rather have Chancey on this team.
Dumars reasoning was to show who is in charge.
Cut off the head.
if your in the NBA you should never skip a practice. There are people working hard year round just to get a shot to go to the NBA and they would go to practice everyday if they could be in the position that AI is in. It is a question of AI’s passion and commitment if he skips practiece even if it is on Thanksgiving.
play amir all the time
the only thing iverson needs to do is win games. the only thing curry needs to do is get amir the ball in the paint.
JBump I second your comment (except I wouldn’t characterize myself as being an AI fan. Not defending him or nothing but I wonder what he had going on, was it an emergency or something?
I’m trying to remember, did Joe Dumars actually say he would only go after high character guys, or was it the fans that started that hype (I’m asking for real)
Also there are teams that actually played games today, not to mention the teams that play on Christmas
The whole thing is whatever for me.
Good for AI not practicing on Thanksgiving, it’s a dumb thing to have to practice on thanksgiving, and family does come first.
Good for Coach Curry to fine him for skipping it, it was a dumb thing to skip practice, and work comes first. Everyone gets their way.
Except for fans like me who have tickets for the game tomorow and possibly won’t get to see Iverson play. I do believe Joe D made the Iverson move to put asses in the seats. Not playing the guy goes against that. The fine would have been enough, not starting him and possibly benching him just spits in the fans faces.
Curry and Joe aren’t just to put asses in the seats, they’re trying to win a championship. Not that they don’t care about the fans, but the fans aren’t their first priority. They’re going to do their job and that is to win a championship, which requires some discipline. Although I don’t think it was a good idea to have a practice on Thanksgiving, I agree with the benching and fine. Everybody else showed up, why wouldn’t AI?
Nope, fans are ALWAYS the top priority. No fans equals your team moving to oklahoma. The Iverson trade was made specifically because the fans were not into the first few home games this season.
And why call the practice anyhow? The Pistons played good on Wed, did everything right and came away with the win. Good move rewarding them with an unnecessary practice on a national holiday. Don’t get me wrong, it was a bad move to skip practice, but it was a dumb move to call for it in the first place. Who knows, maybe AI was flying out of town for the holiday, and the practice would have screwed the whole thing up. Don’t blame him at all for skipping it.
AI?? Man, first of all, you just came to this team about 2-3 weeks ago, we’re trying to win a championship, this isn’t philly, it’s work here in Detroit, that’s why we’re one of the most successful franchises, and plus, i think stuckey should start, we are better as a slow paced half court team and thats what stuck brings, stuck reminds me of a more explosive chauncey, and man i miss chaunce. : (
As a worker for the Pistons, trust me Curry should have had no practice today.
1) Its Thanksgiving, let your players go home and spend the day with there families
2) They just won a game, reward them by not having practice
3) Iverson needs to shoot like he did in his Philly and Denver days
4) We need A.I.
It disappoints me that this happened, but I guess it doesn’t really suprise me. We all knew how AI felt about these sorts of things before he was a Piston. I’m more happy to hear that everyone else actually showed up. That way AI just looks like the odd guy out and maybe they’ll call him out on it. Plus it shows that everyone else is committed.
More practice between games = a better basketball team. Thankfully my job doesn’t require any holiday work, but if it did I definately wouldn’t call in sick or not go. I think what Curry did was the right thing. You can’t let him think that he can defy the TEAM and get away with it.
I guess it just disappoints me to hear right out of his mouth when we got him that he was committed to winning a championship and then he can’t show up for 3 hours in the morning. I just hope this doesn’t screw with any chemistry that they’ve been working on.
Lets just sit back I guess and see how the punishment unfolds. Maybe this is what AI needs.
I knew someone was going to break out the pratice line. But honestly he shouldn’t have skipped practice. But MC shouldn’t have scheduled a practice. It’s on him. AI wasn’t the only one complaining about having to practice on a holiday. But he is the only one who decided he wasn’t going to show up. Why do I get the feeling it was one of those agreements that guys come up with the night before something and then when it comes time to actually carry it out there is only one guy who does. AI got caught with his pants down I think.
But like I said I put the blame squarely on MC’s shoulders. I think this incident might have de-railed any momentum that the Pistons would have had after that win against the Knicks.
Practice on Thanksgiving sucks but there are teams that are PLAYING on Thanksgiving so suck it up, A.I. and get your ass to the gym and work on that D.
Okay first of all they beat the Knicks, what do they need a reward for, second of all IT WAS AN HOUR
To all those who say MC was wrong to schedule a practice today, I agree. Bad move. But that’s what this should have been. A bad move by a new coach. AI didn’t just disregard his coach, he made his team mates look like chumps. He sent the message that their showing up was somehow weak. They had to feel left out in the cold.
Team doesn’t come before family. But come on. How does a short morning practice betray belief in family.
My idea for punishment: No fine. He still starts. But he wears number “0″.
Fluidics just because AI doesn’t play against the Bucks doesn’t mean it is a bad game and if you are going only to see AI (im not saying you are) then you shouldn’t be a fan of the Pistons. The Pistons have a bunch of other great players and AI is serving his punishment for skipping practice. It doesn’t matter if it was on Thanksgiving. That is the reason why we got MC so he could be more in control then Flip and he knows that they need practice. So don’t be mad at MC, Joe or anyone else, AI is the answer this time.
WHO GIVES A FLYING FUCK QUIT BITCHING ABOUT IT..U ALL TREAT THIS TEAM LIKE A COMMITED RELATIONSHIP GET OFF THEIR NUTS! FLAT OUT.
Yea Chauncey is actually playing a game in Denver on thanksgiving.
I wouldn’t be complaining Allen.
Iverson is on the team, so support him u fuckers. Personally, i loved chauncey on the team and the team the way it was and it still hurts that he plays for denver now, but it was a move that had to be made i think. not only for an etablished go to guy, but we have alot of cap space for the HUGE 2010 free agent market(lebron, bosh, etc.).
Also…
we talkn bout practice?…practice?
Detriot was a great team and still is but Iverson shouldnt start with that bullshit attitude like he always did not showing up for practice and showing up late and all that bullshit its just messing up the team chemistry
we need someone like daron willims in detriot
Right now practice is most important. With a new PG on your team, you have to practice as much as possible.
This is why he never wins that ship before.
He’s 33 years old, making the same mistakes since 1997.
All I’m saying is that there are lots of people who bought tickets after the trade, based soley on the fact that they wanted to see AI. This is only his 5th home game here. If he doesn’t play, it’s a dis to all of those fans. People pay to see the players play, not to see the coaches flex their muscles. That’s what pissed me off so much during that first loss to boston, Curry was sitting Afflalo because he was pissed at him, while the team was getting blown out. Check your ego and put your players in the game, nobody ever helped their team win from the bench.
I told u since day number one. AI is a loser, and he shows this every single day, Billups come back home!
i hope we get another superstar i LOVE watching u all cry this is hillareous! i love seein people suffering and in pain.
steve the hated you’re cool man, you sound like a cartoon character sometimes, but it’s all in good fun.
lamont I’m with you, I think Deron Williams is one of the best point guards in the game, just not sure if Utah would give him up.
And why is Michael Curry wrong, he is in a tough situation and he knew his players needed practice time so 1 hour practice, not 3, 1. And why are you blaming Michael Curry for Iverson not showing up. He is a grown man he’s responsible for his own actions. Family is important, but this is what is meant by sacrificing for the good of the team.
ai deserves to be punished and will be punished. a one hour practice was not unreasonable and attending one does not disrespect or betray your family or the holiday or make you look like a chump.
it makes you look like a true championship contender, which is why it’s so new to ai.
i’m less interested in how the coach and joe d handle it than how the other players react. if i’d just lost someone like chauncey, decided (against my better judgment) to buy into ai’s song and dance, and then he shit in my cereal like this… i think my professionalism might flag in regards to warning you about picks and whatnot, or how hard i take practice (when you make it).
First off, this is the first time commenting on this site but I have been reading for years and it is phenomenal. Natalie I believe it is your site, and its amazing so keep up the amazing site!!!!
I live in TO and thanks to family have been a Piston’s supporter since the bad boy days. I must admit that when AI was traded I was ticked off at first but then became somewhat happy (and now realizing I was just lying to myself). After this incident happened I was so frustrated it was almost unbearable. First of all this guy has messed up our rotation huge. Even when Dyess is back, it doesn’t solve the problem that Hamilton and him can not be on the court at the same time (why I think Hamilton should be the Ginobli of the east and go with stuckey and bynum as PG’s all year). Given that, he decides HIS time is more precious then any other players and HE decides to stay home and do HIS own thing while everyone else gave up their time on thanksgiving. The rumour is that he is going to be getting a “hefty” fine and will not be able to start? I don’t know about you guys (and I agree with another readers comments, he is cheating Piston’s fans by being selfish) but this punishment is almost as pathetic as his actions. He can not start? How about not playing him for 5 games. Let him practice during that time but what is he learning by not being able to start against the Buc’s? Come on, that is a joke and not the standard Joe D or Curry should be setting or claim they will set. If I were a selfish jerk, I would see that as a good trade, you get to skip practice, eat food and be lazy, then you get less minutes in your first game after? That is beneficial to him almost, and this hefty fine? Unless it is 10 mill then it means nothing to this guy. Bottom line is he cheated this team worse then even the selfish Sheed has (don’t get me wrong he is my favorite player but he has proven to put himself before the team plenty of times). I really don’t care what stats Iverson has, this is a huge blow to the team in my opinion and this lame punishment does not show that to him. For any of you who are lucky enough to go to the game against the Buc’s, do me a favor and BOO the s%$t out of Iverson to let him know how much of a selfish punk he is. Thanks again for the awesome site its amazing!!
Pat, good post and welcome to the world of being a need4sheed poster. It’s a hoot.
I think with the timing of this, only being here less than a month, his reputation and quotes in the past, plus what he said in the press conference about doing whatever the coach asks him to do he kind of set himself up for a backlash. I can’t remember the exact quote, but he said in the interview with Sheed and John Thompson that when his teammates look to their left they know he’ll be there in the foxhole
Not that I’m defending the guy because I think he was in the wrong. But why don’t we wait and see what his excuse is, if he has one, and how he’ll react. Like I said in my first post, maybe this is just what he needs to have reality set in that he can’t be the old AI. He said he wants to win so lets see what happens.
In the end this whole thing has been blown out of proportion from the get go. Yeah it pissed everybody off but come on, is it really that big of a deal as long as it doesn’t get out of hand.
I didn’t get to watch the Knicks game because I have DISH, but I did record the replay at 12:00 and watch bits and pieces the next day. I was really suprised how much better the team looked when AI wasn’t even in the game. It reminded me of those couple games after the trade when he couldn’t play yet. I just think he throws the whole team out of what they’re used to. Hopefully they’ll find a way around it.
But as I’ve said before, I’m not going to get my hopes up that high. This team has a lot to prove to me to show me that they’re actually contenders. I’ve learned to lower my expectations for this team because of all the times I’ve been let down. Not saying we haven’t been good the last couple of years. Just not good enough.
Oh, and Steve the hated, I love your comments sometimes. It adds some humor to these posts. You can’t fault the guy for being honest. I just can’t believe how pissed off everyone gets.
Yeah. It may have been a poor decision form Coach Curry to have practice on Thanksgiving, but hey, if Sheed showed up with all of the rest of the players, why couldnt AI spend an HOUR of his day for the team. Lets hear his side first, then we can really have a judgment.
But for now, wrong move AI. Thats is not how Detroit Basketball rolls. Bounce with us, or your ring will bounce out.
Chauncey had to play on Thanksgiving; I just believe the arrogance–read somewhere that he apologized and the gamenotes show Iverson starting, but that’s probably a mistake
–interesting if they win and look better without him but I bet he plays AND I bet he does it again
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