I will never forget how he took that loss to San Antonio in the finals. Sitting there heartbroken on the bench when the Pistons let that trophy slip right out from under their fingers. Most people don’t know he didn’t even go to the locker room that night, he headed straight to his car in his uniform and drove home. That’s how hard it hit him.

His quest for a Championship continues, and I for one am pulling for him… No matter where he may be.

If you missed his interview with Greg Kelser before the Pistons game on Wednesday night, take a moment and watch it. If you can’t feel his emotion when he talks about Detroit then there is something wrong with you. He almost brought me to tears.

I will also never forget what happened when I took my nephew to the Pistons Season Ticket Holders Night and asked Dyess to take a picture him.

It’s Official, The Pistons Charlie Villanueva and Ben Gordon are Detroit Pistons.

And Dyess is officially off to get his Ice in San Antonio and I wish him the best.

]]> http://need4sheed.com/2009/07/hello-gordon-and-villanueva-goodbye-mcdyess.html/feed 60 http://need4sheed.com/2009/03/antonio-mcdyess-all-heart.html http://need4sheed.com/2009/03/antonio-mcdyess-all-heart.html#comments Tue, 24 Mar 2009 16:03:34 +0000 Natalie Sitto http://need4sheed.com/?p=3995 This season has been rough for the Detroit Pistons, but can you imagine what it would be like if Antonio McDyess wasn’t playing the way he has all season long?  Dyess plays with unbelievable heart and goes after every block, steal, rebound and loose ball like it was game 7 in San Antionio.  If everyone had half the heart as Antonio McDyess, the world would be a better place.

Key Points:

• Someone please wake up Antonio McDyess from his nightmare. If there was an award for heart, it would be named after Antonio.
• Antonio McDyess – 21 points, 22 boards, 2 assists a steal and a blocked shot. The man was the epitome of “stepping up,” but then again hasn’t he done it all season long?
• This is about the point in my recap that I would put up a very special Antonio McDyess highlight reel of the first Piston 20-20 game since Bison Dele. Sad news about that Pistons fans….. FOX Sports put the kibosh on me and my videos for you. You may have noticed that the older ones aren’t working, and don’t expect to see any more from ME on N4S. They asked me nicely to take them down and stop using them, so I’m going to have to find them for you on YouTube like everyone else. It was fun while it lasted.
• Seriously, how do you lose a game when you outrebound the other team 64-39?  Dyess says “You just have to look at all the positives you did and build off that and take it into the next game. It is really disappointing for us as players to come up short like we did because it was right for us to win it.” Via The Detroit Free Press
• I love ya Amir….but you let little Nate beat you on a jump ball.  You must redeem yourself for that one.
• Pistons squandered a 10 point lead going into the fourth quarter.
• The Pistons shot 29.2% in the fourth quarter.
• First half fire for Mr. Hamilton.  Yes, Rip led the Pistons with 22, but 8 turnovers from one player? I can’t remember a stat like that…..ever. Rip had more turnovers that the Knicks did all game. Knicks had just 3 all game long, Detroit 15 total. The last one by Stuckey to close out regulation was a killer. A chance for the last shot with the game tied….ugh.

Photo/Getty Images

• Hamilton was a board away from a double-double.
• Lets put it this way…the Pistons gave this one away. Detroit led by as much as 12, the Knicks’ biggest lead was 5.  Now look at the final score.
• Four Pistons starters put up more than 20 points.
• Arron Afflalo could use more than .08 seconds on the floor. That’s all I’m saying. At least Curry’s utilizing Walter and Will.
• I still think Jack Nies has a vendetta against Detroit.
• NBA.com Highlights of the Game.
• Is it just me or is Jason Maxiell way more productive coming off the bench? Three points, 2 boards and a turnover in 26 minutes.
• Class act, Pistons lower season ticket prices.
• Why not to be an ESPN fan, no love for Maxiell.
• A double-double for Tayshaun Prince with 25 points and 10 boards.

Photo/Getty Images

• The Pistons Feed The Children Telethon was a rousing success, Pistons raised more than $440,221 thanks to generous Pistons fans.
• Never much cared for Quentin Richardson (his 3 point horn antics always got under my skin) but the fact that mid game he pulled a donation envelope and dropped 1000 dollars in it redeemed him….until he knocked down that three late in the game.
• 58 paint points for NY
• Got Milk?
• Rodney Stuckey scored 23 on 9 for 20 shooting with 8 assists and a steal in 41 minutes.
• The McDyess stat line was huge, but the shot he knocked down with 23 seconds left in regulation to put Detroit up 99-96 should have been the dagger.
• “We played hard and just came up short,” McDyess said. “I think we shouldn’t have put ourselves in that situation in overtime. I think we kind of ran out of gas. We couldn’t get shots and we were missing shots, but the effort was there.” Via The Detroit Free Press
• 21-22

AP Photo/Duane Burleson

Antonio McDyess had 21 points and 22 rebounds (10 offensive). Detroit’s first 20-point, 20-rebound game since Bison Dele on Dec. 5, 1997.

Ice for Dyess….

“We don’t have that one guy that steps in, get on a person for doing something wrong,” McDyess said. “We have certain nights where one person would say something, and another would, but we need that one person who will be there, and we know that they got our back and that they’ll get on us when we do wrong and direct us when we’re going wrong. We don’t have that.” Via MLive

That quote comes from a piece in MLive in which A. Sherrod Blakely paints a grim picture of the Pistons discontent.

“In the past couple weeks, players have dropped not-so-subtle hints blaming the team’s poor play on roster changes that began with the Nov. 3 trade of Chauncey Billups to Denver for Allen Iverson. Curry, in not-so-subtle terms, has said players need to play with more fight if they want to turn things around.

There appears to be an increasing disconnect between Curry and his players, the kind of issues a team leader would work to hash out before things become worse.

Things are getting progressively worse, and there are no signs from within the Pistons roster that anyone is ready, let alone willing, to stand up and be accountable for this team’s success moving forward.”

We can all sit here and point fingers, we do it all the time, but imagine what’s going on inside that locker room and how hard it is for those players to believe in the Coach, Joe Dumars or each other.

When a guy like McDyess can’t muster up the courage to take control of that locker room, things must be worse than we ever imagine.

Ben Wallace even chimed in…

“It’s tough to go out and be a leader when you’re not certain about the style that you’re playing,” said Wallace, who now plays for Cleveland. “Once they find their identity, everybody will be on the same page and a leader will emerge. Until then, it’s going to be some uncertainty; you don’t know whose coat-tail you need to pull; who you need to get in line because you don’t know for sure what’s going on.” MLive

UPDATE: Here’s a video taken from the stands – thanks to altan in the comments.

Dyess didn’t disappoint in the Pistons’ 114-110 win over the Pacers.

He even recreated “the block.” It wasn’t on the most famous Pacer Reggie Miller, but it was impressive nonetheless.

Video Courtesy of The NBA, The Detroit Pistons and FSN

The Antonio McDyess Block (Video)

Here is the McDyess post game interview where he talks about the block as well as a few Diggity highlights.

“McDyess will re-sign with the Pistons on Dec. 3, after a league-mandated 30-day waiting period expires. He will become an unrestricted free agent at the end of the 2008-09 season.

“It was a very difficult decision for him. He was weighing good offers financially, along with other variables he thought were important,” agent Andy Miller told ESPN.com. “But going into the year he had a team goal set, and to not finish up with it, he didn’t want to do that. He wants to finish the year, finish what he started in Detroit, then reevaluate after the season is over.” Via Chris Sheridan ESPN

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