I just got word from WDFN’s Matt Dery that Chauncey will not play today. You can leave your thoughts in the comments of the game thread.

If there is one thing we have learned throughout the years as Pistons fans it’s that we can always rely on one thing and that’s the fact that Arnie Kander will do whatever it takes short of Voodoo to get The Pistons ready for action as soon as possible.

Getting Chauncey ready for action is probably his most important task in recent years. Maybe we should cut our Arnie Masks and wear them to the game on Tuesday.

Arnie Says:
“When he can run, sprint, cut, jump, play basketball,” he’ll be back, Kander said. “Basically, we really base it on him being able to do everything. We don’t give numbers like 85 or 90% because there really is no way to classify that. When he can do what Chauncey Billups does … then we’ll give him the go.”

Billups didn’t have an MRI exam because Kander said it wouldn’t tell him much. He said he learns more simply by feeling the injury. And he liked what he felt on Billups.

“The fibers felt great,” Kander said. “They were together. He was walking normal as he left the arena. This morning, he was looking good. If he feels as good in the morning as he did last night, to me, that’s tremendous. Usually, in the morning, you feel like doo-doo.” Via Krista Jahnke of The Detroit Free Press

Arnie’s Optimistic
Keith Langlois writes on Pistons.com

“What I am suggesting is that – the miracles of modern medicine and the mystical healing power of Arnie Kander aside – it sounds wildly optimistic to me that Billups will be ready to go in Game 4. I’d say it’s dicey he gets back for Game 5 on Tuesday.

Then again, Kander radiated optimism, by all accounts, on Thursday. Though Billups said his hamstring was sore, Kander told reporters that because the injury occurred almost in slow motion Billups stretching out gradually – as opposed to a sprinter straining the muscle through violent and explosive movement, it should not be nearly as arduous a recovery.

Pistons Optimistic Billups will play
A. Sherrod Blakely from MLive writes

“I’ve seen about 2,000 hamstrings,” said Arnie Kander, Detroit’s strength and conditioning coach. “I look at this as being nothing more than what we’ve seen in the past. Because of the slowness of the movement; because of the nature of what occurred, him being able to pull out of it and the fact that he feels this morning the same as he did last night. that’s a great sign. Usually the next morning, you feel worse.”