Rip is BACK – In the starting lineup, Iverson to the Bench!

by | Feb 27, 2009 | 35 comments

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The Detroit Pistons see-saw madness continues (not that I’m unhappy about Rip’s return).

The Detroit Free Press:

“Pistons coach Michael Curry announced this morning that Rip Hamilton will be back in the starting lineup, playing alongside Rodney Stuckey, in an effort to jumpstart a team in the midst of an eight-game losing streak.

“It’s nothing on Allen,” Curry said. “He’s just a guy that needs the basketball and because of it that, it reduced the time Stuckey had the ball in his hands.”

Hamilton has been critical of late about Curry’s decision to make him the team’s sixth man. The Pistons have gone 4-12 since he was benched.”

It’s not like I wasn’t for the move a while ago, but just who is running the show at The Palace anyway?  Could it be Dumars, the players, or, lastly, Michael Curry?  Did Rip’s comments after Wednesday nights loss have something to do with the return?

“Something’s got to give,” Hamilton said after Wednesday night’s loss to New Orleans. “I’m all for doing whatever it takes for the team, but coming off the bench with us not winning, something’s got to change.”

Could is be the abysmal record of 4-12 with Rip on the bench?

I know Stuckey hasn’t played well, and plenty of you would rather see him take a seat, but “they” tried that and it didn’t work either. So now it’s Iverson to the bench.

What’s next? Bynum as the starting PG? That could actually work.

Who cares, at this point whoever is running things in Detroit is going to keep making changes until something works….or they tank this thing and go for a lottery pick.

35 Comments

  1. Jennifer

    THERE IS A GOD!!!!!!!

    Reply
  2. Fariduddin

    Jennifer… LOL! indeed it seems my prayers are answered.. let Ivo come off the bench and be a scoring punch! put him along side Amir, Max, Hermann and Affalo and let that unit up the tempo and push the ball! i am excited bout the game tonight :)-

    Reply
  3. PimP

    There Is Still Hope!!

    Reply
  4. Belal

    Take out Stuck and throw him in the D League. Start Bynum.

    Reply
  5. Dana

    OMG!!!!!!!!!!! THIS IS THE BEST NEWS EVER!!!!!
    NOW WE KNOW THERE IS NO WAY HES COMING BACK NEXT YEAR!!!! THANK THE HEAVENS!!!!
    RIP DESERVES IT AND THE PLAYERS WILL BE REALLY HAPPY ABOUT THIS TOO <33333333

    Reply
  6. Amer ican Prince

    Rip is a crybaby, and Curry couldn’t stick to any of his comments this year.

    I agree with the move, but truthfully the only way this will make the Pistons better is if the other players step up.

    Reply
  7. Mr. Blaha

    I’m all for the move, but it proves that Curry is absolutely not in control of this team.

    Reply
  8. Aaron

    I’m all for the move, but it proves that Curry is absolutely not in control of this team. They should fire curry and let George Blaha coach.

    Reply
  9. SadPanda

    One way or another, Rip had to start again. The team’s horrible record with him as the sixth man speaks for itself. It’ll be interesting to see how Iverson reacts to this move.

    Reply
  10. Amber

    Ahhhh, I’m so happy! This is the best news I’ve heard regarding Detroit all season. Rip is the man and he needs to be in the starting lineup. AI can ball hog off the bench. Now I actually WANT to watch the game tonight!!

    Reply
  11. Th3 Answ3r

    I just hope AI will still continue to play well. I believe Hamilton has played horrible the past couple of games on purpose just so he can start again. Proves theirs no chemistry in this team…

    Reply
  12. Susan

    Whatever works. It’s not like they could play worse, right?

    Reply
  13. ben

    if we lose tonight i wanna see what iverson says after the game it could be interestin tonight

    Reply
  14. Mikey F Baby

    this is some bullshit. I hope the Pistons keep losing, the whole organization is a joke.

    Stuckey can kiss my ass too.

    Reply
  15. mobius909

    i seem to remember suggesting this at the beginning of the season. still don’t know how AI started the All-Star game with his worst season ever.

    Hopefully this starts the swing.

    Reply
  16. TJ

    I love how people honestly believe that Hamilton was intentionally sucking to get back his starting job, even though he had some of his best games of the season coming off the bench.

    Reply
  17. Susanne M Barnes

    YAY!!!! welcome back rip!!!!!!!! Im so excited…

    Reply
  18. gMac

    Wait a minute?
    Is AI even gonna play tonight? Are we sure this has nothing to do with his back problem?

    We should seriously just tank the season. Otherwise we will have no body to play next season.

    Reply
  19. Amer ican Prince

    TJ I don’t think he was intentionally sucking, but I do think he was taking bad shots and not passing or playing hard as a way of acting out, hoping they’d lose and Rip would go to the starting lineup. And let’s clarify, he had good SCORING games, not good games.

    Reply
  20. Susanne M Barnes

    what ever the reason he is not playing(A.I)
    This is the most excited I’ve been about a pistons game this year since Billups left!!!! Its nice to be excited again…

    GO gettem Rip!!!

    Reply
  21. eralefe

    I heard he was trying to prove he can still score 30 off the bench so maybe that’s the reason

    Reply
  22. Tonyelle

    I am so glad to hear that Richard Hamilton is back in the starting line-up. He’s the best player on the team. He is the bread and butter of the Pistons. He has often taken a backseat to other players like Ben Wallace (who was/is excellent), Chauncey Billups, Rasheed Wallace and even Allen Iverson. Let’s not forget that Rip is the winner of an NCAA Championship which makes him much more experiences down the stretch than many of these NBA players who either don’t go to college or come out after 2 years! When many of the players were injured, he was doin it all by himself. I think the fans and even the front/back office needed to appreciate what type of player he really is. I am glad he spoke out! I don’t care who is calling the shots or whose ego is bruised, we need to win basketball games! Remember Coach Curry doesn’t have a Championship ring neither does AI!!! Go RIP!!! TELL THEM THE TRUTH!!! I THANK GOD THIS HAPPENED!!! And, he can appreciate starting even more now–he can be more confident in himself. THANK GOD!!!

    Reply
  23. skip3

    Is this the second coming of Christ???

    Reply
  24. skip3

    -> Is this the second coming of Christ???

    Reply
  25. MichaeLondon

    I think it’s funny how alot of ppl think AI is the reason. He goes out and plays pretty much harder than alot of the other players. Every1 needs to step up though, it’s not called a team for nothing.

    Reply
  26. Susanne M Barnes

    No its not A.I fault he’s a one man show…
    That he can’t fit with in a team…For God sakes.. this is the best team(supporting cast) as he has ever had…So no… It’s not A.I fault he can’t play with other great players…
    He is our answer after all…Who’s fault it is…. is Joe D… He should have waited another year to trade Billups until stuck was ready… imo

    Reply
  27. pistons 4 life

    I’m glad for this move even if they continue to lose. Rip has sacrificed and played hard for this team since he’s been here, and what do they do to him? Shaft him by putting him on the bench.

    I remember the day this trade went down telling everyone I knew that Rip and AI could not play successfully at the same time. And when it became obvious that this was the case a few games into the experiment, I thought AI should have come off the bench. Not for any other reason than that Rip deserved to start more than him just because he had payed his dues.

    Sure AI plays hard every night, but what good does that do if you’re not winning. I still say he’s better coming off the bench anyway because when he plays with the bench he can dominate the ball like he needs to, and it won’t screw up any of the starters rolls. But what do I know, I’m just a dumb basketball fan, not a seasoned NBA coach like Michael Curry.

    Reply
  28. YEAAH SUCK IT AI

    YEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!! RIP!!! YEAAAH

    NOW lets see what happens!! WOOOO

    TEAM JORDAN PLAYER BACK ON THE FLOOR

    Reply
  29. YEAAH SUCK IT AI

    OH, Th3 Answ3r

    ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING? I’m pretty sure during those 16 games he was on the bench, he was STILL producing more points than most of the starters. Recently he hasn’t sure, but before than he was even outscoring AI. So yeah, it’s a good move. Be a true Piston fan and pull for the player who’s been here longer.

    Reply
  30. Chris

    good move. why did it take him so long to do so? he isn’t in control of the team, the players are. looking back to the press conference curry had before the season started, it cracks me up.

    Reply
  31. Grant the Aussie

    Rip starting will be better. AI’s scrappy all over the place game should fit well with our bench.

    Reply
  32. marc

    what i saw last night is a real detroit piston team. iversons sucks! he’s a disaster on this team.

    Reply
  33. spencer

    Iverson is sucks! selfish player, alot dribble, pass the ball dude!

    Reply
  34. Sleepy Crayfish

    Ridiculous move. They’re enamored with having Stuckey start even though he’s been mailing it in on the court the last twenty games or so. Not that I don’t understand — he’s a second year player; he’s going to have his ups and downs. But seriously, A.I. and Rip are starters. Stuckey, at this point in his career, is a bench player. Let’s wake up and smell the coffee here.

    Reply
  35. wade

    iverson is a point guard so he never should have been at the 2 guard. rip should never had been bench. they both should have been in the starting line up.

    Reply

Trackbacks/Pingbacks

  1. Rip Hamilton = Starter + Iverson = 6th man « DUNK ON U - [...] read about this on need4sheed.com first and you should definitely head over there and read the whole [...]

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