:mccosky:


Hunter stays home
The Pistons have allowed veteran Lindsey Hunter to stay home for this two-game road trip. Barring injury, Hunter was going to be inactive for the two games anyway, as the Pistons continue to facilitate the development of rookie Rodney Stuckey. So, in a pre-arranged deal, the Pistons will allow Hunter to work out on his own for the next three days.

You would have to assume, though, that he would be inactive for the home game against Boston Saturday -- which is somewhat of a surprise since Hunter played such a key role in the Pistons' win in Boston last month. But, the development of Stuckey is a much higher priority right now than whatever Hunter could give in 10 minutes of a game in January. The team's goal for Hunter is to have him fresh and ready for the playoffs.

Smart. This is what teams do if they want to win now AND later. This isn't as big of a deal in football and baseball, but it is in hoops. In football, with only 16 games and 1 game per playoff round, you can't play around too much. In baseball, the minors are in charge of development with the occasional call-up to test how ready a guy is. Certainly lineups are juggled to keep guys fresh and healthy - a Leyland staple.
But in basketball, this is exactly how it has to be done. Well done for Flip to finally understand, or for the Dumars mandate to be so strong, whichever it is.

But if he is supposed to be with the team as a player-coach this year, shouldn't he be there as guidance for the players? I actually consider him more a coach than a player, so this is kind of lame, like Terry Porter asking to stay home to work out his coaching skills at home.

Yeah, I'm a bit baffled by this as well in the same way as defrocked. Hmm...

They're trying to get him to work on his speech in front of the mirror.

But if he is supposed to be with the team as a player-coach this year, shouldn't he be there as guidance for the players? I actually consider him more a coach than a player, so this is kind of lame, like Terry Porter asking to stay home to work out his coaching skills at home.

The player-coach is just a figure of speach for the media. He is a player. We have plenty of coaches to handle a couple days on the road.

It doesn't baffle me one bit. He knows his role, and I'm sure his teamates understand his role too. Keep him fresh until we need him, he's an outstanding role player.