Wade’s 40-11-5 night wasted as Raptors win
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Nets no match in LeBron derby, either
Nets fans who watched LeBron James torch their team Tuesday shouldn’t count on landing him in 2010, Jay Greenberg says.NBA/~4/458944353″ height=”1″ width=”1″/>

Iverson, Billups continue to star for new teams (AP)
Allen Iverson has fit in well with the Detroit Pistons. Chauncey Billups has been every bit as good — or better — with the Denver Nuggets. Iverson, acquired from Denver for Billups, Antonio McDyess and Cheikh Samb, scored 23 points in Detroit’s 96-89 home victory over Cleveland on Wednesday night. “It’s early, but it’s exciting,” Iverson said.

Bobcats waive two, chasing McDyess

Nov. 18: As always, there is plenty to cheer about in today’s photo gallery. Go to the gallery Bobcats waive two, chasing McDyess Wednesday, November 19, 2008 Andre Brown.

Pistons prepare for newly diversified Cavaliers offense

For years, the Cleveland Cavaliers‘ playbook seemed to consist of one play: get the ball to LeBron James.

Iverson scores 23 to push Pistons past Cavs (AP)

The Detroit Pistons are starting to show their potential with Allen Iverson, beating two of the NBA’s best teams in less than a week. Iverson scored 23 points, and Rasheed Wallace had 10 of his 21 points during a fourth-quarter surge that gave Detroit a 96-89 victory over Cleveland on Wednesday night that ended the Cavaliers‘ eight-game winning streak.

Pistons’ Wallace saves strength for games

When it comes to running drills in practice, you’ll find Rasheed Wallace somewhere near the end of the pack.

Lakers’ Farmer, Fisher under attack at point guard (Yahoo! Sports)
Every game, it seems, Derek Fisher and Jordan Farmar are under attack from the NBA’s preeminent point guards…

Pistons Team Report (Yahoo! Sports)

Richard Hamilton has been the Pistons‘ leading scorer since he was

acquired prior to the 2002-03 season. So it shouldn’t come as a big

surprise that he’s having trouble finding a comfort zone playing with

Allen Iverson, one of the NBA’s top 20 all-time scorers.

“I think it’s natural that he would be the one to take the longest

to transition into our team,” coach Michael Curry said.

Hamilton averaged 22.5 points and shot 43 percent during the first

four games before Iverson joined the starting lineup. In his first

five games with Iverson as his backcourt partner, he averaged 15.7

points and shot 32 percent.

The biggest positive in Detroit’s 104-86 loss at Phoenix Sunday

night was that Hamilton scored a team-high…

McDyess eyeing Cavaliers, Pistons

Is Antonio McDyess necessarily returning to the Detroit Pistons? His agent says it isn’t a sure thing.

NBA Capsules (AP)
Dirk Nowitzki scored 32 points, Josh Howard added 21 and the Dallas Mavericks never trailed in a 100-83 rout of the Charlotte Bobcats on Tuesday night, delighting owner Mark Cuban a day after he was charged with insider trading. With Cuban sitting along the baseline and as animated as usual, the Mavericks toyed with the lifeless, undermanned Bobcats in their second straight win.

Nuggets’ Karl knocks departed Iverson (Yahoo! Sports)
The Allen Iverson experiment produced some scintillating moments for the Denver Nuggets and their fans.

Pistons drop first game of season despite Iverson’s solid debut

For those of you worried whether new Piston Allen Iverson was capable of sharing, his performance Friday night should go a long way toward allaying those fears.

NBA Power Poll: Ranking teams, sizing up rookies (SportingNews.com)
After Anthony Morrow put up 37 points in his first start for the Warriors, it only seemed right to take a closer look at the rookies in this week’s Power Poll.

Iverson, Pistons hand Lakers 10695 loss

Iverson, Pistons hand Lakers 106-95 loss Eds: APNewsNow. Lakers 106, Pistons 95.

Lakers’ coach Jackson fires back at Shaq (Yahoo! Sports)
Shaquille O’Neal blamed coach Phil Jackson for the creative tension that inspired a rather public feud between…

T-Mac practices day after re-injuring knee
Houston Rockets forward Shane Battier practiced with the team for the first time on Tuesday, but Ron Artest and Yao Ming skipped the workout after leaving Monday’s win over Oklahoma City with sprained ankles. Tracy McGrady also practiced Tuesday after re-aggravating his sore left knee in Monday’s game. McGrady was going to have an MRI on the knee, but decided with team officials that the test was unnecessary and practiced instead.NBA/~4/457757518″ height=”1″ width=”1″/>

Clippers have problems all over
What’s wrong with the Clippers? Where do you want to start? Charley Rosen takes aim at a truly dysfunctional team.NBA/~4/457241045″ height=”1″ width=”1″/>

KG suspended 1 game; Shaq fined $25K
Boston Celtics star Kevin Garnett has been suspended for one game and Phoenix center Shaquille O’Neal has been fined $25,000 for separate incidents over the weekend. Garnett was penalized for hitting Milwaukee’s Andrew Bogut in the face near the end of Saturday’s game. Garnett will sit out Tuesday night when the Celtics host the New York Knicks. O’Neal was fined for verbally abusing an official and failing to leave the court quickly after being ejected Sunday night against Detroit.NBA/~4/456550686″ height=”1″ width=”1″/>

Suicide lines: Shaq’s fines, capable Stack, disgruntled Hornets … (Yahoo! Sports)
Each weekday morning, BDL serves up a handful of NBA-related stories to digest with your bananas.

Nuggets’ Karl knocks departed Iverson (Yahoo! Sports)
The Allen Iverson experiment produced some scintillating moments for the Denver Nuggets and their fans.

Lakers’ coach Jackson fires back at Shaq (Yahoo! Sports)
Shaquille O’Neal blamed coach Phil Jackson for the creative tension that inspired a rather public feud between…

MVP watch: Kahn’s Top 10 so far
Is Paul Pierce the best player in the world? No. But he just might be the MVP. Mike Kahn lists his Top 10 early candidates.NBA/~4/456267550″ height=”1″ width=”1″/>

Evaluating the Detroit Pistons

Steve Ilardi, Ph.D. and Aaron Barzilai, Ph.D explain the rational. November 17, 82games.com: Like most devoted NBA fans, we enjoy looking at boxscores.

Shaq ejected, but Suns beat Pistons 104-86 (AP)

Shaquille O’Neal made an early exit from Amare Stoudemire’s 26th birthday party. Stoudemire and the rest of the already short-handed Phoenix Suns did just fine without him Sunday night. Stoudemire had 29 points and 11 rebounds and the Suns overcame O’Neal’s second-quarter ejection to beat the Detroit Pistons 104-86.

Detroit Pistons Breakdown: The Answer Leads To Further Questions

By acquiring Allen Iverson, Joe Dumars is throwing caution to the wind and declaring that Detroit needs an electric scorer to be a difference maker and a true championship contender.

Martin fined $20,000 for actions after ejection
Denver Nuggets forward Kenyon Martin was fined $20,000 by the NBA on Saturday for his actions after being ejected from a game. Martin was penalized for verbal abuse of an official and failure to leave the court in a timely manner following an ejection in a loss at Cleveland on Thursday. Martin was thrown out following a flagrant foul for slamming his shoulder into Cleveland forward Anderson Varejao.NBA/~4/454465918″ height=”1″ width=”1″/>

Kwame Brown was tougher than former teammates (Yahoo! Sports)
The Los Angees Lakers finally lost a game Friday, not a completely unexpected development in a league where…

Nash, Alston, Barnes suspended for fight
The NBA has suspended Steve Nash and Matt Barnes of Phoenix and Rafer Alston of Houston for their roles in a fight. Alston and Barnes were suspended for two games without pay and Nash for one. The league also fined Shaquille O’Neal $35,000 and Tracy McGrady $25,000 on Friday for their actions during the Rockets‘ 94-82 win in Phoenix on Wednesday. Barnes knocked back Alston with his shoulder late in the third quarter, and Alston charged him.NBA/~4/453304394″ height=”1″ width=”1″/>

Video: Rasheed Wallace’s new tattoo (Yahoo! Sports)
NBA tats seem to be all the rage right now , and with the number of blogs posting photos and videos of the ink,…

Knicks’ Gallinari gets cortisone shot for bad back
Knicks rookie Danilo Gallinari received another cortisone shot for his ailing back and will have an “extended period of rest” while seeking additional opinions on treatment. Gallinari met with two specialists Thursday and received the shot. He will get more opinions in the next few weeks on his “long-term management options,” the Knicks said Friday. The forward from Italy has struggled to get on the floor since the Knicks took him with the No. 6 pick in the draft.NBA/~4/453238871″ height=”1″ width=”1″/>

Pistons Team Report (Yahoo! Sports)

Kwame Brown returns to the Staples Center as a starter. But if he continues to play like he did in his first start with the Pistons, he will return to the bench very quickly.

Brown was booed during the tail end of his stint with the Los Angeles Lakers before he was included in the Pau Gasol trade with Memphis last season. That deal propelled the Lakers to the NBA Finals.

The Pistons, coming off an exhausting victory at Golden State, will try to end the Lakers‘ perfect start Friday. Until Thursday, Brown was playing limited minutes off the bench for his latest team. Coach Michael Curry made a lineup switch, inserting Brown in place of fourth-year forward Amir Johnson.

The move was designed to improve the Pistons‘ pick-and-roll defense and rebounding.

Power Poll: Point guard play makes big difference (SportingNews.com)
Mo Williams has upgraded the Cavaliers‘ offense and moved the team into the top 5 of this week’s poll.

Bulls sign former Raptors guard Lindsey Hunter

CHICAGOThe injury-depleted Chicago Bulls signed veteran point guard Lindsey Hunter, who is expected to join the team for the game Thursday against the Dallas Mavericks.

NBA Power Rankings
John Galinsky’s Power Rankings are no laughing matter in Detroit, not with the Pistons sliding since adding Allen Iverson.NBA/~4/449845717″ height=”1″ width=”1″/>

Lakers’ energetic defense earns an ugly win
Kobe and the Lakers‘ pestering halfcourt defense and board work helped them win ugly over the Mavs Tuesday, Charley Rosen says.NBA/~4/450350912″ height=”1″ width=”1″/>

Hill: Mayo among standout NBA rookies
Nobody doubted O.J. Mayo’s ability to score. But Randy Hill says there’s much more to the Memphis rookie than meets the eye.NBA/~4/449696786″ height=”1″ width=”1″/>

Pistons Team Report (Yahoo! Sports)

Early season West Coast trips can help an NBA team bond. The Pistons need to do a whole lot of bonding over the next week, considering how they’ve played in their first two outings with Allen Iverson.

They followed up a spotty road loss to the rebuilding New Jersey Nets with a woeful offensive outing at home against Boston. They won’t reappear at The Palace until Nov. 19.

Before that night, they’ll play Sacramento, Golden State, the Los Angeles Lakers and Phoenix.

Head coach Michael Curry has a long practice planned for his team shortly after it arrives in California.

“I would like to have about three or four practice days,” Curry said. “I wish we didn’t play until Thursday.”

Iverson scored just 10 points in his home debut against the Celtics,…

Nuggets waive McDyess week after Billups trade
The Nuggets have waived Antonio McDyess, one week after they obtained him from Detroit along with Chauncey Billups and Cheikh Samb in a swap for Allen Iverson. McDyess hasn’t played any games for the Nuggets since the trade.NBA/~4/448782988″ height=”1″ width=”1″/>

Pistons’ Stuckey tested after exiting Boston game (AP)
The Pistons will begin their West Coast road trip without guard Rodney Stuckey, who experienced symptoms of lightheadedness and dizziness in Sunday night’s loss to Boston. The Pistons say Stuckey remained in Detroit for testing and is listed as day to day. Stuckey squatted with discomfort in the second quarter, then stood with his hands on his knees.

Pistons G Stuckey day-to-day (PA SportsTicker)
Rodney Stuckey did not accompany the Detroit Pistons on their West Coast road trip Monday after experiencing dizziness during the previous night’s game against the Boston Celtics.