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Tickets at Ticket Master
Friday was just the first day of practice, but point guard Chauncey Billups was already a happy camper in his first session under new coach Larry Brown.
"It's a lot different than last year, but it was good," Billups said.
"Very intense, very demanding. It fits me perfectly. I'm sure everybody
around here is very happy with what's going on and the direction we're headed
in right now."
Defense always will be the focal point of any Brown practice, but Billups said he was excited about the possibility of pushing the ball more this year instead of relying on the half-court offense.
"The only thing we said last year was we just wanted the option of being
able to explore, get it up quick, explore, and if ticketmaster there's nothing
then pull it back and run a play," Billups said. "That's one thing
that we've done in the first day of practice: Push the ball up first, see if
we can look at anything, then pull it out. That in itself would be a plus for
us."
Said Chucky Atkins, who will battle with Lindsey Hunter and Bob Sura for playing
time in the backcourt: "There was a lot of conditioning and a lot of things
that are going to help us out as a team. I think Coach Brown wanted to find
out what kind of shape the veterans were in.
"If we do what we did in practice today every day then we'll definitely
be in good shape and ready to accomplish what we want to accomplish. I don't
know all the stuff that he wants us to do. But from the first practice it seems
he wants us to be a little more up-tempo, and for me that's great."
The veteran coach usually had to turn around bad teams in the past. Should taking
over a good team like Detroit be easier?
"I don't know what Rick (Carlisle) taught," Brown said, "but
I do know the end result was they defended and shared the ball ticketmaster
and they played hard and they were really a team.
"I've always been with bad teams, but I go to New Jersey my first year
and we start out 3-16 and won 47 games (actually 44).
"I was with Indiana and we started 6-19 and went to the conference finals.
I went to San Antonio and we won 21 games, but the next year we won 56, which
was great. David Robinson came, so it wasn't a matter of what we did, it was
a matter of him coming.
"With Philly, I inherited a team that had won 20 or so games, and we ended
up winning 33 games (actually 31) and after that we made the playoffs every
year. It just depends."
SURA INJURED? An undisclosed injury may keep swingman Sura on the sideline for
at least a month, said a source familiar with the situation Friday. Sura could
miss the season opener Oct. 29. Sura, acquired in a trade with Golden State,
was brought in to be the team's third guard. He didn't participate in Friday's
practices.
SHAPING UP: Forward Corliss Williamson ticketmaster looked slimmer than he was
at the end of last season.
"I didn't lose any weight, I just moved it around," he said, laughing.
"I just toned up over the summer. I gained a little weight at the end of
the year, so I wanted to make sure I came to camp in shape."
LOTS OF HAMILTONS: There are three players with the last name of Hamilton in
the Pistons' training camp.
Tang Hamilton isa free-agent forward from Jackson, Miss. Tang played last year
for the developmental league's Columbus Riverdragons. Justin Hamilton, a rookie
from the University of Florida, is trying to make an impression at point guard.
Richard Hamilton, who signed a $63-million contract over the summer -- the richest
contract in team history -- is a lock to start at shooting guard.