<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">February 4, 2006 Tonight: Pacers PHILADELPHIA -- None of the five players who brought team basketball back in vogue won enough fan love to start on the Eastern Conference All-Star team. But all's not lost. Now it's the coaches' turn to select reserves, and Pistons coach Flip Saunders wonders if they might select all five of his stars -- point guard Chauncey Billups, shooting guard Richard Hamilton, small forward Tayshaun Prince, power forward Rasheed Wallace and center Ben Wallace -- for the Feb. 19 game in Houston. "I would hope there would be at least three, maybe more," Saunders said Friday. "As coaches, we talk about team play, how important it is. This is an opportunity from a league standpoint to show to people -- whether it's college kids or high school kids or AAU kids -- how important team play really is. It's a very rare opportunity you'd have as a league to maybe put five guys from one team in." A vote by fans determines the starters, and they were announced Thursday night. The Pistons who were snubbed said Friday that the results didn't bother them at all. "If I can't control it," Billups said, "I really don't let it bother me." And there's plenty of confidence that at least three Pistons will end up in Houston. Five isn't impossible, but it's a longshot, for sure. While Ben Wallace and Billups are virtual locks to get reserve spots, the other three Pistons are not. Rasheed Wallace finished third in fan voting for forwards and has a strong chance of gaining a spot in place of injured starter Jermaine O'Neal. Hamilton is having a career-best season. Entering Friday, he was averaging 21.6 points and shooting close to 50% from the field. But he has strong competition from Vince Carter, Michael Redd and Gilbert Arenas. And while Prince is the least likely All-Star, he still finished sixth among forwards with more than 400,000 votes. Coaches vote for seven reserves, including two guards, two forwards, a center and two wild cards from their conference. "I've always said I thought the reserves being selected is a big honor because it's coming from the coaches," Saunders said. "The coaches are basically telling you how they feel about you and your importance. That's why the way it is right now, I think we will get a lot of guys in." SICK BUG: First Carlos Delfino. Then Dale Davis. Now Darko Milicic. A flu-like bug is circling the locker room. Milicic didn't make the two-game trip, which ends tonight at Indiana in the first meeting between the Pistons and Pacers this season. With Milicic at home, rookie Alex Acker was on the active list, although he missed a portion of his pregame warm-up. He forgot his shoes at the team hotel.</div> Source
I think Billups, Ben and Rip will definitely make the team...Rasheed may as well...and its very possible that Prince has a shot at making it... so fear not Pistons fans: Detroit will be very well represented...
<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">He forgot his shoes at the team hotel.</div> Sounds like a rookie mistake too.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting slpnsld23:</div><div class="quote_post">All Starting Five Should Be In!</div> Rasheed Wallace and Prince, No.
