<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">The unemployment rate in Michigan just rose again. You might wonder why this unhappy fact slipped into a column about Chris Webber. Two reasons. First, people in Michigan have enough problems, and they buy Pistons tickets to get away from them. They do not buy Pistons tickets to boo one of their own players for sins he committed as a teenager. This explains Webber's almost universally warm reception in his Pistons debut Wednesday night at the Palace. And second, the unemployment rate is even worse than the experts say, because the latest numbers don't account for Nazr Mohammed. Webber just stole Mohammed's job. Webber's new locker is next to Mohammed's -- and with the disparate media attention for the two players, it will seem like Webber's locker is swallowing Mohammed's. When Webber joins the starting lineup, the Pistons can again claim the best starting five in basketball. I reached this conclusion 78 seconds into Webber's Pistons career, when he made a high-post feed to a cutting Rip Hamilton that was so gorgeous, Hamilton should have sent a thank-you note. And maybe Rip was thinking of doing just that, which would explain why he missed the lay-up. But on that one play, we saw the exciting potential of the new-look Pistons. As it turns out, I wasn't the only one with visions of an extremely fab five. "I already thought about that," point guard Chauncey Billups said. "Once we can get going, I do believe we're going to have the best starting five in the world." If I may unleash my Inner Basketball Geek, who has been trapped inside my Outer Rest-Of-Me Geek: Webber is one of the finest high-post passers in NBA history. Hamilton is the best in the world at constantly moving and finding a seam in a defense. The combination is going to be fun to watch. "Yes sir," Hamilton said, of course. "That's going to be great. When Chris gets acclimated with us, I definitely feel that we're going to have the best starting five." In the interest of balance, I should probably mention that the Pistons lost this game. But a) Utah is a very good team; the Pistons only lost by a point; c) this was just one regular-season game; d) Hamilton shot poorly and fouled out; e) Webber only played 17 minutes and doesn't even know all the plays; and f) I don't really have another point, but I have never gotten all the way to "f" before, so I wanted to see what it was like. Webber has his weaknesses. He does not run well anymore. He has always been a reluctant defender. He has never wanted the ball in the final minutes -- never really wanted to be The Man.</div> Source
