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Last Updated: Aug 10th, 2006 - 15:58:39 |
MINNEAPOLIS -- Richard Hamilton's right leg has hurt for 10 days. Monday morning, he could barely bend it.
That's why he missed Monday's gameagainst the Timberwolves with a right thigh bruise. Hamilton, who suffered the injury Jan. 14 against Orlando, hadn't missed a game this season. Lindsey Hunter took his place in the lineup.
Hamilton, the shooting guard, has averaged 39.9 minutes, more than two minutes more than any teammate. He had played seven games of 40-or-more minutes in January, and that's a pace his coach -- who, of course, is responsible for doling out the minutes -- wants to reduce.
Brown has pared his rotation to seven players, limiting the bench to forward Antonio McDyess and Hunter. But with Carlos Arroyo, acquired Friday from Utah, on board, Brown hopes to make changes to how hard he works his backcourt.
"I'm not concerned about the big guys -- they're not playing the minutes that concern me," Brown said Monday. "What concerns me is the perimeter guys -- they're playing too many minutes. Hopefully, Carlos will help that. And if we get the other Carlos, wherever he is ..."
Carlos Delfino was the team's primary backup to Hamilton, but Delfino hasn't played since suffering an injured right knee last month, and won't return to the court until next month at the earliest. He is expected to rejoin the team late this week after having gone to his native Argentina to have a second surgery performed Jan. 18.
Last season, the Pistons used nine players, with two forwards and two guards coming off the bench averaging about 20 minutes each. Brown has tried using various guards, from Horace Jenkins to Smush Parker (since gone) to Anthony Goldwire, and there was a failed attempt last month to get Frank Williams from Chicago. Now, it's Arroyo's turn. Arroyo is still learning Detroit's system, but Brown expects quick results.
"Coming from that program in Utah, they're all well-coached and have a great understanding," Brown said. "He'll be fine."
Up front, the Pistons are thinner. They hope to reacquire Elden Campbell, sent to Utah last week for Arroyo. But the Jazz hadn't released Campbell as of Monday, and even when it does, as expected, there'll be another 48-hour period to wait and see if another team claims him off waivers. Charlotte and New Jersey are the only teams that have cap room for him, and of those two, only the Nets are a realistic possibility. If the Nets claim Campbell, the Pistons could be in trouble because that would leave Darko Milicic as their only reserve big man, and because they have nothing expendable left to barter for a new big man.
NOTEBOOK: Milicic, who hasn't been heard from since he complained about not playing last week, missed the trip because of what the team said was flu. ... Goldwire's second 10-day contract has expired, and with a reserve backcourt already numbering Hunter, Arroyo, Delfino and Jenkins, it's clear there won't be room for Goldwire.
"I think he can play in this league," Brown said. "If we'd had had him since day one, as smart as he is, and as good a kid as he is, it might have been a little different for him."
BY HELENE ST. JAMES
FREE PRESS SPORTS WRITER
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