LeBron James pretends to take a picture of his Cavaliers teammates during pregame warm-ups at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland. Rasheed Wallace thinks it's funny but says the team stole the antic from the Pistons. (David Liam Kyle/Getty Images)
Cleveland
By now you have seen the skits and posing the fun-loving Cavaliers do before the game, during the game and after the game, right?
You've seen the picture-taking skit, the Mo Williams hitting a home run skit, the players huddled in a circle pantomiming starting a campfire.
All just silly fun, and that's how the Pistons view it.
"I think it's funny," coach Michael Curry said. "The thing is, you still have to get on the court and perform, and they've been performing.
"Whatever they do prior to the game doesn't matter."
Rasheed Wallace thinks it's funny, too, though he thinks the Cavaliers might have infringed on the Pistons' copyright with the picture-taking skit.
"We've been doing that stuff all along," Wallace said. "Rip (Hamilton) was the first to start doing all that picture stuff. That's where they got it from, but of course they (the media) are going to blow it up more because it's LeBron (James).
"But I don't worry about all that little stuff they do."
Rise of school ties
The trash-talking already has begun between Wallace and Hamilton. The question was, who would win between Wallace's North Carolina Tar Heels and Hamilton's Connecticut Huskies.
Bynum takes a Rip
Will Bynum has been playing so well that he has taken a regular spot in the rotation.
But let's not get carried away.
After the Pistons beat the 76ers on Sunday, I thought I heard Curry say the offense was going to run through Bynum late in the game.
He corrected me Tuesday.
"We don't want Will thinking he's going to be our go-to guy down the stretch now," Curry said, laughing.
No, the Pistons still will run their offense through Hamilton down the stretch, thank you. But that's not to say Bynum would run from the challenge.
"Oh, no, Will's got a lot of confidence," Hamilton said.
So much so that against the 76ers, he went to the free-throw line to shoot a technical. Hamilton immediately stepped in.
"I told him, 'Hold on now, no technicals," Hamilton said. "I shoot those."
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Iron Prince
Tayshaun Prince has played in 486 consecutive games, second only to Andre Miller (520). But Prince has started more consecutive games than any player:
| Player | Team | Cons. Starts |
| Tayshaun Prince | Pistons | 429 |
| Samuel Dalembert | 76ers | 248 |
| Andre Miller | 76ers | 210 |
| Derek Fisher | Lakers | 200 |
| Richard Jefferson | Bucks | 177 |
Slippin' on D
The Pistons are still one of the NBA's best defensive teams, but are a far cry from dominating like they did in 2003-04:
| Year | PPG | FG PCT. | Rank |
| 2008-09 | 94.6 | 45.2 | 7 |
| 2007-08 | 90.3 | 43.9 | 2 |
| 2006-07 | 91.8 | 44.5 | 2 |
| 2005-06 | 90.2 | 45.2 | 3 |
| 2004-05 | 89.5 | 43.0 | 2 |
| 2003-04 | 84.3 | 41.3 | T1 |
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