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Maxiell on Ming, having very little trouble with big China.

In hindsight, Detroit’s loss to the Hornets on Wednesday the 14th is forgiveable. It was a one point loss, and in context to Detroit’s performance this weekend- I’ve suspended my resentment. This weekend, the Detroit Pistons overpowered the Washington Wizards by 100-91 Friday night, and ripped up Houston with a 104-92 victory on Saturday. That’s right, Pistons fans– we’re at .500, with a 5-5 record.

On Tuesday, Detroit takes on Philadelphia for a chance to improve their record. Going into this game with two wins in a row, this blogger is hoping that our growing pains are behind us. Good luck, Detroit. As I said before, your new season begins today.

What happened this weekend in the NBA? Let’s take a look at Friday’s results:

The noteables:

• Leandro Barbosa powered Phoenix to a 106-94 win over Philadelphia. Already having a huge season, this is Barbosa’s first rebound-fed double-double of the season. In Nash’s absense, Phoenix can expect a big push by Barbosa…
• Kobe Bryant nealry earned himself a trible-double on Friday night. Aside from 31 points, Kobe raped his way to 11 rebounds and forced himself upon 7 assists.

Saturday’s noteables:

• Gilbert Arenas put up 45 points, 5 rebounds and 6 assists in Washington’s win over Cleveland. This was Gilbert’s third 40+ point performance this season. Arenas is 8th in scoring so far this season with 256 points, Michael Redd leading the way with 303 points so far.
• Dwight Howard continues his freakish dominance in the post. Howard put up 24 points and 21 rebounds on Saturday night, his fifth double-double in ten games, his second in the 20’s in both points and rebounds. Is Howard on his way to a defensive player of the year award?
• Yao Ming put up 33 points and 16 rebounds against Detroit, but not enough to beat our boys in D-town. Yao is averaging 26.4 ppg and 10.4 rpg. This man is having one hell of a season. Its a shame he’s going to hurt is toe at some point…
• Rip Hamilton had one hell of a performance in that same game against Houston: 30 points, 7 boards, and 8 assists. Keep it up, Rip. While our defense stabilizes and continues to learn, we’ll need big offense out of you. Kudos, brother.
• Ray Allen put up Yao Ming numbers himself on Saturday night, in a 95-107 loss to Golden State. Allen scored 34 points and 11 boards against the Warriors, with 12 of his 34 from three point range.

We’ve got an exciting week ahead. Let’s see what Detroit can do this week, leaving Auburn Hills to visit Philadelphia and Allen Iverson’s 76ers. Good luck fellas!