What up? How’s it going? Man, so much has been happening since I last checked in with you guys. Training camp and preseason games are well under way and I’m definitely starting to get a hang of this whole NBA thing.

Recently some of us guys were at the Meijer in Auburn Hills doing a little gas pumping for fans. The Pistons, Rock Financial, and Meijer had this great deal going on where fans could get 10 gallons of free gas in addition to a bunch of other free stuff, like tickets and playing cards. The event was a lot of fun. Tayshaun, Mo Evans, Sheed and I were out there filling people’s tanks and washing windows. Coach was out there too with some Shock players, Automotion, and Tom Wilson. It was exciting being out there and getting a chance to meet the fans and give them free gas. We also cleaned some windows and checked under the hood. Considering the price of the gas these days, I’d think that the free gas was more exciting for the fans than seeing us players, but who knows? The whole event was great, I’ve done stuff like that at grocery stores when I was in college, so I’m an old pro.

Pumping gas was a lot of fun and all, but my real job started the following day. It was our second preseason game of the season, the first one at the Palace of Auburn Hills. We played the Milwaukee Bucks and I finally got a chance to show my skills. It was midway through the second quarter and Flip sent me in.

I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t a little nerve racking. I mean, it’s my first year in the NBA! But getting Sheed on your back with him cracking jokes, you loosen up a little bit and it is all right. He helps me relax. That’s just him, and I appreciate it. But this is what I do, I just come out and play. He gave me a few words of encouragement and I was off.

When I first started off I was going a little too fast, I wasn’t playing my game. Right off the bat I missed a jump shot and had a quick foul. It wasn’t until the second half and the fourth quarter that I slowed down and played my game. I went two-for-two from the floor, two-for-three from the line, and grabbed two rebounds. I ended the game with seven points and three rebounds in 11 minutes.

After Milwaukee’s game I got in a couple minutes here and a couple there against Minnesota and Dallas. It’s been real great going out there and playing with the big boys. Knowing that I can match-up pretty well down low has been great. I’ve kind of been surprised though, with the league. For the most part I knew what to expect, but I honestly thought the game would be a little quicker. At Cincinnati we were going up and down nonstop. The NBA is slowed down a little bit and has that ‘take your time’ attitude. I guess that’s only because it is the preseason and teams aren’t really focusing on running the court. Coaches are still trying to make sure their guys have the plays and offensive sets down first.

Anyway, after a couple more games, we played Milwaukee again last week and this time I got a little bit more time to get comfortable out on the court. This time I got in late in the first quarter and played the rest of the half. I started off going too fast again, but made sure to make up for it by getting six boards. By the second half I slowed down a little bit and really started playing. I even got to throw it down a little bit, there is not too much better than that.

This preseason we had a couple games in front of our home crowd. Playing at the Palace…it’s real exciting. That is the only way to describe it. Knowing that when you get a dunk on a fast break that it’s going to get real loud is impressive. But that’s just Detroit basketball. The fans are always into it. They come to the Palace to get excited and I don’t want to let them down. The season is right around the corner and I can’t wait to see that place sold out. Check back with me next week and I’ll tell you all about it.

I’m out.

Jason Maxiell
#54

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ROOKIE UPDATE
Wondering how well the rookies are matching up in the big league? With the Pistons needing to cut their roster down by one man, every Pistons player, especially the rookies, are fighting to get that last spot.

“I like everybody on our roster right now,” Joe Dumars said. “I truly would like to keep each and every one of these guys. If somebody was playing badly or had a bad attitude, it would make it easy for me. The fact that all of these guys have shown up and played so well, and are all such good guys, makes it difficult to say what’s going to happen. My inclination is to figure out how to keep all of these guys.”

Alex Acker Guard, 6-5 Pepperdine Averaging 2.8 points, 1.8 rebounds, 2.8 assists, and 0.8 steals in 7.8 minutes

“I thought (Acker) looked OK,” coach Flip Saunders said. “Right now he’s trying to adjust to the quickness of the points at this level. They get by you quick. He’s played a couple of games there now and he’ll learn.

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Amir Johnson Forward, 6-9 Westchester High School Averaging 1.8 points and 1.5 rebounds in 4.8 minutes

"Two things stood out," George David, Pistons Director of Scouting said. "(Johnson) was the best athlete I ever saw, for one. And, he had a really good knack, for a high school kid, timing-wise, for blocking shots. He averaged nine blocks a game. That means there were some games when he'd block 15 shots and others when he'd block like five -- pretty impressive either way."

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Jason Maxiell Forward, 6-7 Cincinnati Averaging 4.6 points, 3.0 rebounds, and 0.4 blocks in 9.6 minutes

(On the close finish with Dallas) “Sometimes those young guys, they don't have opportunities to play in late-game situations," Saunders said. "So you want to see how they're going to react. Maxiell was aggressive, which is something you want to see.”