Richard Hamilton has been the Detroit Pistons’ leading scorer for eight straight seasons, an All-Star three times and is one of the few, proud owners of both an NBA and NCAA championship ring. But last night he never got off the bench, registering a DNP-CD for only the fourth time in his 822-game career. (The other three times were when he sat the final game of the regular season before the playoffs.) Was he hurt? No. Was he told before the game that he was not going to play? Not so much.
Here are some great quotes from Hamilton courtesy of Chris Iott at MLive.com:
“I came to the game with my same routine, that I was going to play. Nobody warned me or told me anything. I just came out ready to play the game.”
“This is probably the first time in my career that, when I put on a jersey, I didn’t play. …All I know is as long as I put that jersey on, I’m going to go out and play hard and be ready when my number’s called.”
“I was definitely surprised. Do I think it was a level of disrespect or unfair or anything like that? I’ll leave that to y’all.”
To be frank, Hamilton is having his worst statistical season across the board since his rookie year, averaging 13.2 points, 2.2 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game. He’s also shooting a career-low 41 percent from the field. Just like Chris Webber starting the “Free Steve Nash” chants in Phoenix, perhaps it’s time to do the same for Rip in Detroit.
What do you think?
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