spurscenter
10-19-2007, 05:42 PM
Hayes feels Mejia's pain
by A. Sherrod Blakely
Friday October 19, 2007, 12:30 AM
AUBURN HILLS -- When the Detroit Pistons used their second-round pick in last June's NBA draft to select Sammy Mejia, only those who followed college basketball closely knew his name. Mejia has been a Piston for nearly a month now, and there are still plenty of folks who have no idea who he is. The 6-foot-6 rookie opened some eyes with his play in Wednesday's 119-110 win over the Denver Nuggets at Grand Rapids' Van Andel Arena.
Although he only scored four points, Mejia's hustle and scrappy play resulted in seven rebounds in just 14 minutes. Points and rebounds are nice, but just being on the floor was a step up for Mejia who has been limited most of training camp with an ankle injury. "It was good to finally go out and play," Mejia said.
Training camp is especially important for Mejia, the lone Piston in camp without a guaranteed contract this season.
"It's been tough, but it's something I can't control," Mejia said of the injury. "I just try and do the best that I can, and hopefully everything will fall into place for me."
Pistons forward Jarvis Hayes understands what Mejia is going through.
A fractured right patella injury cut short Hayes' second NBA season with the Washington Wizards. Hayes re-aggravated the knee the following season. Surgery was required, resulting in him missing the final 61 games of the season.
"It's tough, especially with him being a rookie," said Hayes, who played in a career-high 82 regular season games last season with Washington. "He wants to be out there. He wants to push it. But his body, physically, his ankle is sore. I try to talk to him, being
injured and trying to play through it."
Even though Mejia has seen limited action, the Pistons are likely to keep him on their roster this season. The Pistons have 16 players in camp -- one more than the maximum teams can carry into the regular season -- and are exploring trade scenarios that would allow them to keep Mejia.
PISTONS NOTES
Afflalo's 'D' work in progress: Defense may be Arron Afflalo's strongsuit. But the 6-foot-6 rookie readily admits that his defense, like most of his game, still needs some work.
"I have to get better (defensively)," Afflalo said.
"I'm still trying to figure out how I will defend in this league, and not foul out. There's a lot of good players. I'm just trying to position to myself and get stronger."
Trade talk: The Denver Nuggets have discussed trading J.R. Smith to Detroit for Flip Murray. However, there are a couple of issues that make it unlikely the deal will be completed.
Detroit wants to include Ronald Dupree, which isn't necessarily something the Nuggets want. In addition, there are some concerns on Detroit's part about whether
Smith, who has had his share of problems on and off the court, would be
a good fit with their current roster.
Preseason success: A win tonight would guarantee Detroit a .500 or better preseason record for the 12th time in the last 13 seasons.
Ham sighting: Ex-Piston and Saginaw native Darvin Ham is in the Dallas Mavericks' training camp. Ham was a member of Detroit's 2004 NBA championship team.
by A. Sherrod Blakely
Friday October 19, 2007, 12:30 AM
AUBURN HILLS -- When the Detroit Pistons used their second-round pick in last June's NBA draft to select Sammy Mejia, only those who followed college basketball closely knew his name. Mejia has been a Piston for nearly a month now, and there are still plenty of folks who have no idea who he is. The 6-foot-6 rookie opened some eyes with his play in Wednesday's 119-110 win over the Denver Nuggets at Grand Rapids' Van Andel Arena.
Although he only scored four points, Mejia's hustle and scrappy play resulted in seven rebounds in just 14 minutes. Points and rebounds are nice, but just being on the floor was a step up for Mejia who has been limited most of training camp with an ankle injury. "It was good to finally go out and play," Mejia said.
Training camp is especially important for Mejia, the lone Piston in camp without a guaranteed contract this season.
"It's been tough, but it's something I can't control," Mejia said of the injury. "I just try and do the best that I can, and hopefully everything will fall into place for me."
Pistons forward Jarvis Hayes understands what Mejia is going through.
A fractured right patella injury cut short Hayes' second NBA season with the Washington Wizards. Hayes re-aggravated the knee the following season. Surgery was required, resulting in him missing the final 61 games of the season.
"It's tough, especially with him being a rookie," said Hayes, who played in a career-high 82 regular season games last season with Washington. "He wants to be out there. He wants to push it. But his body, physically, his ankle is sore. I try to talk to him, being
injured and trying to play through it."
Even though Mejia has seen limited action, the Pistons are likely to keep him on their roster this season. The Pistons have 16 players in camp -- one more than the maximum teams can carry into the regular season -- and are exploring trade scenarios that would allow them to keep Mejia.
PISTONS NOTES
Afflalo's 'D' work in progress: Defense may be Arron Afflalo's strongsuit. But the 6-foot-6 rookie readily admits that his defense, like most of his game, still needs some work.
"I have to get better (defensively)," Afflalo said.
"I'm still trying to figure out how I will defend in this league, and not foul out. There's a lot of good players. I'm just trying to position to myself and get stronger."
Trade talk: The Denver Nuggets have discussed trading J.R. Smith to Detroit for Flip Murray. However, there are a couple of issues that make it unlikely the deal will be completed.
Detroit wants to include Ronald Dupree, which isn't necessarily something the Nuggets want. In addition, there are some concerns on Detroit's part about whether
Smith, who has had his share of problems on and off the court, would be
a good fit with their current roster.
Preseason success: A win tonight would guarantee Detroit a .500 or better preseason record for the 12th time in the last 13 seasons.
Ham sighting: Ex-Piston and Saginaw native Darvin Ham is in the Dallas Mavericks' training camp. Ham was a member of Detroit's 2004 NBA championship team.