MVN: Most Valuable Network

The Sixers get back on the court Friday night in Detroit as they face the Pistons. It will be a homecoming for "Worst-case Willie", a.k.a. "Garbage Time Green" - he went to Detroit Mercy. Of course, it's also another chance for us to watch Pistons with Philadelphia ties - Coatesville's Rip Hamilton, North Philadelphia's Rasheed Wallace and Strawberry Mansion's Flip Murray. The game starts at 8pm Eastern and will be broadcast on ComcastSportsNet and 610WIP.

Tuesday's loss left a bad taste in everyone's mouth. I posted this in the comments of Aarick's post on the Wizards game, "Iguodala doesn’t want to call out his coach [or GM], so here at Passion and Pride - we’ll do it for him. We’ve got his back. When he said that they need to make a move, then clarified it with the starting lineup as opposed to a trade, like all things Sixers with trades, that part is a “NO COMMENT”. Of course, a trade wouldn’t hurt. But at this point, it is unlikely. Carney and Green need to go. [Iguodala] would be a bad teammate to say so. Andre Miller needs to play better. He should go, but I don’t know about getting back Jason Williams in a Miami Heat trade. The market is not too hot for Miller, so to trade him now would be premature. We’ll have to suck it up with him for now."

The rumor right now as told to me by Passion and Pride's Sean Watts is Andre Miller and Rodney Carney to the Miami Heat for Jason Williams and Daequan Cook. Ironically, the Sixers drafted Cook in June and traded him to the Heat for Jason Smith. Cook would be a much better option at shooting guard than "Worst-case Willie," but Jason Williams would have to come in as the backup to Lou Williams or at least play less than Lou.

Philadelphia Inquirer's David Aldridge says that the Sixers should seriously consider a Miller trade, but it wouldn't be Miami. His destination for Miller would be Cleveland, which makes sense when you think about it. They can offer the rights to Varejao in a sign-and-trade, and both teams have enough spare parts to make any deal work. I doubt we could land Gibson, but Shannon Brown is likely. With Varajao and Miller as the centerpieces to the trade, I believe it would work out for both sides. However, the Sixers already have their Varejao in Louis Amundson, so I'm not sure the upgrade over mop-up players is worth dumping Miller at this point.

Until we hear otherwise, we're going into games with the roster we have. Tony Dileo said there wouldn't be any changes until 20 games have been played, so let's see what develops over the next few weeks. Lou Williams is trending up into a starter's role, Rodney Carney is losing minutes to Thaddeus Young and Jason Smith is getting increased minutes backing up both Evans and Dalembert. Iguodala has not been shooting the ball well, but has been cutting down on turnovers. However, opposing shooting guards are scoring at will on the Sixers, and that includes your Morris Petersons and DeShawn Stevensons of the league. Just imagine what the Billups-Hamilton backcourt will do. Chauncey had 10 assists on Wednesday against the Knicks - IN THE FIRST QUARTER ALONE. I expect him to pick us apart in a similar manner.

SIXERS VS. PISTONS MATCHUPS (GAME PREVIEW):

Miller vs. Billups - Advantage Pistons. Miller can make this battle close if he gets back to playing more like a point guard, but he needs the players around him to be in sync and they haven't been. Look for Miller to continue his average play while Billups gets the ball to Hamilton and the big boys early and often.

Green vs. Hamilton - Advantage Pistons. This is such a lopsided matchup, that it should say "Pistons times two". It's like playing two on one here. Of course, when Willie plays well, he's playing one-on-one. For "Worst-case Willie," the best he can hope for here is a draw.

Iguodala vs. Prince - Advantage Sixers. This will be close. Iguodala needs to play well, and we're thinking that he'll be letting out his frustrations on the court. Tayshaun Prince always plays out of his mind against the Sixers. If he becomes a go-to guy at some point in this game, then he might end up outplaying out best player. This matchup is our best chance.

Evans vs. McDyess - Advantage Pistons. McDyess is averaging 10 points and 7 boards. Evans plays for the other team on the offensive end. McDyess plays both ends of the floor. Evans will try to make up in rebounding what he lacks in skill, but they will need some offense from the power forward spot here. Evans shouldn't play more than 20 minutes.

Dalembert vs. Wallace - Advantage Pistons. Sammy D started the season well, but has been rather silent in the last few games. He should break out a little with Rasheed coming off tweaking his knee on Wednesday, but Nazr Mohammed will spell Rasheed and he is another guy who seems to save his best games for his original NBA team. If Dalembert stays out of foul trouble, he could swing this matchup our way. If Rasheed is healthy and hitting from deep, then forget it.

Sixers bench vs. Pistons bench - Advantage Sixers. Flip Murray, Jason Maxiell, and Jarvis Hayes notwithstanding, the strength of the Pistons is with their starting five. The strength of the Sixers lately has been the rookies and Lou Williams. Limiting Evans minutes will give Smith and Young more time and Lou Williams will be called on again to pull this game back out of oblivion. If we can make it a game in the end, fresh rookie legs might make the difference. However, the Pistons veterans will make sure this game is put away early.

Relevant opposing blogger - Motoring's Mick Miller will have the list of damages when all is said and done. Check back to Passion and Pride for the best Sixers coverage on the web. MVN Basketball has all your NBA needs!