As the Cavaliers-Pistons series moves at a snail's pace towards tonight's Game 3 in Detroit, I took the opportunity to site down with Brian Packey, head blogger over at Motown String Music, SBNation's Detroit Pistons blog.  Here is what Brian had to say about the series, Chauncey Billups and the fall of Detroit --

 

FTS -- What were the thoughts of Pistons' fans on the Chauncey Billups trade, when it happened and now?

MSM -- I think there were mixed feelings.  The fans that loved Chauncey and had gotten accustomed to the Pistons being among the elite teams in the league were outraged.  Chauncey was our leader, our glue and there's no denying that.  However, the fans who were upset about the team having been to six straight Eastern Conference Finals and only one championship to show for it were crying for a change.  This may not have been the one they were crying for, but along with money playing an intricate part in the trade these fans were elated by the trade and calling Joe Dumars a genius.  After all, Joe promised change, brought in a future Hall of Famer in exchange for Billups so it wasn't like they were giving him away at the time of the trade, and they freed up some cap space for the upcoming off-season(s).

After all that has happened this season, I don't think there's many fans left on that latter wagon.  I, for one, would love to use a take back.

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The guys over at The Dream Shake were nice enough to take some time and answer some question about Cleveland's toughest opponent to visit the Q this season, the Houston Rockets --

FTS -- What is the over-all feeling Rocket's fans on the McGrady-Ming duo. There are a lot of regular season wins, but not a lot of post-season success. Why is that?

DS -- Well, for the first few years we all decided that it was because McGrady didn't have much help on the wing or at the power forward position. Then we got stronger in those areas, but Yao went down for the playoffs last season. I think most fans pin the playoff losses more on McGrady than on Yao, at least the past ones - he was the guy that said "It's on me" if we didn't advance in the playoffs, so everyone made him keep his word, and thus, he took the brunt of the blame. McGrady's supporting cast also played poorly in many of those postseason games, and especially in the finale against Utah last year when T-Mac had at least 40 points and we still lost. As for the overall feeling this season, we still hope for health, but when healthy, we like Yao to be the primary scorer and for McGrady to score when open, but to pass as often as he can - he's a gifted passer and could honestly average a LeBronian 7-8 assists a game if he decided to try to do that.

FTS -- What has the addition of Ron Artest meant to the team? He is controversial to say the least, has he been on his best behavior in Houston?

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This is in today's edition of Sporting News Today, an on-line daily.  I highly recommend it to any sports fan.  Solid content delivered to your inbox every morning. 

Enjoy!

In mid-August, the Cavaliers brought in what they hope is the final piece that can get them back to the NBA Finals, trading for point guard Mo Williams from Milwaukee. Cleveland already is one of the top defensive teams in the league, but the hope was that Williams' ability to score and push the tempo would boost the Cavaliers' often dull offense. So far, Cleveland is off to a 6-2 start and is averaging 99.5 points per game, which would be the most the Cavs have scored since 1993-94. Sporting News Today's Sean Deveney talked with Williams about his new role.

SN: You've gone through training camp, through the first few games of this season. Are you feeling like a Cleveland Cavalier yet?

MW: Definitely. I am past the introduction stage now. I just have to play with these guys a little more, and the more I do, the more comfortable we'll all be.

SN: It seems like you were brought here to give the offense a boost. You're not scoring as much now, but the team is up around 100 points per game.

MW: My scoring is probably going to go down, but in this situation, that is not a bad thing. This team has a lot of weapons. If we can keep scoring and keep playing defense the way we can play it, good things are going to happen.

SN: Helps to have LeBron James on your side, too.

MW: He takes a lot of pressure off you. If someone is not having a good night, he can step in and take over when he needs to. For those of us around him, our job is just to go out and keep playing hard on both ends of the floor.

SN: You've got to be ready to settle down a lot. Seems like you have played for a lot of coaches.

MW: Six years in the league, six coaches. Six different systems. Just about every year, it's been something new.

SN: Yeah, it's six if you count Scott Skiles before the trade. That's a lot of adjustments.

MW: It is hard to explain how tough that is in this league because it means a different playbook every year. Being with a coach who is stable, that would be good for me. I am pretty sure Mike (Brown) will be around here for a while. I am pretty sure the core of this team will be together for a while.

SN: You're an Alabama guy, of course. How excited are you about the football team?

MW: How excited? We're No. 1. Hell yeah, I am excited. This is going to be a national championship team.

Mo Williams has been a huge addition to the Cavaliers. Even though the jump-shot hasn't started to fall the way I am sure it will Mo has brought stability to the offense, especially when LeBron is off the floor.

In preperation to tonight's matchup with the Hornets, I took some time to sit down with the guys that run At The Hive.com, an awesome New Orleans Hornets Blog.  Below is how the Q&A went.

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FTS -- Chris Paul and LeBron James are likely to be at the top of the MVP balloting this spring. Give me the best argument why Pal will win the award.

ATH - I think it will probably come down to the wire again, with the two guys being as even as they were last year (1-2 in PER, and virtually every other encompassing statistic). Unfortunately, MVP voters are idiots of the highest order and will, in all likelihood, ignore who was slightly better and select the guy whose team had the better record. On that basis, I like New Orleans as a team more than Cleveland, but James and Paul should finish neck and neck.

FTS -- How big of an impact has James Posey made early on in the season?

ATH -- Oh man, I think every New Orleans fan is absolutely in love this guy just two games into the season. He's already drawn 4 charges in 2 games, has played some lockdown defense, and basically single-handedly staved off a furious Suns rally on Thursday with both Paul and West having off days. I know he won't score like this or shoot like this every game. But his willingness to sacrifice his body is what makes him special. He brings another level of intensity to this team.

FTS -- Two games, two impressive road wins for the Hornets. What have you liked so far, and what have been some things that worry you?

ATH - To be fair, I've seen more worrying aspects than promising ones. For one, Chris Paul and David West have looked unusually rusty. CP3 had 5 turnovers against the Suns- I can't even remember the last time that happened. West shot just 7-19, missing many wide open looks. Also worrying is the early ankle injuries to Tyson Chandler and Peja Stojakovic. If either of those guys goes down for extended time, that could be trouble.

However, those are all very fixable things. I'm sure those guys will start to round into shape over the next week or so. The one gigantic positive has been the bench. Posey, obviously, has been awesome. But Rasual Butler has been surprisingly assertive with his outside shot in these first two games, a good sign for the future. When we get Julian Wright back, we may actually have a decent bench, something sorely lacking last year. Still, it's very early, too early to say things for sure.

FTS -- What player on the Hornets is someone Cavaliers fans should pay attention to that they may not know a lot about.

ATH -- Honestly, nobody. The Hornets have no rookies this year, and the rotation remains largely the same, with the addition of James Posey and the departure of Jannero Pargo. Butler may continue to be a pleasant surprise, but the major contributors- CP3, West, Chandler, Peja- are all known entities

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Our thanks to At The Hive for taking the time.  I have a feeling these two teams will be among the last standing come April.

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The Cavs and celtics tip-off the NBA Regular Season tonight and what better way to get ready than with a quick chat with one of the best NBA blogs on the web, SBNation's own Celtics Blog!

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FTS -- Winning the NBA Championship has lifted a huge weight off the shoulders of Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen. Coming off of that, what has your impression been of the team, and those three in particular?

CB -- After the championship I made a concerted effort to soak everything in and refrain from worrying about 2009. Eventually I grew somewhat concerned when I thought about how many playoff games the Celtics played (26), read stories about their numerous post championship sleepless nights, heard about a Celtics gathering in Vegas, came across this story, and realized how short the off season would be. However, much like last year, KG, Pierce, and Allen have exceeded my expectations. They all came into camp in excellent shape and the first unit looked tremendous during stretches in the preseason. I believe they're ready to put the necessary work in to back up their talk of repeating.

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