Dana Wakiji
FOX Sports Detroit
Detroit -- Remember the good old days when the Pistons had the same starting lineup for most of the season?
That never materialized last year because of injuries and this year, just four games in, is already taking a hit on that front.
Rip Hamilton is having trouble with his right foot, the same foot that had the severe ankle injury last season, which, along with other ailments, forced him to miss 36 games.
The sore foot is keeping him out of Tuesday's game against the Boston Celtics.
Hamilton said he started experiencing pain the game before the Chicago game this past Saturday.
"I got out of bed and it was just hurting," Hamilton said. "I went to Arnie (Kander, strength and conditioning coach) when I got to the gym and I just told him, 'Hey, my (foot) don't feel right.' He was like, 'All right, we'll try to loosen it up.' It was just killing me. I still played on it. The next day it felt twice as worse as it felt the day before. I was like, I gotta get it checked out."
Hamilton scored just five points in 23 minutes against the Bulls.
The 32-year-old shooting guard said he was still waiting for results of an MRI he underwent Monday.
That means the Pistons are making adjustments on the fly again.
"We'll make the adjustment with Ben Gordon," coach John Kuester said. "By committee, Tracy McGrady, Austin Daye and DaJuan Summers. Tracy wants to give it more of a shot. We'll see how he handles it."
McGrady played a season-high 17 minutes in Chicago, scoring two points and collecting four rebounds.
Charlie Villanueva, who is currently bothered by a sore right ankle, planned to play Tuesday against the Celtics.
Making matters worse is the fact that the Pistons play back-to-back games, Tuesday against Boston and Wednesday in Atlanta.
"They're going to have to gut it out, there's no ifs, ands or buts about it," Kuester said. "We'll have to monitor the minutes the best we can. When you're as shorthanded, especially at (Rodney) Stuckey's position, that makes it challenging."
Nov. 2, 2010
