Arguably the best Pistons player in the Eastern Conference finals against Boston has been Richard Hamilton, and now the team faces the very real possibility it will be without Rip for Friday's night's Game 6 potential elimination game back in the Palace of Auburn Hills.
Hamilton strained his right elbow in the closing seconds of the 106-102 Game 5 loss to the Celtics on Wednesday night. Hamilton scored 25 points in the game, but the Pistons fell behind 3-2 in the best-of-seven Eastern Conference finals.
X-rays were negative, and Hamilton's arm was in a sling as he left the arena.
Coach Flip Saunders says Hamilton is scheduled for an evaluation later Thursday, but his status won't be determined until Friday.
"We're going to have to wait and see how it is (later Thursday) and how it is in 48 hours," Saunders said. "He got a little bit of, I think, hyper-extended in there on the rebound on that one defensive sequence that we had. He was great again (in Game 5), especially in the last three quarters. Hopefully he's going to be ready to go for us."Hamilton is the franchise's all-time leading playoff scorer and the franchise leader in playoff games played (115). Yet he's still vastly underrated by those outside of Motown.
"Well, he does it in a way. It's not spectacular," Saunders said of Hamilton, who is averaging 22.2 points in this series compared to 17.3 in the regular season. "Most of the guys that are your great shooters or mid-range-type shooters, they're kind of like that."
Saunders is referring to Hamilton's constant motion and the fact he often gets his shots without the ball in his hands.
Celtics coach Doc Rivers also is a big fan.
"He's as good as any (mid-range shooter) in the league, and he does it off of movement without the ball, which is even more rare," Rivers said.
Hamilton has scored 20-plus points in 72 of his 115 playoff games since 2003, trailing only one player in that span, Spurs center Tim Duncan.
"Since we've been here, Rip has been our No.1 option," said point guard Chauncey Billups, who signed as a free agent two months before Detroit acquired Hamilton in 2002. "He delivers every night."
In other Detroit injury news, Pistons backup guard Lindsey Hunter was heavily wrapped in bandages for a sore shoulder after Game 5, but it isn't considered severe enough to where it might keep him from playing on Friday.
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