McDyess, Young tough it out after shots to nose

Thaddeus Young's nose is still swollen. But the 19-year-old 76ers rookie was still better off than the Pistons' Antonio McDyess.

Young suffered a bloody nose late in Game 3 on Friday, when he was hit there at the same time that another Pistons player was hitting him in the back. He didn't get the names or numbers of the perpetrators.

"It was like a pinball machine, and I was the ball," Young said with a laugh.

Young went down to the ground, his nose bloody. But it wasn't broken, and even though he was listed as day-to-day, Young said there was never a doubt that he would play Sunday night.

That wasn't the case with McDyess. He was accidentally hit there by Andre Iguodala as they were battling for a rebound less than a minute before Young got hit. That came midway through the third quarter. McDyess left the game and didn't return.

He was diagnosed with a broken nose. He flew back to Detroit for surgery on Saturday.

McDyess returned in time for Game 4 on Sunday night, and he was cleared to play. But he didn't start, and he was fitted for a protective mask. Jason Maxiell started in his place.

Still, it was an emotional lift for the Pistons, especially when McDyess finished with 10 points in 20 minutes.

"I told the team that we have a guy who got operated on [Saturday], has flown [to Detroit] and back, was throwing up [Saturday] night, has a broken nose and is competing harder than anybody else on the floor," Pistons coach Flip Saunders said. "That should show you how bad he really wants this."

Even Young said he was impressed that McDyess was able to play one day after having surgery.

"He's tough," Young said. "A broken nose, and coming back one day later -- that's tough."
Dissing on Detroit

The Pistons have not impressed Alonzo Mourning or Charles Barkley, who are both analysts for TNT's coverage of the playoffs.

"You can't just show up in the playoffs with your name on your jersey," Mourning said. "You have to put forth the effort. The Pistons are being outworked [by the 76ers]. You can see the Sixers running after loose balls. [Samuel] Dalembert is having a wonderful series, he's contesting every shot. I'd like to see the best player on the court, Rasheed Wallace, assert himself in there."

Added Barkley: "Detroit has to stop living off the year they won the championship and start playing hard. They are starting to believe, 'We are the Pistons,' but they won a championship a long time ago [in 2004]. They've gotten beaten the last few years and they don't play hard at all. They play cool. They play very pretty."
Evans for mayor?

Reggie Evans has become a fan favorite in Philadelphia, and it's easy to see why.

He hustles after loose balls. He takes charges. And the fans appreciate his enthusiasm.

GM Ed Stefanski has noticed this, too.

"Reggie could be the mayor of Philadelphia if he wanted to be right now," Stefanski said. "They love Reggie. Reggie is who we are in Philadelphia. We look at ourselves as blue collar-type people. We work hard. That's who we are as a city and they love him."

kaynak : NBA