Detroit might have to play in home opener without Rip Hamilton

October 30, 12:43 PMDetroit Pistons ExaminerDave Ryan

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(AP Photo/Lance Murphey)

After landing awkwardly on his ankle late in Wednesday's blowout victory, Detroit guard Rip Hamilton is questionable for the Pistons' home opener tonight. It's safe to expect that Ben Gordon will be inserted into the starting lineup at shooting guard if  Rip can't go. And, from the sound of things, Hamilton probably needs to stay off that ankle anyway:

"It's hurting and it's sore; it hurts more than yesterday when it happened. Hopefully it'll get better soon. We don't think about not playing. I've been locked up all night since it happened. We haven't taken off the tape to get a good look at it.

Okay, so that doesn't sound too promising. Quotes like that make you wonder whether Hamilton will even make the trip to Milwaukee for Saturday's game at all, especially with an important home date against the Magic on November 3rd. Rip is a warrior though, so maybe he'll grit it out and drop 30 or something.

Tonight's game also gives fans their first look at previously suspended rookies Jonas Jerebko and Austin Daye. The injury to Hamilton does open the door slightly for Daye to get on the floor more than usual, but I'm not sure Jerebko will see much action. Still, you have to think that DaJuan Summers has fallen into third place in the rookie pecking order. Joe Dumars would agree. That's interesting because Summers was the talk of the town during summer ball, and even had some experts calling him one of the biggest steals of the second round. We shall see.

Friday's opponent, the Oklahoma City Thunder, are a very difficult opponent for your hometown Pistons. Kevin Durant is on the verge of stardom (or is he there yet?), Jeff Green looks like a legit #2 option, and Russell Westbrook appears to have grasped the point guard position after all. Points are not very hard to come by with this group. They might not have a very deep bench, but we know James Harden can pour in points, and Nick Collison defines that steady, proven NBA big man role. At the very least it should be an highly entertaining game as each team does their best to light up the scoreboard. The ball tips at 8pm ET. Check it out on Fox Sports Net.

Questionable
G - Rip Hamilton (Ankle, Day-to-Day)-Detroit

Prediction

109-104 Thunder
The Thunder are built for track meets like this, and I think Durant and Westbrook will have big games. I fully expect this one to be close from beginning to end however. The lack of Rip Hamilton is a big concern here. I also think the Thunder are going to be one of those teams this year that just surprises the heck out of everybody and wins 48 games or something crazy like that. Should be another fun game to watch regardless.