Suns Lose Thomas

By Marty Gitlin
WagerWeb.com Contributing Writer

It seemed as if nothing could go wrong with the Phoenix Suns this season. They have, after all, won 10 consecutive games, mostly by double-digits.

But they have taken a bit of a hit. Backup center Kurt Thomas will be out for 4-6 weeks with an elbow injury. He hyperextended the elbow in the first quarter of Monday’s win at Memphis.

Thomas is averaging 5.7 points and 5.7 rebounds a game this season.

The Suns must get along without him Wednesday night in Houston. WagerWeb.com lists Phoenix as a 5-point favorite. The Rockets will be playing the second of the toughest back-to-back games one can imagine in the NBA these days. They lost to Dallas, 109-96, Tuesday night, despite a 45-point effort by guard Tracy McGrady.

WELCOME, C-WEBB: Can Chris Webber rejuvenate the Detroit Pistons?

We won’t find out much Wednesday night.

The man who returned home will emerge from the bench and is expected to play only a few minutes at home against slumping Utah, which is a 2.5-point underdog, according to WagerWeb.com.

Webber made it official Tuesday when he signed a free agent contract with Detroit. He will play center for the Pistons after spending the vast majority of his career at power forward.

“I made the decision to come here based on (Pistons president) Joe Dumars, on coach (Flip Saunders) and the team,” Webber told the Detroit News. “I just feel renewed. I haven’t felt this good about the game in a long time. You know, I’m excited to be coming home, but I am more excited to be on this team. It would have been no fun to come home and play on a bad team.”

The 34-year-old Webber averaged 20 points and nearly 10 rebounds a game in Philadelphia last season, but reduced playing time and nagging injuries have cut those numbers in half this year.

“Any time you get a guy who has something to prove, you are getting him at his best,” Dumars told the assembled media at a press conference Tuesday. “He is coming back to Detroit with a lot to prove, basketball-wise and otherwise. You know, watching him play last year, he’s not the high-flying guy he once was, but he is still so much better than most of the guys at his position.”

The Pistons, who lost to Miami in the Eastern Conference finals last season, have slipped into second place in the Central Division, 1 ½ games behind Cleveland.

DRIBBLES: The return of guard Quentin Richardson from injury has allowed New York coach Isiah Thomas to play the starting lineup he envisioned before the season began. Richardson, however, will take a seat down the stretch while highly productive Jamal Crawford plays. WagerWeb.com lists New York as an 8-point underdog Wednesday night in Washington. … Oft-injured Cleveland off-guard Larry Hughes has been shooting miserably. He has 8 of 38 (21 percent) from the field in the last three games. He hopes to break out Wednesday night in Portland, where the Cavaliers are 3-point favorites, according to WagerWeb.com. … The Phoenix-Houston game isn’t the only featured attraction Wednesday night in the NBA. WagerWeb.com lists the Los Angeles Lakers as 8.5-point favorites at San Antonio.