New-look Pistons Have Lowest Expectations In Nine Years

When the Pistons open the home portion of their season on Friday against Oklahoma City, the pre-game fanfare won't be all that.No banners to raise. No pre-game speeches. No glow from any division title or from yet another appearance in the conference final. No pride, really, taken from anything that happened last season.Check that---maybe they could raise a "2008-09: Glad THAT'S Over!" banner.It'll be one of those fresh starts with several new faces. So many key players from last season's drama are gone: coach Michael Curry, whose tenure becomes more soiled by the day thanks to player retrospectives; Allen Iverson, the petulant superstar; Rasheed Wallace, the ticking time bomb; even nice guy Antonio McDyess wears another uniform this year.The proceedings get underway tonight in Memphis---Iverson's new haunts---and only Rip Hamilton remains from the sordid love/hate triangle he formed with Curry and Iverson.Not since 2000-01 have we gone into a Pistons c...