Detroit Basketball

Shotclock malfunctions, team disqualifications, and Laimbeer running his mouth off. Quite the Haier shooting star competition last night, where Detroit won by default because of a miscommunication by the Chicago team. Although it was just a fun little shooting competition, it was interesting to see Scottie Pippen take a few shots since he is considering making a comeback for this years playoffs. He didn’t look too bad, making both of his three pointers from the top of the arc in less than 4 shots.

All-Star Saturday got off to an appropriately silly start when Scottie Pippen’s three-person Chicago team was disqualified from the Shooting Stars competition, handing victory to Detroit’s team.

Chauncey Billups, Swin Cash and Bill Laimbeer won the gimmicky shooting game featuring three-person teams composed of an NBA player, a WNBA player and a famed former NBA player. The teams must combine to make six shots from six spots around the court in the shortest amount of time.

Pippen, the 41-year-old former star who announced plans for a comeback Friday, thought he had shot Chicago to victory when he banked in a half-court shot to finish 3 seconds quicker than the Detroit team’s time. But after officials reviewed the tape, they realized Ben Gordon and the Chicago Sky’s Candice Dupree had made their shots out of order moments earlier.

There was trouble even before the final round. The Thomas and Mack Center clock refused to advance past 1 minute during the 2-minute competition, forcing Laimbeer to complain loudly. Officials eventually had to time the event manually. #