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I think I may have jinxed the Pistons. Just hours after I pointed out how well Carlos Delfino has been playing, he goes and makes the bone-headed play of the year to lose Friday's game against the Pacers, fouling Darrell Armstrong to put him on the line with 0.9 seconds left in a tie game.

And just when I suggested that Flip Murray's recent slide into irrelevance was going to be permanent (and lamented a couple of weeks ago how Detroit lacked a true backup point guard), he's suddenly a leading contender to join the starting lineup for the next 10 to 14 days.

Yes, you read that last sentence correctly: Chauncey BIllups went down with a strained calf in the final seconds of Friday's game. With Lindsey Hunter still sidelined with a sore Achilles, the only other true point guard on the roster is rookie Will Blalock, and although he's been playing well, it's a stretch to imagine that he's ready to fill in for 30-plus minutes a game. That leaves Murray, a guy who had all but fallen completely out of the rotation, as the prime candidate to step into Billups' spot in the lineup.

Sigh. Forget the beer -- you better reach for the hard stuff.

Murray isn't a true point guard by any stretch of the word, and his inconsistent play this year has disrupted the offense and infuriated fans. That said, one of his biggest problems is that he's most comfortable playing starter's minutes and struggles to get into a groove off the bench. So even though it goes against absolutely everything I've seen with my own two eyes this year, I'm going to go out on a limb and suggest that putting Murray in the starting lineup won't absolutely kill the chances of Detroit playing .500 ball in Billups' absence.

All bets are on, however, as to whether or not the ball spontaneously combusts after four games of Murray dribbling, dribbling, dribbling, dribbling, dribbling out the shot-clock for 30 minutes a night.