FRANK TALK TO PROPEL PISTONS

By Mark Woods on January 15, 2013

Detroit Pistons coach Lawrence Frank has urged his side not to loseÂ sight of their real mission after arriving in London ahead of Thursdayâ€™s clash with the New York Knicks.

Both teams landed in the UK on Tuesday with Knicks trio Tyson Chandler, Jason Kidd and Amare Stoudemire whisked straight off to a personal appearance following a light practice session.

Further promotional events will follow on Wednesday with a special NBA Cares clinic at The 02 Arena. However with his side lifted by a recent revival, Frank is hoping business will trump pleasure on the trip.

â€œItâ€™s great to be in London, Londonâ€™s a beautiful city, Iâ€™m fortunate enough to have been here a few times before, so we look forward to the great opportunity of sharing our game with the great people of London,” he said. “It is always a very exciting atmosphere.

â€œItâ€™s a very, very big game for us that canâ€™t get lost in the focus. This counts as a home game for us.

“It should be a great competition between us and the New York Knicks and hopefully will bring a great brand of basketball for the people of London to see.â€

Knicks centre Marcus Camby has been ruled out of the game with Rasheed Wallace also a major doubt.

However Frank admits his team need to stop Carmelo Anthony after the Olympic gold medalist destroyed Detroit earlier this season when the teams met at Madison Square Garden.

â€œCarmelo is a great scorer heâ€™s a guy that can put together a 40-point game like itâ€™s nothing,â€ said Frank.

â€œHeâ€™s a professional scorer, thatâ€™s what we call him, he can score in a bunch of different ways: he can shoot the three, he can score off the dribble, he can score in the post.

“Heâ€™s a constant threat but the Knicks are a strong team and we have to be ready for all of them.â€

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