The fan base for point guard Rafer Alston continues to grow. Friday night, he found one on the opposite bench when the Heat faced the Detroit Pistons at the Palace of Auburn Hills.

Pistons coach Larry Brown acknowledged he had considered signing Alston while coach of the 76ers.

"I've tried to get him the last three years," he said, with a push made by assistant coach Mike Woodson. "Woody liked him. That was one of the main reasons we tried."

Brown, in his first season with the Pistons, said Alston's maturation leaves hope for others impacted by the streetball approach.

"I think there's a lot of guys with street play in this league that all of a sudden figure it out," he said. "That's the kind of kids we should publicize, instead of all these And-1 commercials, and say, `Hey, this is one way of doing it, and this is the right way of doing it.' Because I really admire how far he's come and how he's worked for it."