But (Charlie) Villanueva, 27, is coming off arguably the toughest year of his professional career, during which he became even more a source of scorn from fans.

“There are things that happen that sometimes you can’t control, and people can’t understand that,” he said Sunday. “They don’t know the whole story, but absolutely I use some of it.

“You hear it, but I don’t let it affect me. It just drives you to get better. You use it as motivation and carry a chip on your shoulder. That’s the approach I’m taking, and I’m just ready to get on the floor.”

He gets the scorn. His salary ($8 million) is the third-highest on the Pistons’ payroll, and his performance has gotten progressively worse since he arrived in Detroit.

“Since I’ve been here, have I had career years?” Villanueva said. “Have I had great years?

“But I can’t worry about people not wanting me here — people saying that I’m not any good. I know what type of player that I am. … I’m just going to let my game do the talking.”

via Vince Ellis of the Detroit Pistons