Too many All-Stars?

When the NBA All-Star game was rolling around earlier this year, there was considerable debate over just how many Detroit Pistons should make the East squad. It turned out that the only starter left off was SF Tayshaun Prince. G's Chauncey Billups and Richard Hamilton were accompanied by PF Rasheed Wallace and C Ben Wallace. The Pistons seemed headed for their third consecutive NBA finals and their 2nd NBA Championship in three years. The bolts got a little loose in the 2nd half of the season, but everyone just attributed that to the Pistons being bored. Everyone assumed that they'd turn it back on when the playoffs rolled around.

In the first round with Milwaukee, they discarded the Bucks in 5 games. However, they were blown out in the game they lost and almost lost at least one other game. The Cleveland Cavaliers, riding only LeBron James, took the Pistons to seven games, at one point leading the series 3-2. Now, the Miami Heat have the Pistons cornered 3-1 in the Eastern Conference Finals. After pointing the finger at new coach Flip Saunders as a reason their offense was improved during the regular season, the players are now throwing him under the bus for their defensive ineptitude during the last couple series. The Pistons need to look in the mirror quick and realize what made them successful. Or, they can continue reading this post as a little refresher.

When I was growing up, we got the Denver tv stations because my town didn't have local ABC, CBS, and NBC stations. So, I saw Chauncey Billups win state titles in HS on tv. Chauncey was a Colorado basketball legend and starred at the University of Colorado, not exactly a bball powerhouse. But, when he got to the NBA, he bounced around a little bit ... Boston ... Toronto ... Denver ... Minnesota ... then, finally, Detroit. He went through 4 franchises in his first four years in the league. Billups is a good player, but when the Pistons beat the Lakers to win the NBA title, he wasn't a star. He was a good player who ran the team, distributed the ball, scored, and hit big shots.

Richard Hamilton started his career with the Wizards, but they let him go. Hamilton is a good mid-range shooter. His shooting percentage from 3-pt. range went up considerably this year, but he's still not a marquee guy from deep. Hamilton doesn't handle the ball exceptionally well and isn't a shut down defender. He's a good scorer. Tayshaun Prince is a solid SF, but definitely not a go-to stud. He's long and athletic (to things Hamilton really isn't), shoots a very high percentage from 3, has a solid post up game, and is a good defender. Both Hamilton and Prince benefit in their shooting percentage from having such good players around them.

Rasheed Wallace was jettisoned from Portland to Atlanta (not a place any basketball player - besides Joe Johnson - wants to go) before being moved to Detroit the year the Pistons won the title. Wallace is a great talent, but he's a basketcase and isn't someone a team can rely on game in and game out. The other Wallace, Ben, has become a high-quality interior player by focusing on defense and rebounding. However, recently, he's tried to expand his offensive game. He can't shoot, doesn't really have any moves, and is a liability at the charity stripe ... as is evident from the "Hack-a-Ben" strategy Pat Riley has gone to a few times in the Pistons-Heat series. Ben Wallace is a star, if he is a star, because he defends and rebounds and that is where his focus should be.

My point is that Chauncey Billups, Richard Hamilton, Tayshaun Prince, Rasheed Wallace and Ben Wallace are good players, but none of them, by themselves, is an elite star in the NBA. The Pistons don't have a LeBron James or a Dwayne Wade, or a Tim Duncan or Dirk Nowitzki. But, they don't have a weak link, really, either. They have complimentary pieces that Joe Dumars did a terrific job in assembling. Unfortunately, the Pistons have forgotten that they beat the "more talented" Lakers because they outworked them, just as the Heat are doing to the Pistons in this series. If you compare talent, the Pistons are right up there with the Heat, although many people would argue that Wade and Shaq are the two best players in the series. I'd take Billups over any PG on the Heat, Wade over Hamilton, Prince over Posey (by a little, although they are similar players), R. Wallace over Udonis Haslem (if Wallace is focused) and Shaq over B. Wallace (although it's close). So, the Pistons have talent. But, they don't have enough talent not to work like they did when they were the underdogs. They need to stop blaming Flip Saunders and realize that if they want to be a dynasty, they need to get back to doing what they do best. Ben Wallace needs to defend and rebound and not worry about getting touches on the offensive end. Rasheed Wallace needs to dig in and abuse Haslem on the block, not float outside the arc. Billups needs to create for his teammates and himself and all three perimeter players need to make shots. Plus, they need to defend. It won't be easy, but you can't let Wade shoot almost 70% from the field. If you can beat Kobe, a younger Shaq, and Phil Jackson, you should be able to at least give Wade, Shaq and Riley a series.