In a Bind, He Stayed as Cool as an Ice Cube

Talk about being put on the spot.

Laker fan O’Shea Jackson, better known in the rap music world as Ice Cube, was sitting on the Staples Center court Sunday night as a guest of Ahmad Rashad on NBA TV’s “Live at the Finals” pregame show.

About 45 minutes before the start of Game 1, the Detroit Pistons’ Rasheed Wallace, on the court warming up, walked over to Ice Cube and, while the cameras were rolling, asked, “Who you picking?”

Said Ice Cube, “I was just saying, if you were not on the Pistons, they would have never made it to the Finals.”

Wallace replied, “That isn’t what I asked.”

Trivia time: Which two Piston players have NBA Finals experience?

Select group: Before the Pistons won Game 1, not many people picked the Pistons to beat the Lakers in the NBA Finals.

One was Bob Ritchie, better known as Kid Rock. Ritchie, from the Detroit area, picked the Pistons in four, according to a Scripps Howard News Service poll. Not even Detroit Mayor Kwame M. Kilpatrick was that bold. He picked the Pistons in six.

“With a 2-3-2 format, I believe that the Pistons will steal one in L.A., win two at home and go back to L.A. and win, to everyone’s surprise,” Kilpatrick said.

The mayor’s analysis looks pretty viable right about now.

For what it’s worth: According to Steve Hirdt of the Elias Sports Bureau, who is working with ABC on the NBA Finals, Detroit’s Larry Brown is 15-15 in NBA playoff series as a head coach. But he is 12-3 when his team wins Game 1.

The Lakers’ Phil Jackson, 44-4 as a head coach in NBA playoff series, is only 6-4 when his team loses Game 1.

Not a good sign: Doc Rivers is giving up his cushy job with ABC to coach in Boston, where he apparently has a lot of work to do to regenerate interest in the NBA. Game 1 of the NBA Finals on Sunday night got only a 4.2 rating in Boston. No other major market got a rating that low.

Morning Briefing jinx: The beach volleyball streak of 90 consecutive match victories and 15 tournament titles by Misty May and Kerri Walsh ended Sunday when they lost to Annett Davis and Jenny Johnson Jordan at the Manhattan Beach Open.

Reader David Simmons e-mailed to say, “The day you decide to write about Misty and Kerri, they finally lose a match.”

Trivia answer: Elden Campbell, with the Lakers in 1991, and Lindsey Hunter, with the Lakers in 2002.

And finally: For the “Then and Now” special on ESPN today at 4 p.m., host Dan Patrick taped a segment with Joe Montana and Dwight Clark regarding “The Catch” from the NFC championship game after the 1981 season, won by the San Francisco 49ers over the Dallas Cowboys in January 1982.

Montana, asked it he felt cheated that it is not known as “The Pass,” said, “It was a much better catch than throw, I must admit.” Said Clark, “He made lots of great throws over his career. Give me the one catch.”

Larry Stewart can be reached at larry.stewart@latimes.com.