Pistons Already Flipping Out

So much for unselfishness, team play, the notion of the Detroit Pistons as a dominant team and, of course, the Pistons themselves.

On the other hand, they were together to the end ... united in blaming it on Coach Flip Saunders.

Not that their fall could be considered shocking after they seemed to rehearse it, falling behind, 3-2, to LeBron James and whoever those other 11 Cavaliers were.

The notion of the Pistons as a great team was a recent one. Until this season, they were widely admired as a gutty bunch who stunned the Lakers in the 2004 Finals. They surprised everyone by returning in 2005 ... after Dwyane Wade’s injury turned around the Eastern Conference finals with the Miami Heat up, 3-2.

To that point, the Pistons had made the Eastern finals three seasons running but hadn’t been the consensus pick to win the conference in any of them.

This season’s 39-6 start marked the first time they were seen as “dominating.” Level-headed as they are, with the notable exception of Rasheed Wallace, they were swept away by their own greatness. Even rock-solid Chauncey Billups told Sports Illustrated, “I gotta rate us up there in the top five all-time.”

Let’s see, the George Mikan Lakers, the Bill Russell Celtics, the Wilt Chamberlain 76ers, the Wilt Lakers, the ‘70s Knicks, the Dave Cowens-John Havlicek Celtics, the Showtime Lakers, the Larry Bird Celtics, the Bad Boy Pistons, the Michael Jordan Bulls, the Hakeem Olajuwon Rockets, the Shaquille O’Neal-Kobe Bryant Lakers, the Tim Duncan Spurs ...

The Pistons do resemble the famous all-for-one, one-for all Knicks

Nevertheless, Frazier, Monroe and, to a lesser extent as his knees went, Willis Reed were one-on-one players. The closest thing the jump-shooting Pistons had was Wallace, whose career represented a flight from stardom, or game but twiggy Tayshaun Prince.

It’s not a myth that great NBA teams have multiple great players. The difference in the Eastern finals wasn’t O’Neal, as good as he was, but Wade, the only player on either team who could get a shot whenever he wanted.

The Pistons’ start may have been a honeymoon with low-key Saunders replacing histrionic Larry Brown. Nevertheless, with the expectations that went with the job, Saunders was looking down the barrel of a cannon.

Their decline started months ago as they eased up to keep from burning themselves out. Saunders’ new offensive tricks had them in the top 10 in offense through the end of January. By season’s end, however, they were No. 19.

Still, they were 6-1 this postseason when the Cavaliers, down 2-0, surprised them in Game 3. Wallace started in on his act, guaranteeing they’d win Game 4, and when that didn’t happen, guaranteeing they’d win Game 5, which didn’t happen either.

Richard Hamilton said they had his back. Billups said, “That’s ‘Sheed.”

Meanwhile after the Game 3 loss, ESPN’s “SportsCenter” put up a graphic as Saunders made his postgame remarks, noting his career playoff record: 23-31.

Not that there was much relevance between this postseason and all those when Saunders’ Minnesota teams were outgunned by the Lakers, Spurs, Kings, Mavericks, Suns, et al., before finally making the 2004 Western finals.

Saunders had worse problems than ESPN. More to the point, his new team began grousing about him. They calmed down long enough to beat the Cavaliers, but when the Heat turned up the heat, it broke out worse than before.

Ben Wallace said the difference between their defense under Saunders and Brown was “night and day.” Rasheed Wallace bristled as only he could when told to foul O’Neal. Prince said Lindsey Hunter should play more against Wade. Billups said he disagreed with some play calls.

Putting it all into perspective, Antonio McDyess, who may be the nicest player in the NBA, acknowledged on local radio that the players were keenly aware of Saunders’ playoff record.

“It pretty much is going to come up,” McDyess said. “I mean, you kind of look back on what Larry did and you look at what Flip did and his playoff record, and you’re going to have doubts.”

And it might not have been just the players, fans, talk shows and TV networks.

Although Brown was blamed for precipitating his departure, the Pistons organization has issues of its own. Brown was only there because they needed someone to replace Rick Carlisle, who took over a 32-win team, won 50 games twice and finished first and third in coach-of-the-year balloting.

Pistons management seemed to signal its impatience with Saunders in the Cleveland series, which is when everything began to unravel, although it is now signaling Flip is safe.

Now the organization is signaling its impatience with Ben Wallace, whose contract is up. Amid the Pistons’ concerns that the day of the great defensive teams is over, Ben is no longer a lock to stay if he’s counting on that $100-million, thanks-for-all-you-did deal everyone used to talk about.

So, the Pistons have things to work on before they set out to recapture the glory next fall.

“Getting off to such a brilliant start of the season, I think it probably kind of hurt us in a way,” Billups said after the Pistons were eliminated.

“Because things were coming so easy to us, we just felt like sometimes we could walk out there and teams were going to lay down. I can’t say we thought we were something we weren’t, because we’ve been a great team for a while. I think what it did to us, it made us less hungry.”

Happily, they’re hungry again. Unhappily, they’re on vacation too.

Faces and Figures

Reader Mark Cuban of Dallas writes to say that I win the award “for not really having a clue,” apparently disagreeing with my characterization of him last week. Actually, the Maverick owner didn’t write me, he put it on his blog, recalling a conversation in which I asked him for advice about getting an MBA degree. “I know he knows how to reach me,” Cuban wrote. “I guess he only needs to source information for the things he is involved with that he thinks are important. Did you ever get that MBA, Mark?” As much as I appreciate his concern, he has me mixed up with someone else. I’m 62, making it a tad late for a career change.... Other highlights of Cuban’s week included going into the stands with reserve center D.J. Mbenga during the Game 4 loss in Phoenix when Coach Avery Johnson’s wife, Cassandra, argued with Suns fans. Mbenga got a six-game suspension, which could hurt because he’s one of the three centers they will use trying to wear out O’Neal.... Back on the referee front, Cuban said he was forwarding a Game 5 replay of the Suns’ Shawn Marion tangling with Adrian Griffin to the league, although TNT’s replay showed nothing. In the NBA office, Mavericks videos are kept in what they call “the Cuban Wing.” ... OK, I made that part up.

Shooting up in the draft is 20-year-old Mouhamed Saer Sene, a 7-footer from Senegal who was unknown until the recent Hoop Summit, when he blocked nine shots against top American preps, including projected lottery picks Kevin Durant and Spencer Hawes. Sene is thought to be in the teens with a shot at overtaking Bradley’s 7-foot Patrick O’Bryant and crashing the top 10 picks.... In last week’s installment, Knicks beat writers, threatened with being arrested for trespassing in the parking lot of the team’s practice facility, retreated across the road and tried to flag down Brown. Last week the rascals wandered up the road to a traffic light where Brown had to stop to flag him down. Brown stopped, got out and confirmed that the team wants to buy out his $40-million deal, announcing, “I’m a dead man walking.”