Write On Sports LLC - "Pistons' collapse reminiscent of Lakers' in 2004" by Jake Lloyd

Pistons' collapse reminiscent of Lakers' in 2004

2007-06-03 13:13:51 | By: Jake Lloyd

As the Pistons fell apart over the course of four games and seven days.

As the players of such a seemingly cohesive unit began to bicker with each other.

As Rasheed Wallace completely lost it on the seventh day.

As LeBron James inserted the first dagger in the Pistons' heart in Game 5.

Followed by rookie Daniel Gibson doing the same in the fourth quarter of Game 6.

As all of this occurred.

As the Cavaliers finished off the Eastern Conference finals Saturday night with a 98-82 slaughtering of the lame-duck Pistons, it became increasingly clear.

The Pistons have come full circle.

Three years ago, they were a young, hungry team in search of the franchise's first championship since the Bad Boys era. They were led by a fearless defensive stalwart in Ben Wallace who wouldn't back down from Godzilla. They were all in it together -- a quest to prove all the doubters wrong. To show all the haters that a team devoid of a star offensive player could win an NBA title.

They were the underdogs.

Especially in the NBA Finals.

Do you remember who was favored to win that series? Um, I'll take the Lakers, Alex?

That would be... Correct!

By a LOT.

Nobody gave the Pistons a chance. Even after they went into Hollywood and stole Game 1. When Kobe Bryant saved the Lakers from a 2-0 deficit with a long 3-pointer over Richard Hamilton's arms in Game 2, everybody was penciling in L.A. as NBA champs.

Even after convincing Detroit wins in Games 3 and 4, many in the national media thought the Lakers could still win the series. The Lakers didn't give Detroit any credit, either. People were even billing Game 5 as a must-win for the Pistons, because if the series shifted back to L.A., it would be over.

As you all know, the Pistons shellacked the overconfident, indolent, bickering, old Lakers in that Game 5. And the Lakers haven't smelled the Finals since.

Now back to the present.

The Pistons might not have prima donnas like Shaquille O'Neal and Bryant. They may not have a Hall-of-Fame coach like Phil Jackson. But they certainly played the part of the Lakers against the Cavaliers.

They were the favorites.

They were the experienced team.

Nobody gave the Cavs a dying man's chance.

All they had was LeBron. The Pistons had five stellar starters. Five always beats one, right?

Well, as the series progressed, it became increasingly lucid that the "one" was more like a "three" "four" and even sometimes "five" (except late in Game 5), and that the "five" didn't play like a "five," but more like a "one."

The Pistons, never displaying a lack of confidence to the media, played as if they could simply flick on a switch whenever they needed to. They never led by more than eight points the entire series. They let the underdog Cavs hang around, gain that confidence they would need to bring down the big, bad Pistons.

The Pistons were outhustled and outrebounded.

This was most clear in the final seconds Saturday night, when Cleveland's Anderson Varejao went among a swarm of Pistons to grab the final rebound of the contest. He cared more. He wanted the ball more.

There were only two players who showed a sense of urgency for the Pistons this series: Antonio McDyess and Chris Webber.

Both players lack something in common: an NBA championship ring.

After the Pistons dethroned the Lakers three years ago, O'Neal was shipped to Miami and Los Angeles hasn't made it out of the first round of the playoffs since. Could a similar scenario enslave the Pistons?

I doubt it, simply because Joe Dumars is a smart general manager. He'll make the right moves.

But something needs to be done. This group needs to be broken up. This indolent, cocky attitude needs to be put on a guillotine.

Because, especially with young teams in Cleveland and Chicago only getting better, it ain't gonna get the Pistons back to the promised land.

Maybe not even close.