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Their championship reign has drawn to a close, at least for now
By Christopher Shryock
Last Thursday night, the 2004-2005 Detroit Pistons’ season ended. It ended with one win still to be desired which meant that as they left the floor of the SBC center in San Antonio they also left their crown as NBA champions. Their enigmatic ability to win must-win games never manifested and a chink in their armor was exposed. They fought the good fight and they fought to the bitter end, but for the first time in their last eight playoff series, they failed to prevail.
This team’s knack for receiving last minute reprieve as they walked to the gallows has defined who they are. But this time, the reprieve never came and the Pistons are kings no more.
Even as time slipped away in the game and in their season, fans everywhere, myself included, still held out hope, believing that somehow this team could still find a way to win. We thought that this team would find a way to retain their title because after all, they always had before.
But this time was different. This time, no fourth quarter heroics emerged and the San Antonio Spurs, the former kings, regained the NBA’s throne, relegating the Pistons to exactly that; former kings. Nothing more.
The talk of a Detroit dynasty was silenced.
Game over. Season ended. Title lost.
Game Over
The Pistons came into Game 7 of the NBA Finals as underdogs, yet they still expected to leave this final battle with their crowns intact.
It was not to be.
Sure, the chances were there on Thursday night and seemed as if the Pistons might escape unscathed once more. And why not? They were up by nine points early in the third quarter and the Spurs hadn’t even made a shot. But with Rasheed Wallace already on the bench with four fouls, Antonio McDyess picked up his fourth foul as well. This event relegated McDyess to the bench and left Tim Duncan to be guarded by Tayshaun Prince and Ben Wallace. Against Tayshaun Prince, Tim Duncan was just too big, too strong, and too good. Once Ben Wallace, the recently named Defensive Player of the Year, began consistently guarding Duncan, Wallace was handicapped by the Pistons’ present foul situation and he was unable to halt, or even slow, Duncan’s offensive outpouring.
And so it was. Tim Duncan started scoring, which allowed Manu Ginobli to start shooting, which then allowed Manu Ginobli to start driving the lane. This offensive explosion inspired and translated to an improved defensive acumen as demonstrated by Bruce Bowen never allowing Chauncey Billups to find his fourth quarter rhythm and Tony Parker never allowing Richard Hamilton to have an open look. All of this in combination allowed the subsequent champagne flow in the Spurs locker room and the victory parade to commence on Saturday afternoon.
Game 7 proved to be an anomaly because as the game neared its conclusion, and the time when the Pistons normally thrive arrived, they stumbled. Chauncey Billups missed a free throw and had his three point attempt blocked. Richard Hamilton missed shots and then stopped taking them. By the time Rasheed returned from the bench, it was too late. The damage was done. Chauncey Billups never found a phone booth and “Mr. Big Shot”–aka Superman–never arrived to save the day. As for the other Pistons, their management and their fans, all that could be done was to watch in disbelief as time finally ran out on the game and on a magical reign.
For the first time in two years, the Pistons failed to defy death.
Game over. Season ended. Title lost.
Season Ended
Although their time upon the throne of the basketball world was short lived, the basketball supremacy of these Pistons’ will not be soon forgotten. They were a team that thrived on adversity and overcoming seemingly cosmic odds. For evidence, one must look no further than the trail of overcome obstacles left in their wake after yet another thrilling season.
This team overcame their marring from being at the center of one of the worst brawls in sports history. They overcame playing with what amounted to a seven man roster, receiving only sporadic help from Carlos Arroyo and virtually no help from Carlos Delfino and Darko Milicic. They overcame a .500 start heading into a Christmas day rematch with the Pacers and overcame their own inconsistency throughout the year, when they often reeled off five straight wins, only to lose the next four. They overcame all aspects of the Larry Brown soap opera from his statement that coaching the Knicks was his “dream job” to the rumors surfacing in the Conference Finals that he had all but accepted a front office job in Cleveland and the 17 games he missed due to a medical condition in between.
Even in these playoffs, these Pistons overcame a 2-1deficit to Indiana, a 2-1 and a 3-2 deficit to Miami—winning Game 7 on the road—they turned a 2-0 deficit against San Antonio into a 2-2 tie, only to succumb to “bonehead” play by one of their biggest stars, but then turned around and won a must-win Game 6 on the road.
This team came within an eyelash of overcoming every obstacle that they crossed on their quest to rule the NBA kingdom for yet another year. But after 107 games, they remained one win and shy and left one obstacle to be overcome.
After 107 games, their kingdom had crumbled.
Game over. Season ended. Title lost.
Title Lost
For fans and players alike, it is hard to fathom that the Larry O’Brien trophy no longer resides in Detroit. It is hard to imagine that the nomenclature “defending champions” no longer applies. Spurs 81, Pistons 74. Read it and weep. Truth hurts.
Next year, the Pistons are back to square one. They will be champions no more, but the big red bull’s-eye emblazoned on their jerseys will remain. Assuming Shaquille O’Neal is resigned, the Heat will take another shot at Eastern Conference supremacy as will a full-strength Pacer team. Even the Nets will boast three All-Stars with their lineup with Kidd, Carter, and Jefferson. A return to the Finals is anything but guaranteed.
For the Pistons, the future is now. The core of this team returns next season and all but Tayshaun Prince are signed at least through 2007-2008. This team has no glaring weakness and three picks in tonight’s Draft to select the best player available. Despite Larry Brown’s hazy future with the club, the Pistons will almost certainly remain a formidable foe in this league for years to come and they will almost certainly remember the feeling of losing their crown while the new kings celebrated in front of them for the rest of their lives.
This will be their inspiration for next year and for years to come.
But right now, for everyone, fans and players alike, next year might as well be next century.
It’s tough to look towards the future when the recent past has been so great. But the future is where this Pistons team must turn in their hour of despair.
In the words of George Harrison, “all things must pass.” And as of 11:45 PM last Thursday night, the Pistons’ reign as kings of the basketball world passed.
The game is over, the season has ended, and the title is lost.
For these now former kings, their critics have labeled last year’s title run as a fluke and prognosticators for next season are already counting them out. The chip on this team’s collective shoulder is firmly in place and once the regular season begins, they will once again be ready to prove the doubters wrong, which is what they do best.
All other teams in the NBA should look out and consider themselves warned. The Detroit Pistons’ title reclamation crusade begins three months from now.
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