Going against the grain

LOS ANGELES — Not too many readers agreed when I picked the Detroit Pistons to win the National Basketball Association (NBA) championship before the playoffs began last April.

But now that they’re three wins away from capturing their first title in 14 years, I’m beginning to sound like Madam Auring. Not that I’m gloating. Because the best-of-7series is far from over.

Sure, the Pistons upset the applecart by shocking the Los Angeles Lakers, 87-75, at the Staples Center here Sunday night (Monday morning, Manila). Lest Detroit fans forget, it takes four wins to clinch the series, not one.

Still, beating the Lakers at home was huge particularly as the Pistons now hold the homecourt advantage under the Finals format of 2-3-2.

Pistons coach Larry Brown isn’t celebrating prematurely, that’s for sure. He knows what it’s like to lose focus after going up 1-0 in the Finals. Three years ago, Brown coached the Philadelphia 76ers against Phil Jackson’s Lakers and won the Finals opener on the road, too. The Lakers, however, bounced back with a vengeance and took the next four games to seal it in five.

Brown learned his lesson the hard way–through experience. More than any other coach in the NBA, he knows getting the jump on Jackson and the Lakers is no sure ticket to the Promised Land.

After Sunday’s game, Brown said he’ll continue to put the pressure on the Pistons to put the pressure on the Lakers. It’s all about motivation.

"I don’t want them to be satisfied," said Brown. "We have to come to play the same way if we are to have any chance of winning the title. We’re not just focusing on the next game but every possession. We all watch TV and we know how good the Lakers are, how well-coached they are. Our goal is to win a championship and we recognize they’ve got a coach who’s won nine championships, arguably the best big man in the league and a young kid who’s just phenomenal. We played great. I don’t know if we can defend better. We did an incredible job and that’s what it’s going to take to win the championship."

Defense did it for Detroit. The Pistons know no other way to win. They held the Lakers to 75 points, 15 below their average, and limited the bench to only four points. Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant combined for 59 points and took 60 percent of their team’s field goal attempts. The distribution of labor was lopsided. Future Hall of Famers Karl Malone and Gary Payton chipped in only a combined seven points in an atrocious showing.

In the third period, Bryant tried to take over and fired six straight shots, connecting only twice. O’Neal probably wondered if he’d ever get the ball back. A dour Shaq commented in a post-game interview that he got "tired of waiting." O’Neal took 11 less shots than Bryant but outscored the Michael Jordan want-to-play-alike, 34-25.

Jackson was clearly outcoached by Brown. The Zen Master was a step late in making adjustments and took unnecessary risks in playing unlikely combinations in crucial stages of the game. The Lakers couldn’t stop the Pistons’ pick-and-fade play that produced open looks because the spacing left too much room for the rotating defender to cover.

What’s scary is the Pistons won convincingly despite Rip Hamilton scoring only 12 points, nearly 10 below his average. Of course, you can argue that Malone and Payton should be able to play a lot better in Game 2. They, more than anyone else on either squad, want the ring badly. Malone took an $18.5 Million paycut for the chance to win a title with the Lakers while Payton agreed to a $5.1 Million salary for the same reason.

Brown said the key to containing Bryant is to prevent him from scoring cheap shots in transition because easy baskets fuel his attack. Tayshaun Prince and Hamilton alternated on Bryant in Game 1 but it was Prince who was mostly on him. Brown said Prince has gotten tougher defensively after facing Desmond Mason, Richard Jefferson and Ron Artest in the playoffs.

Jackson said the Pistons’ bench stepped up. "Defensively, we were squared off," he noted. "We did a good job on Hamilton but the difference in the game was they hit shots under duress, under the gun from the 24-second shot clock. Their bench beat us bad and we’ve got to find a way to stop that." The Pistons relievers had a 19-4 edge.

Jackson blamed the Lakers for playing "lethargic" and said they came out flat in the third quarter where the Pistons dropped a 24-17 bomb.