The Pistons All-Stars: (clockwise, from upper left) Billups, Hamilton, Ben Wallace, Rasheed Wallace
Well, take the "No Respect" card out of the Pistons' deck.
All the concern about a lack of league recognition, all the hand-wringing over the Pistons getting short shrifted when it comes to individual honors, all the complaints that the team gets dissed on a continual basis in general -- about anything and everything -- went out the window like Rick Tocchet's coaching career last night when it was announced the Pistons would send four -- and slightly possibly five -- starters to the All-Star game in Houston February 19.
So scratch that off the list of motivators for our boys in blue (and, on alternate jersey night, red).
Actually, this announcement, while the biggest of the season, is not the first time Pistons players or coaches have been honored as individuals in the 2005-06 campaign. Coach Flip Saunders has had an ironfisted hold on the Coach of the Month Award -- winning it in November, December, and January. Chauncey Billups was Player of the Month in the Eastern Conference for January. Rip Hamilton has won some Player of the Week honors.
The Pistons can no longer assume an "Us against the world" demeanor, because the world -- at least the world of the NBA -- seems to be very much for them.
Having said that, I never really bought into the notion that the Pistons' mission -- this season especially -- was being driven by their perceived lack of respect throughout the league. I mostly believed that was a card played more by the media and fans. Check it for fingerprints and tell me what you discover.
Instead, I think what drives the Pistons -- what pisses them off, actually -- is losing in the NBA Finals last June. To a man, they believe in their heart of hearts that they let the San Antonio Spurs off the hook -- gave them Game 5 in a box with bows and ribbons. They put forth an amazing effort to win Game 6 in San Antonio, then had the Spurs down by seven late in the third quarter of Game 7. The Spurs are wearing rings that the Pistons feel rightfully belong to them. It is this consternation that fuels their inner rage.
What further motivates the Pistons is the fact that they came so close to winning Game 7 IN San Antonio. In fact, Game 7 should almost have been easier to pull off than Game 6, when the team was coming off the toughest of losses and had to play before a hostile crowd that was just bursting to party. Game 7's crowd was much more nervous. The fact that they didn't win the final game, but came so close to doing so, tells the Pistons that if there is one thing they need to accomplish this season, it's claiming home court advantage throughout the playoffs. If there is going to be a Game 7 in the NBA Finals this season, they said, then let it be played at the Palace.
And yet, despite a glittering record of 40-8, the Pistons only lead the Dallas Mavericks, who are 39-10, by a game and a half. The Mavericks drilled the Pistons in Dallas, manhandled them really, and there isn't a Pistons player, coach, fan or supporter who wants to relinquish home court to those deadeye shooting Mavericks. Big, long Dirk Nowitzki is one of the few players in the league the Pistons don't match up well against, and he can go off like a Chinese New Year celebration if you're not careful.
The four All-Star reservations -- for Billups, Hamilton, Rasheed and Ben Wallace -- are certainly well-earned and I doubt many would begrudge the Pistons such a representation on the Eastern Conference squad. There are reports that Celtics coach Doc Rivers and Knicks coach Larry Brown voted for all five Pistons starters. Some NBA beat writers have even spoken wistfully of a Pistons vs. All-Stars game -- which is a fantasy but a serious notion to those folks who are suggesting that it be played. Tayshaun Prince may yet be named as well, as a replacement for the injured Jermaine O'Neal.
Yes, the bouquets are being bestowed on the Pistons now -- in print, on CRTs, and on television and radio -- across the country. The team that couldn't get any respect is getting it by the bucketfuls now. Everyone thinks the Pistons are the team to beat, it seems. And now, four of their starting five has made the Eastern Conference All-Star team.
But, like I said, the lack of all that stuff wasn't what was making the Pistons crabby anyhow.
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