Tom's Take: Pistons Wasting Talent, Chances

Just when you think you have all of the answers, the Detroit Pistons change the questions.

The Pistons had it all; They beat Boston in their building, a feat not accomplished in eight tries by two different teams. Detroit was also headed back to the Palace, with Boston not winning a road game in six tries.

Then Game 3 happened. Boston, much like their Game 1 start, jumped out to an 11-0 run, and silenced the Pistons crowd, who were clearly not immune to the disease of over-used, bad White Out promotions.

Yet, the Pistons stormed back with a 13-0 run of their own to take a 17-15 lead with 1:52 to go in the first quarter.

Then it got ugly. The Celtics responded with a 10-0 run to end the quarter up eight. The lead soon ballooned up to 20 at halftime.

With 55 seconds to go in the third quarter the Pistons found themselves down 23.

Then the light bulb turned on, the switch was flipped and the Pistons started playing Detroit Basketball and the Celtics lead began to crumble under the roar of the Palace crowd and the fury of the Pistons merciless defense. The Pistons soon pulled it to a nine-point deficit with 3:04 to go in the game with a thunderous dunk by Tayshaun Prince.

Yet, like everything with the Pistons it turned out to be one giant tease, a ruse, a glimpse of their true ability before it faded away like a mirage. The Pistons missed shots, they didn't get stops and the comeback ended with a bitter 94-80 defeat.

There's going to be a lot of blame thrown around and some will surely land on Flip Saunders shoulders and I've blamed Flip in the past but this wasn't on Flip.

Did Flip miss open jumpers? Did Flip forget to box out? Was it Flip Saunders' lack of hustle and inspiration?

If you want to point a finger, look no further than the trio of Chauncey Billups, Tayshaun Prince and Antonio McDyess.

To be blunt, Billups and Prince should be ashamed of themselves. Billups hit one field goal all game, a three-point basket with 3:30 to go in the fourth. Billups was one-of-six shooting on the night. Billups has to take more shots, he needs to attack the basket and get to the line for the Pistons to be successful.

Prince on the other hand, has pulled a disappearing act that would impress David Copperfield. In the series against Philadelphia and Orlando, Prince was a rock for Detroit, a guy who could be a psuedo-point guard and get his own shot as well. Prince had four points on two-of-11 shooting for the night. Prince had numerous open looks all night but just couldn't sink them.

McDyess had eight points on four-of-7 shooting but after two great double-digit performances in a row a let down was expected from Dyess.

The person who brought the most spark to the Pistons once again was rookie Rodney Stuckey. Stuckey had 18 points and got to the line for 10 attempts, more than any player in the game. Stuckey attacks the rim on every possession and also showed great tenacity on the defensive side of the ball with four steals. Stuckey played 28 minutes and I wouldn't be shocked to see him get similar minutes on Monday for Game 4, regardless of how Billups is playing or feeling.

The Pistons have been to the Eastern Conference Finals six straight years. In the previous five series they are 2-3, dropping the last two to Miami and Cleveland. Before the game, the video intro showed clips from each conference finals and ended with Rasheed Wallace looking at static on a TV, similar to the movie Poltergeist, saying "We're Back."

The Pistons are back alright, and so is the style of play that has driven their fans to borderline insanity.

With the Pistons, there is no consistency. There is Good Pistons and Bad Pistons. There is Game 2 and there is Game 3. There is Detroit Basketball and there is the Pistons own brand of lazy, uninspired, entitled basketball. The Pistons played like they thought they could just show up to the arena and Boston would roll over and play their part because they had done such a good job of ripping the Celtics' hearts out of their chests just two nights earlier.

But with the Pistons, their opponents are always like Jason Voorhees; down but not out. The Pistons never check to make sure their opponent is really dead and buried. They stand over their fallen opponent and thump their chests until their opponent rises from the ashes and brings them down in to a sobering reality that sends the Pistons into another head-scratching, shoulder-slumping defeat.

The Pistons have said every year that they've learned their lesson from their previous defeats. That it's a new year and a new Pistons. Once again, they've been proven to be liars, proven to be the team everyone thinks they are. The Pistons took the night off and they gave away home court advantage to Boston in an instant. Once again, the Celtics hold the advantage.

That's not to say the Pistons are doomed to be a victim to their arrogance once more. This series is far from over and the Pistons always play better with their backs against the wall and something to prove and the Pistons should come out true to form on Monday night and play better basketball. The Pistons have not lost consecutive games all postseason and I do not expect them to lose on Monday.

But if the Pistons are to win this series and advance to their third Finals appearance in five years they need one thing: Attitude.

The Pistons need to play every possession, every quarter, every game like their lives depend on it. They need to play like Antonio McDyess, who's desire for a championship burns hotter than the flames shot into the air on Saturday night.

They need to play like Rodney Stuckey, who's passion, and hard-nosed play shows just how much a title means to him.

Players like McDyess and Stuckey aren't spoiled by success like the Pistons quartet of Billups, Hamilton, Prince and Wallace. Neither know what it feels to experience the success that the Pistons had in 2004. McDyess, so heartbroken over the Pistons shocking defeat to the Cleveland Cavaliers last year, drove home in his jersey.

The other four Pistons didn't do that. They put on their suits, they stood in front of the press and gave a collective "We'll get them next year."

The Pistons need to realize that there may not be a next year for this aging team. Ask the Atlanta Braves or the Utah Jazz how long a window of success stays open. If these Pistons want to be remembered as champions once more, and not a walking testament to what might have been, they need to go back and look at the 2004 Finals. They need to look at the intensity, the passion and the desire that the '04 Pistons had every night that seems to leave these Pistons in the most crucial moments.

If Detroit can't find those traits that lie dormant within them, once again they'll find themselves at the podium in the press room saying, "We'll get 'em next year." Only this time, there may not be a next year.