Getting it done in Motown

By Rich Levine Sports Central Columnist

A quick look at the Detroit Pistons roster won't necessarily create much excitement. Chauncey Billups? Decent guard, but a journeyman who doesn't quite fit in anywhere. Michael Curry? Wasn't he in "Hangin' With Mr. Cooper?" (No, that was Mark Curry.) Jon Barry? Not quite Brent and not even close to Rick (netter than Drew, though). Zeljko Rebraca? God bless him...

While some of the worst teams in the NBA, such as the Knicks (Allan Houston and Latrell Sprewell), the Bucks (Sam Cassell and Ray Allen), and the Hawks (Glenn Robinson, Shareef Abdur-Rahim, and Jason Terry) have rosters with two or more All-Stars, the Pistons have a group of no-names that are putting these teams to shame.

I, for one, thought last year was a fluke, but man, was I wrong. The loss of Jerry Stackhouse this past offseason seemed like it would put an end to the Pistons' sudden return to the upper echelon of the NBA. Where was the scoring going to come from? Sure, they picked up Rip Hamilton, but after never quite clicking with His Airness in Washington, was he really going to be the Pistons' go-to guy?

So who, you might ask, is doing the scoring for the team with the Eastern Conference's third-best record? The answer is no one. In the entire NBA, the Piston rank only in front of the pitiful Cavs, disgraceful Raptors, boring Heat, and sorry Nuggets, with a 90.2 ppg scoring average. Still, they win.

Why do they win? The answer is simple. The answer is Ben Wallace. Watching this guy run up and down the court is a thing of beauty. He is one of the most dominating players in the league, despite having the offensive skills of a third-grader, and he is the centerpiece of a team that has once again risen to the top of the league.

Despite only scoring 90 points a game, the Pistons only give up 86 (best in the league), and you can be sure that Wallace's 15 boards and almost three blocks a game are the main reason. And that doesn't even count the number of shots that he doesn't quite block, but surely alters as a result of his beastly presence.

When's the last time an NBA All-Star averaged less than 10 points a game? Has it ever happened? Well, Big Ben is going to be starting at center for the Eastern Conference this season and he is averaging a whopping 6.5 point a game. (Just for the record: this is still a full point more a game than everyone's favorite fat slob, Vin Baker, is posting). If that isn't a testament of how unbelievably dominating this guy is away from the ball, then I don't know what is.

If you have yet to catch a Pistons' game on TV this year as a result of their rather boring style of play and lack of superstar appeal, I beg you to give them a shot. But if you can't, don't worry, because come May, they'll still be around in the playoffs, mixing it up for the Eastern Conference title.

Article courtesy of Sports Central.