Brown's Pistons breakdown the Lakers in Game 3

A week ago, you couldn't find a sportswriter outside of Detroit that gave Larry Brown's Detroit Pistons a chance to beat the Los Angeles Lakers.

Oh, sure, it's still premature to hand Larry the ring, but someone should at least start printing the "Piston's Win" shirts.

On Thursday night in Game 3 of the NBA finals, the Pistons embarrassed the almighty Lakers, 88-68, to take a 2-1 game lead in the series.

You'll still hear part of the sport universe claim the Lakers aren't done yet, and they aren't. However, Brown knows his team has the Lakers staring into the head lights.

The Pistons may finish running their underdog steamroller right over the top of the Lakers and into a downtown-Detroit parade.

Whatever Phil Jackson dreamt in his meditation circle on Thursday morning, it didn't help Luke Walton repeat his dream game, and it certainly didn't heal Karl Malone or keep Shaquille O'Neal out of foul trouble.

So far, with the exception of a bad decision at the end of Game 2, Brown is outmaneuvering and out-motivating Jackson's Lakers on every possession.

Phil has no response for Detroit's size and aggressiveness. He can't keep hoping Walton will provide a spark for more than the girls of Orange County. Luke is too short and too small to hang with Detroit's defensive wall.

It looks like Larry's toying with Phil, dropping in subs to foul Shaq and forcing Walton to cover guys twice as tall and fast.

What's the Piston's secret?

Maybe Richard Hamilton's mask is made of kryptonite.

Maybe Ben Wallace's hair holds Sampson's strength.

Or, maybe Brown, by making a group of guys play unselfish basketball, has figured out how to do what Phil can't seem to do.

There is no kryptonite in Detroit, but Hamilton's mask may just be hiding the biggest grin in America.

At the end of the third quarter, Hamilton had as many points (21) as Kobe Bryant and Shaq combined, and Brown kept the offense flowing enough in the fourth quarter to stave off the Lakers attempts to make a run.

The Pistons are believers. There's not a man on Detroit's squad that can guarantee his spot in the Hall of Fame, but at least they can guarantee they're a game closer to a championship than the great Hall-of-Fame Lakers.

When all is said and done, whether the banner hangs in Detroit or L.A., Larry Brown can hold his head high and laugh, as he always has, at the babbling sportswriters wasted words.