Not All Is Lost

SAN ANTONIO "None of you cats believed in us. You all had everybody else in every other series. That's all right, we're just hoopin'. We don't need y'all." -- Rasheed Wallace

Michigan excluded, 'Sheed is right. Until they were beaten, the Detroit Pistons were taken for granted, disrespected for who they were or what they stood for amid an era of extreme individualism. Their championship was taken Thursday night only by a cohesive team matching their heart and endurance over nine months. Standing upright and unbowed in the final seconds, they still nearly repeated.

The San Antonio Spurs won their third title in seven years, an 81-74 scrum of a Game 7 that ended amid streamers and screams a few miles from the Alamo. Validation for MVP Tim Duncan came as much as celebration for a small and prideful South Texas city.

The Pistons? They lost nothing more than a material possession no one ever gave them credit for winning anyway. Rarely was it said, "The Pistons won it all last season." No, more likely, it was "the Lakers lost."

"We had to hear about Shaq, Kobe and Phil all summer, all summer!" said Darvin Ham, the Pistons' reserve forward. "And over Christmas too. They've been throwin' potshots at us all year.

"People felt, 'How can a bunch of castoffs win a championship?' I'm like, 'People on this team have immense talent in their own individual way.' We came together and put our egos aside. The egotistical stuff that you normally see in the NBA is totally not part of our game. We showed what you can when you really play as a team.

"We just wanted to be looked at as a humble bunch of warriors going about their way, going about their business."

Nah. That would too proper and right. We had to antagonize and anger rather than appreciate. There are 24 chips on 12 shoulders in Detroit's locker room, a feeling of persecution fostered by multiple trades, roster cuts and ego bruises.

Ben Wallace's walk down an SBC corridor prior to Game 7 said as much. He moved purposefully and scowled, until civilians moved aside for the soul of the Pistons. Big Ben did not have the demeanor of an all-star or a two-time defensive player of the year, an established NBA veteran. He appeared angry, as if he had been stuck in Yakima for three years, exiled to some CBA outpost. When the NBA preview cover of Sports Illustrated features Shaquille O'Neal grinning from a Miami swimming pool -- and not a collage of the reigning NBA champions -- that is the look of disrespect.

Larry Brown, the coach, walked the sideline during the playoffs with a catheter inserted into his body. He has a bladder ailment that will result in another surgery this summer. "This is pretty special, just to be a part of this," he said. Brown can see the next train in the distance, always more exotic than the one in the station. But tonight he sounded as if he has taken Valpairaiso to the Final Four instead of the most determined bunch of millionaires to the precipice of back-to-back titles.