State of the Pistons Address (April 30)

I was in Milwaukee for the Pistons' frustratingly ugly 124-104 loss Saturday. Donned in red, white and blue and a Tayshaun 22, I was an easy target for Bucks fans after the game. And the shouts rained down from every direction.

"Detroit sucks! ... Overrated! ... A series doesn't start 'til a team wins a road game!"

My response: Come talk to me in June, Bucks fans, when your players have been sitting on their couches for a month and your Bucks apparel is already collecting dust in your closets.

Yes, you were better Saturday. You were better in every facet of the game. But that don't mean diddly. The Bucks will not win another game this series.

The game Saturday, for as bad as the Pistons played, is not reason for concern; the Pistons see it as a wakeup call, not a setback.

In each of the past two springs, Detroit has needed fuel to get its Playoff pistons churning. Now they have it. The sheer futility of their play Saturday night will be inspiration enough Monday to get them back in the win column. I'm 100 percent confident of that. But Saturday sure was disappointing; it was the definition of uncharacteristic. Here's why:

1. Ben Wallace seemed to have missed the plane to Milwaukee. He was virtually non-existent. Five rebounds, and one each of the following: point, assists, steal, block, FG attempt and offensive board. He got in foul trouble early, but he didn't pick up another one after the first quarter. He disappeared. Whenever Ben has a game like that -- actually, whenever the Pistons have a game like they did -- he takes it upon himself to will them to victory the next time they take the floor. He's their backbone. Trust that he will be all over the place Monday.

2. Rip lost his temper, and it affected him at both ends of the floor. Usually No. 32 is the one running circles around and frustrating his opponents, not vice versa. Well, Michael Redd was Rip Saturday. He couldn't miss. Rip chased him everywhere, and Redd responded by splashing in Rip's face. We call those eyeball sandwiches. Rip responded with a technical and a flagrant in the second half. That won't happen Monday, for two reasons. First, I expect Redd to come back down to earth and miss a few more than he did Saturday. He's a terrific shooter, but he's not as consistent as some of the league's bigger stars. I also don't expect the Pistons to guard him the same way. They should switch when he curls. They should use different defenders on him to keep him off balance. And they should double team him at times when he's backing down, because he's not a great passer and they need to force him to try and distribute instead of lift and lift and lift. His demise will be to Rip's benefit, and I expect Richard to score more than 10. That is a sure bet.

3. The Bucks shot 60 percent from the field. They had 35 assists. Dinosaurs Toni Kukoc and Joe Smith combined for 23 points on 7-of-9 shooting. This will not continue. How did it happen? Why did it happen? Well, you could say even a blind squirrel finds an acorn once in a great while. You could also say that Ben's absence due to foul trouble early in the game took away the Pistons' defensive edge and they could never regain it. But I'd say it was more the former. The Bucks were unconscious. They got comfortable in their home barn; they fed off the white-towel-wagging crowd; and when they got way up, their wrists got loose, and their shots fell more easily. There's a lot to be said for a player shooting with nothing to lose. That's how they felt up 20 in the third quarter. And the shots kept ripping the net. They won't get a lead like that again, though.

Yes, I left the Bradley Center with my head down, but that was more because of the energy I had invested and the drive my buddies and I had made -- not because I thought the Pistons were in trouble. No, no, I was not disconcerted. I still believe the Pistons will win in five. I'm just sad that I will forever hesitate to attend a road Pistons Playoff game in the future, for I am, unquestionably, bad luck.