No-name Pistons chasing history

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. -- Go ahead, try to remember an NBA champion that didn't have a Hall of Famer. Anyone younger than 40 will have a hard time with the answer.

The Detroit Pistons are not only trying to defeat the Los Angeles Lakers in the NBA Finals, they're attempting to undo a major trend.

For the past quarter-century, only teams with top-echelon superstars -- Tim Duncan, Shaquille O'Neal, Kobe Bryant, Michael Jordan, Hakeem Olajuwon, Isiah Thomas, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird and Julius Erving -- have won championships.

Not since the Seattle SuperSonics defeated the Washington Bullets in 1979 has a team bucked that trend.

"The similarities are certainly there," said Cleveland coach Paul Silas, winner of a title with the 1978-79 SuperSonics, who did have a Hall of Fame coach in Lenny Wilkens. "They have a chance to be the one team to win without that dominant player."

The Finals resume with Game 4 tonight and the Pistons ahead 2-1 in what so far has been one of the most surprising championship series. No one on the Lakers seems too upset yet, with the exception of part-owner and vice president Magic Johnson.

"The Lakers had a mind-set that was disrespectful to the Pistons. They thought it was going to be easy," Johnson said Saturday. "Unless they come out and play very hard, with the same level of intensity as the Pistons, this series will be over."

Detroit has just one All-Star, Ben Wallace, who reached that plateau through a combination of defense, rebounding and the good fortune of representing a conference without many great centers. He certainly didn't make it for his offense.

Compare that to the Lakers, who have combined 40 All-Star appearances among Karl Malone (14), O'Neal (11), Gary Payton (nine) and Bryant (six), along with a coach, Phil Jackson, with a record-tying nine NBA titles.

Maybe it will all boil down to hunger.

"I don't know if there's anybody in the world that wants it any more than I do," Detroit coach Larry Brown said.

Maybe a Detroit team that has never doubted itself and has not been in awe of the Lakers will bring the title back to the East for the first time since 1998.

Detroit, which entered as a 7-1 underdog, has a chance to become the first team since the 1974-75 Golden State Warriors (who swept Washington 4-0) to defeat a heavy favorite.

"That's pretty unique, and that's why I'm trying to tell our guys it's 2-1 and it's far from over," Brown said. "That's the challenge."