Pat Caputo: Legacy Of '04 Pistons Tarnished By What Has Happened Since
This town has been more fortunate than most in regard to championship teams.
The Red Wings have captured four Stanley Cup titles in 13 seasons, the Pistons three NBA championships in roughly a quarter century - in a league that generally displays little parity.
The Tigers did have '84, and a thrilling pennant race in '87, that most people remember. Their pennant run in 2006 was exciting and brought baseball back to the forefront in this state.
In college basketball, there has been Tom Izzo and Michigan State. In college football, Michigan, at least until the last couple years, was a marquee program.
The only real deep-rooted losing has come from the Lions. Yet, even among all the above-mentioned championship teams, I thought the 2004 Pistons might have distinguished themselves the most.
The title came from the out of the blue. Nobody expected it. The Pistons had been reeling just a couple years before in the NBA's worst spot - they weren't really good or really bad, just somewhere in the middle. Kind of the Milwaukee Bucks East.
Then with, with the ultimate "team" effort in the quintessential "me" league, the Pistons beat the Lakers in the NBA Finals.
At the time, who have questioned Richard Hamilton being a team player? Rasheed Wallace squashed the image he had as the ringleader of the Portland "Jailblazers." Ben Wallace did nothing but rebound and play exceptional defense. What could be more team-oriented than that?
