Find out what it means to Tha D.
Red Auerbach is safe. Coming into the NBA Finals the old Celtics codger and the Zen Master both had coached their teams to nine championships and the general consensus was that the Lakers would give Phil Jackson number 10. That however was not to be as the Pistons thoroughly dominated the Lakers, winning this years NBA Finals in five games.
Instead of focusing on where the Lakers went wrong, Gothamist would instead like to give the Pistons the respect they deserve. Quite simply, the Lakers were not ready, willing or able to deal with the Pistons defensive intensity. By having Ben Wallace anchor their D and match up against Shaq one on one, the Lakers role players did not have the open shots they usually get (and knock down) so it was left to Kobe Bryant to generate the offense, something he was not able to do with Tayshaun Prince draped all over him. Just as importantly, Rip Hamilton's constant attacking on offense forced Jackson to use Bryant to cover him, which obviously tired him out.
Congratulations go out to the entire Pistons organization, especially Larry Brown and Joe Dumars. Brown, who was brought in before the season by GM Dumars, became the first coach to win NBA and NCAA titles. Dumars took a lot of heat for bringing in Brown to replace Rick Carlisle, a former coach of the year that won 50 games last season. Gothamist is pretty sure that Pistons fans aren't complaining now though. Pistons owner, Bill Davidson, now has two championship winning teams, the Pistons and the Tampa Bay Lightning, who won the Stanley Cup.
Chauncey Billups was named MVP of the Finals even though he has never played in an All Star Game. The last player to do that? Joe Dumars.
