CLEVELAND -- It was fun while it lasted, Detroit.
The Pistons reached five consecutive Eastern Conference finals, picked up a ring in 2004 and reached the NBA Finals again the year after that. Five Central Division titles in six years, each of them 50-win seasons.
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| Key Pistons cog Chauncey Billups will be a free agent in the offseason. (Getty Images) |
But as the saying goes, all good things come to an end, and the Pistons' run is now over.
The Cavaliers' 98-82 Game 6 victory makes them unexpected kings of the East for this season, putting them on the largest of stages well before anyone would've expected. Imagine that: LeBron James, the 22-year-old being criticized just four months ago for underachieving, has actually exceeded expectations.
In doing so -- like another No. 23 did 16 years ago -- James has ended a special era for Detroit.
You want the moment it was over? When he defiantly ripped the ball away from Rasheed Wallace at midcourt, then took off and finished on the break despite being fouled.
Jordan led a sweep back in 1991, finally getting past Detroit's Bad Boys, who had ended his first few attempts at winning championships -- much the way the Pistons did last season with James.
But on Saturday night, one that no one in Cleveland will ever forget, James led his own form of a sweep, finishing off a four-game run where he averaged 31.3 points, 9.7 rebounds and 8.8 assists. As James raised the Eastern Conference championship trophy over his head, the sellout crowd of more than 20,000 stood for the entire ceremony.
At the opposite end of the spectrum, the Pistons failed to go out with class. Wallace was ejected after picking up two fouls in 30 seconds and having to be restrained while trying to get at referee Eddie F. Rush. You could've predicted things would get ugly because 'Sheed hates losing, and he had to sit there and watch his team get destroyed by a younger team that simply took the game over in the fourth quarter.
It's now up to Joe Dumars to keep his team intact. He must do better than what happened after Detroit's last dynasty ended. GM Jack McCloskey resigned and Chuck Daly bolted. Isiah Thomas and Bill Laimbeer hung around a few more years but could never get back to their previous highs. Three of the next four seasons ended with losing records.
It just so happens that Chauncey Billups is a free agent now, and he's going to be looking for a huge payday. To give it to him, Detroit is going to have to pay a significant luxury tax. The Pistons owe Billups, too, having signed him at a bargain rate for the mid-level exception back before he blew up and became an All-Star. Now that he's 30, he has to cash in on what will be his final opportunity to get paid.
In addition to Billups, Antonio McDyess can opt out of his deal, Ronald Murray will be going elsewhere and it remains to be seen whether Chris Webber will return.
It's going to be a huge offseason for Detroit, and given how things ended, it might be time to start changing things so the Pistons don't get caught up in another lengthy losing spell.
Chicago is rising. Cleveland has reached the mountain to and will continue to get better with Mike Brown, LeBron, "Boobie" Gibson and Anderson Varejao forming an emerging nucleus. Miami will be back for another run with Shaquille O'Neal and Dwyane Wade. Orlando, Milwaukee and Washington all figure to be improved.
Deep down, members of the Pistons all knew what was at stake in this series. That's why they called a players-only meeting prior to Game 6, to try and rally for one last run at another championship. It's why Detroit was so testy as things slipped out of reach. Having already lost Ben Wallace, and with the future of Billups now in question, we've seen the last of the Detroit Pistons as we know them.
Sadly, they went out in a blowout, swept in four straight. The similarities in their previous demise are eerie and ominous.
