Obviously, the major problem with this team is the lack of a superstar player who brings an intensity and focus every game...which lifts the other players into doing the same more often than not.
If you look at the two seasons they made the finals, they had Ben Wallace who fit that role. Wallace WAS a superstar on the defensive end at that time. He could control games down the stretch on the defensive end and with his rebounding. He brought it every night.
You saw what happened when he quit on them against Miami. They lost. No one else could bring that kind of focus and the lift the team that year.
Last year they were overpowered by Lebron James. He brought it every night. The Pistons didn't in Cleveland.
And now this year. Same situation. Billups is the closest thing they have to being the person they need. He falls short of being a superstar though, and he's injured.
So this is what you end up getting. Good enough to get to the final four, but when matched against opponents with the superstars who bring it every night and lift their teammates, you can't get any further.
The Pistons future lies in the hands of Stuckey. He is showing some special things in this round. He can create his own shot...the only Pistons I've seen who could create their own shots like he can were Isiah, V. Johnson, and G. Hill.
Still, it's too early to say whether he has the intensity to do it night in and night out. There's reason to be optimistic for the future with this guy.
...but for the present, we are left with a team with a huge void. Getting to the final four seems to be the limit with that void. I expect the Pistons to be focused from here on out with great intensity, but it's likely too late. Again.
I can't find myself too upset with them. They are a collection of very good players without that superstar to lift and carry them when they falter at times, lose focus, and can't match up. For about a five-six minute stretch in game 2, Stuckey bailed them out. He played like a superstar late in the game when the Pistons were losing their grasp and beginning to fail. He filled that void. He carried them, lifted them up with some fantastic drives and shots, and they were able to finish it off. He knocked the Celtics back on their heels. He was the best player on the floor and could not be stopped for that stretch.
He's just not ready yet to do it all the time. He's a rookie.