Basketball
Pistons can do better
DETROIT — The Detroit Pistons usually need contributions from every starter and a couple of reserves to win.
In Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals, Detroit beat the Cleveland Cavaliers with only Richard Hamilton and Rasheed Wallace consistently producing.
"It’s a positive that we won, but it’s a negative because we didn’t feel like we won," Wallace said Wednesday. "That’s just the way that we feel, the aura that’s in our locker room."
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The bad vibe might have stemmed from Chauncey Billups’ rough night.
The point guard had only three points and a playoff-high seven turnovers — surpassing his total from the previous four games — entering the fourth quarter Monday night.
Billups said sometimes after lackluster games, watching film shows the Pistons didn’t play all that badly. Game 1 against the Cavs didn’t fall in that category, though.
Billups wasn’t alone in his struggles. Tayshaun Prince was 1-for-11 from the field, Chris Webber had one productive quarter and Antonio McDyess made only one shot off the bench.
Wallace is confident the Pistons will pull it together tonight when they host Game 2, but he’s not ready to make predictions.
