License is revoked

Pistons no longer in the driver's seat

With Chauncey Billups hamstrung (literally) by his injury, the Pistons' game has been noticeably impaired. (jonathan daniel/Getty Images)

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. - The license plate on the Bentley coupe belonging to Chauncey Billups reads, "1 Gone." It's a DMV-issued reminder of the NBA title the Detroit Pistons captured in 2004, but it also serves as an accurate description of how the Pistons and their point guard feel about their 94-80 home loss Saturday to the Celtics in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference finals.

"We had a great opportunity to really grab hold of the series [and] blew it," said Billups, whose team is staring a 3-1 deficit in the face if it doesn't win tonight at The Palace of Auburn Hills. "We've done that a lot here for some reason, some strange reason. We got a game [tonight] that is a huge, huge game for us.

"I can't tell you why, nor do I like it, but for whatever reason we've done things like this a lot of times. I hate it. I'm sure a lot of the guys hate it. That's who we've been, man. We've always found a way to work ourselves out of these situations."

The M.O. in Motown is that Detroit, which is playing in its sixth straight Eastern Conference final, is an indefatigable team that puts itself in a hole but finds a way to scratch and claw out of it. But is that patina of Pistons resiliency reality? Not according to recent memory.

All you have to do is think back to last year when Detroit had a stranglehold on the Eastern Conference final against the Cleveland Cavaliers, taking a 2-0 lead, then dropped four straight to LeBron James and Co., promising to rise to the occasion each game along the way.

"That was one time where we couldn't dig ourselves out of that hole," said Billups. "It was horrible, but this is where we have to dig ourselves out."

Billups is right. Tonight is a virtual must-win for Detroit. Pistons coach Flip Saunders admitted as much yesterday, saying his team could bring nothing less than an all-out, throw-your-body-around-at-all-costs attitude. However, Billups's assessment that the Cleveland series was the only time the Pistons faltered with their backs to the wall is a little off the mark.

Since Saunders replaced Larry Brown in July 2005, the Pistons have been trading off their self-proclaimed "If it ain't rough, it ain't right" reputation.

Yes, in 2005, with Brown still at the helm, the Pistons lost Game 3 of the Eastern Conference final at home to the Heat and trailed, 3-2, before rallying to win the next two to advance to the NBA Finals, where they forced a seventh game before falling to the Spurs. But in 2006, the Pistons, winners of 64 games, had home-court advantage in the Eastern Conference final and dug themselves a 3-1 hole against the Heat. They won Game 5 at home, but lost Game 6 to the eventual NBA champions. Add in Cleveland last year and there is reason to question Detroit's bravado.

No matter how good you are, if you play with fire enough times you're going to get burned.

Billups acknowledged the risk, but he cited his team's resilience. "[It's] very dangerous, very, very dangerous," he said. "For whatever reason we're at our best when that happens. I don't like it . . . it's who we are."

While Billups and Detroit can look to the past for comfort and confidence heading into Game 4, the present state of the team and its star point guard is a little more troubling.

Clearly hampered by the right hamstring strain he suffered in the second round against the Magic, Billups hasn't been his normal big-shot-making self in the series. He had just 6 points in 27 minutes Saturday, scoring only 2 points in the first half. In Game 1, his first game back since suffering the hamstring injury May 7, Billups had 9 points and 2 assists in 31 minutes. The Pistons lost both games.

In Game 2, when he had 19 points and 7 assists in 32 minutes, they won.

"I felt in [Saturday night's] game I really didn't do a good job of leading. That's not just shooting the ball and scoring the ball," said Billups. "I think the game got away from us early, and I didn't step up enough vocally when guys were missing coverages and things weren't going right.

"When I can't do the things I'm accustomed to offensively, there have got to be other ways to have an impact. I thought I waited too late to step up and lead."

Saunders said his team needs to step up in Game 4. If not it could be "2 Gone and too late" for Detroit in the series.

Christopher L. Gasper can be reached at cgasper@globe.com.