113?

All we need to know about last night's Pistons-Heat Eastern Conference Final game was revealed in Miami's point total-113. The Pistons odds of success do not improve as an opponent, any opponent, tops the one hundred point mark against them. Dwayne Wade or Shaquille O'Neal can go off for fifty, but if the Heat only score around 85 total, the Pistons chances at being winners increases.

The Pistons are at their best when they are playing championship level defense. Last night, they didn't come close to that. Again, one look at that 113 points tells the whole story.

If you are a Pistons fan, you should be worried. The Heat have won two out of three games without Shaq at his best. Wade also had one terrible game. Yet, the Heat have the lead and homecourt advantage.

I'm thoroughly perplexed. I guess I just have never seen this Miami team as much more than the Big Guy and D-Wade. Maybe I am wrong for the billionth time. Maybe I am right and the Pistons aren't playing at a championship level. I just can't figure out where the Heat are getting points from.

Oh, I see their players scoring, but I'm baffled as to how the Pistons D cannot stop such non-descript players from contributing. They can shut down Kobe Bryant, but not Rasaul Butler? It makes no sense. Yet, it's happening.

It's nitpicking, but maybe some of the Pistons perceived weaknesses are being revealed? The lack of a true point guard. The lack of depth. The lack of a true superstar. The latter may be the one thing I think is hurting the Pistons the most right now.

Even at their best, the Pistons can go into prolonged offensive funks. A superstar doesn't allow that to happen. If the team hits a bump in the road offensively, the star steps up and carries the load. Sometimes that can be for a quarter (remember Isiah Thomas vs. the Lakers?). Sometimes it's for an entire game (refer to Wade's Game Two performance). Sometimes it's for a series (see Jordan, Michael). Stars carry clubs when they go astray.

The Pistons lack that one player. However, they have always managed to make up for that singular presence by playing tough team defense and hitting big shots. However, in two of the last three contests, the defense and big shots never arrived. It's time for those things to re-emerge or the Pistons will be heading back to South Florida well in the hole.