 |
 |
 |
|
AUBURN HILLS, Mich. -- Nobody could have expected this kind of dominating play from a guy put together with four pretzel sticks and a slice of bread. If the Detroit Pistons want Tayshaun Prince to get somewhere quickly, they can slip him into a fax machine or overnight him in an envelope if the fax is broken.
He's listed at 6-feet-9 and 215 pounds. That obviously includes a 50-pound weight strapped to his back when he steps on the scale.
 | |
| Tayshaun's Prince defense on Kobe Bryant is a big reason the Pistons lead the series 3-1.(AP) |
He shut down Tracy McGrady in the playoffs last season as a rookie and guarded McGrady this season as well, plus Vince Carter and Paul Pierce. And in this year's postseason, he got into Desmond Mason, then Richard Jefferson and Ron Artest on the way to the Finals. He had "the block" on Reggie Miller to ensure a victory against the Indiana Pacers and now has led the way to shutting down Lakers superstar Kobe Bryant in the ultimate test.
"I like taking challenges," Prince said. "I've been doing this all year long. If you look at it, the 2 and 3-spot are the most difficult in the league to guard every night. You've just got to take on the challenge. (Kobe) is the best it's going to get. Facing a guy like that dominating the league the last few years. You've just got to be able to take on the challenge."
Excluding three spectacular 3-pointers -- the first won Game 2 and the last two in Game 4 only briefly stalled the Pistons on the way to their 88-80 victory -- Bryant is 1-for-18 from 3-point range. With his 7-foot wing span, great focus and quick feet, Prince has made life miserable for Bryant. And even when Bryant is about to slip away, Prince has learned precisely how to lead him into the helping defense of shot-blocking mavens Rasheed Wallace and Ben Wallace.
It has been just this effort that has stiffed the Lakers, allowed only Shaquille O'Neal to score at a high rate (28.3) and held everyone else besides Bryant (22.3) to single digits.
And while Rasheed is their most talented player, Chauncey Billups is their generator, Rip Hamilton their energizer and Ben Wallace the heart, Prince is an odd amalgamation of them all. Talent, instinct, energy and effort all come in varying degrees from this guy, who first made an impact in last season's playoffs. It was a surprising turn of events. He spent his rookie regular season on the bench for half the games, playing 10 minutes a shot in the others, then filled a significant role on their march to the conference finals.
"He's one of those guys who comes to work every day, doesn't complain about his numbers, just gets the job done," Ben Wallace said. "You don't have a guy looking to score 30-40 points that doesn't care what the outcome of the game is.
"It's all about confidence (with Prince). He didn't play much last year, but he came out in the playoffs and put the monkey on Tracy McGrady. It's the same type of matchup with Kobe. Once you get a little taste of success, it's contagious, and you want to show everybody what type of player you are. Tayshaun's been showing us that all year, and now everybody is seeing that in the Finals."
Over the 22 playoff games, Prince has averaged 9.6 points, 5.8 rebounds, 1.4 blocks and 1.1 steals. The numbers aren't particularly overwhelming, but the timing always is. Whether it's a block, a 3-pointer, an offensive rebound or a slick assist, he has been the lightning rod for all things good for the Pistons in this postseason. He is the ball-handler, passer, shooter and shot-blocker all rolled into one.
He's just the least likely if you were to look at a picture of the team. He's an awkward looking left-hander in a string-bean body. But he has the University of Kentucky lineage that convinced Pistons president Joe Dumars to take him with the 23rd pick of the first round in the 2002 draft. Pistons coach Larry Brown spent many an hour with Prince's college coach, Tubby Smith, reinforcing that he was an exceptionally bright player who would make the right play at the right time.
After being prodded by Dumars, who elected to pass on 6-9 Carmelo Anthony in the 2003 draft to gamble on teenager Darko Milicic because of his confidence in Prince, Brown began to build the offense around him. Then he matched him up with the best scorers on the opposing team.
"The beginning of the year was real difficult for him because all of a sudden, he goes from not playing in half the games to being a starter, and not only that, we lost some key players," Brown said. "So he's playing beside some young people and he's with a coach that's asking him to do different things. So it was a huge adjustment. I had no idea he would defend like this."
Neither did Bryant, who has shot 32 percent over the past two games. Sure, he had played against Prince before, but never in a concentrated series. Again, it isn't just about Prince, since their team defense is so special. But when Bryant goes up to launch one of those long-range jumpers, the degree of difficulty increases exponentially when Prince's long limbs are extended.
"Tayshaun's a real good defender, and he makes it tough because he is quick and long," Bryant said. "I was able to make an adjustment to his length and he came back in the second game with a better effort. In the third game they made the adjustment, whereas when I get by him, to go pull a jump shot, they have another defender there, whether it's Richard or Billups or Ben or Rasheed, they stay with me 'til I give the ball up and they go back to guarding their men. So it was a great defensive effort by them."
Bryant all but guaranteed a victory in Game 5, even though that's obvious because a loss would preclude a Game 6. But you look at his sleek and strong 6-7 frame, built for strength and speed and explosiveness, then you peek at the almost sickly looking Prince, and you're left in wonder.
"It doesn't matter what any of them say," said Prince, who grew up in the shadow of Los Angeles as a Lakers fan in nearby Compton. "It's all about us bringing the same energy and confidence to every game. We have no reason not to believe we can play the same way."
How and why is any of this possible? What could Dumars possibly have known about this guy?
"He's had to guard all the tough guys out East here," Dumars said. "He guards the best guys in the league and does a pretty good job. We're not surprised. We understand what he brings and saw it from the beginning. He's just gaining confidence and getting better. You understand now why we have so much faith in putting him out there."
Besides, if things don't work out, if they want to ship him out of town, he's only a fax away.