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It was ugly. Game 3 reminded me of a coliseum during the days of the old Roman Empire. The Palace at Auburn Hills was the setting. The Los Angeles Lakers were the poor peasants. The Detroit Pistons were the lions. Pistons coach Larry Brown served as Caesar, gave the thumbs down and unleashed Rip Hamilton, Chauncey Billups and company, resulting in a 88-68 mauling of the Lakers resulting in Detroit taking a 2-1 lead in the best of seven series.

Detroit played stifling defense from start to finish, giving the boys from LA no room to breathe. With that being said, it was easy to see that from the outset the Lakers were in big trouble.

The Pistons double and triple teamed Kobe Bryant throughout the game, forcing the Lakers to look for other offensive options. Los Angeles had no answers. The physical style of play bothered Bryant and took him out of the game, bringing back memories of the infamous “Jordan Rules” Detroit used to slow down Michael Jordan fifteen years ago. Not only did they bother Bryant but they did an excellent job clogging up the lane and contesting Laker shots.

Offensively the Pistons attacked the basket often. The Lakers appeared slow, lost and unorganized as they left players wide open all night. Karl Malone proved to be a liability on both ends of the floor due to his bad wheel, basically leaving Shaquille O’Neal to battle the Piston front line by himself.

Billups continued to play like a potential Championship Series MVP. Hamilton deserved credit for bouncing back from a tough game 2 and responding to Kobe’s childish game 2 post game comments by scoring a game-high 31 points.

There is no doubt the Piston defense was the story of the game 3. However, it was not all about the defense. Officiating may have played its part too.

How does a player like Shaq only attempt 2 free throws for a whole game? Is that really possible? Something was definitely wrong with that picture. Give part credit to Detroit. Give part blame to O’Neal.

This is also the third straight game the Pistons have attempted more free throws than the Lakers. Still think there is a conspiracy to favor the Lakers? Fat chance.

It was Motown momentum all night long. From the obnoxious Public Address announcer Mason to the “bong” for a Ben Wallace play, it was like attending a University of Tennessee game in Knoxville and hearing the fight song “Rocky Top” over and over again. If you know anything about college football you know that is the biggest compliment I can pay the Detroit home crowd. Unlike a lot of arenas the Lakers play in on the road, there was no spattering of cheers when Shaq dunked or Fisher hit a three point shot. Those folks booed the Lakers and cheered the Pistons until their throats hurt.

As this series goes on it is like witnessing a flashback of the battles between the Lakers and Pistons of the 1980s. The talk back then was always about the strategy. The Pistons wanted to be physical. The Lakers wanted to avoid the physical play. It was a match up of two opposite philosophies.

The contrast in this year’s series is not just between these two teams but also the head coaches and cities, which I find fun to watch. The hated and intensity is real. We have not had this type of championship series since those past Lakers/Pistons wars.

Let’s hope we get a seven game series so we can all be reminded of what true NBA rivalries used to be like.

Sports Journalism has stepped up its game with Writer Step Clay! Comments? Questions? Contact Step at Stephen.clay@comcast.net.