My Name Is Prince

Remember this year's All Star Game when four Pistons made the East roster?

Conventional wisdom said that Tayshaun Prince was the least spectacular of Detroit's starting five, and accordingly there was little grousing over his not being invited to the Black Super Bowl. (J.A. Adande's term, not mine FYI)

Fast forward to last night, and there's Prince leading Detroit with 29 points on 11 of 17 shooting in an elimination game. In the Conference Finals no less. That's big boy stuff. In contrast, Ben Wallace's paltry 3 of 4 field goals made him the only one of Detroit's "All Stars" to shoot above 33%.

If you've been watching this series, it wasn't just last night. Tayshaun's led the team in scoring in three out of the five games. When Detroit is in the doldrums offensively (as they have been since game 3 of the Cavs series) only Prince demonstrates consistently the ability to generate points. His more lauded teammates seem, dare I say, SCARED by the stage they find themselves on. (I'm looking at you, Rip.)

So Tayshaun Prince then. Not an All Star...just the best player on his team.