From the Free Press:
Pistons shooting guard Richard Hamilton can expect some grief from his boss this week. With his 22 points Saturday, Hamilton passed team president Joe Dumars on the Pistons' all-time playoff scoring list.
Dumars scored 1,752 points during his playing career. Hamilton had 1,789 after Monday night's 98-90 win in Game 2 against the Orlando Magic, ranking second only to Hall of Famer Isiah Thomas (2,261).
Hamilton has some teammates in the top 10. Point guard Chauncey Billups ranks fourth at 1,463 points, Tayshaun Prince is seventh at 1,031, and Rasheed Wallace is eighth at 926, all through Monday.
The Pistons telecast on TV20 put up a graphic showing as much last night, and to be honest, it kind of surprised me. Four of the team's top eight are from the current generation of Pistons? It's a testament to the team's longevity as an Eastern Conference power, I guess, but it also makes me feel old watching my childhood heroes get passed by.
Although ... I never really gave it much thought before, but Joe Dumars and Isiah Thomas were actually relatively young during the Bad Boys heyday -- they were 25 and 27, respectively, when Detroit won in 1989. By the time that era closed -- the 1992 playoffs when Detroit lost to the Knicks in the first round -- Dumars was just 28 and Thomas 30. The Pistons then went through a three-year drought before making it back to the playoffs (thanks Ronny Rothstein and Don Chaney!), by which time Thomas was already retired.
Looking at the current team, Billups is 30 and Hamilton is 28. If this core stays together and receives the expected boost from their current young players as well as this year's draft picks, I don't think there's any question they'll remain one of the top teams in the east for the foreseeable future, postponing their version of the Rothstein/Chaney era at least a few more years.