A. Sherrod Blakely points out that Rip Hamilton is on the verge of an impressive milestone: becoming the team's all-time leading scorer in the playoffs.
Making the record all that more improbable is the fact he has been able to do it in just six postseasons.
He needs just 10 points to tie Isiah Thomas' franchise record of 2,261 postseason points.
"To me, it's crazy," Hamilton said. "Zeke is Detroit. If you get an opportunity to pass him ... I don't even feel as though I've been here long enough. It's a great honor, a great accomplishment. I wouldn't be able to do it without winning games. That's the great thing about it."
I was curious, so I checked the numbers: Isiah averaged 20.4 points in 111 playoff games over nine years; Rip, 20.7 points in 109 (and counting) games over six years. Also, if all goes well, Rip should take over the lead for most playoff games as a Piston, currently held by Bill Laimbeer (113), followed by Joe Dumars (112) and Isiah (111). By playing in Game 4, Hamilton moved into fifth place, moving past Vinnie Johnson (108).