Tayshaun Prince's Pistons had liftoff in Sunday's gallery.
Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE/Getty Images

X-Factor: Chauncey Launches Pistons

Billups
Detroit counts on Chauncey Billups to score more than the average point guard. He did just that in Sunday's opener of The Finals, finishing with a team-high 22 points on 8-of-14 from the field in the Pistons' 87-75 win over the Lakers. Billups' offensive production had decreased with each successive playoff round, but he served notice to L.A. right off the bat with an eight-point first quarter. Detroit trailed by one at halftime, but Billups helped Detroit grab the momentum and keep it with a nine-point third.

May/June Archive
May 2 | May 3 | May 4 | May 5 | May 6 | May 7 | May 9 | May 10
May 11 | May 12 | May 13 | May 14 | May 15 | May 16 | May 18
May 19 | May 20 | May 21 | May 22 | May 23 | May 24 | May 25
May 26 | May 27 | May 28 | May 29 | May 31 | June 1

April Archive
April 17-18 | April 19 | April 20 | April 21 | April 22 | April 23
April 24 | April 25 | April 26 | April 27 | April 29 | April 30
June 6, 2004


VIRTUAL GM TOP EFFICIENCY
Shaquille O'Neal, L.A.
VGM value: 23.3
Sunday: O'Neal recorded a plus-34 efficiency rating with a monstrous 34-point, 11-rebound performance, but the big man didn't get much help from his friends in Game 1.

TIME TO TUNE IN
Tuesday on ABC
Pistons at Lakers, 8:30 p.m. ET

SPEAK IT, MAN
"I wanted to be aggressive. ... No matter how bad I play, I never lose confidence. I know what I can do."
-- Detroit's Chauncey Billups

WHAT IS EFFICIENCY RATING?
Here is the formula:
((Pts + Reb + Ast + Stl + Blk) minus
((FGA - FGM) + (FTA - FTM) + TO))