Can an Eastern Conference team win the NBA title this year? Yes, and that team is the Pistons. That's not a reach of any sort since Detroit's superb defense and its acquisition of Rasheed Wallace make coach Larry Brown's club a legitimate title contender.

STEPPING UP
IN CLASS
The East can beat the West.

At least in the case of the Pistons, who are a better team than a year ago when they were the No. 1 seed in the East.

Last spring Detroit made it to the conference finals before being swept by New Jersey.

This year Detroit, seeded second, paid back the Nets by eliminating them in the second round.

The Pistons not only play the best defense in the league, they have improved offensively.

And that's a key since in the past there was some concern about the Pistons' point production.

The gap between the powers in the West and the Pistons and Pacers, the two top teams in the East, has been closed.

But it's Detroit that has what it will take to knock off the Lakers or T'Wolves in the NBA Finals. 

RASHEED RICH IN TALENT
I wouldn't be writing about the Pistons as a true title contender had they not made the deal to bring Rasheed Wallace on board.

The power forward, who has been an All-Star, is a very good individual defender.

Along with center Ben Wallace, a true defensive menace, and talented small forward Tayshaun Prince, Detroit has a frontcourt that strikes fear into opponents with its trapping, shot blocking and pressure defense.

Rasheed Wallace isn't all defense.

He can score both on the inside and from the perimeter, although the Pistons have asked less of him offensively than did the Blazers and Hawks.

And another huge plus for the Pistons is that Rasheed Wallace seems to have left his troubled past behind in Portland as well as his propensity for getting called for technical fouls.

GUARDS SCORE HIGH GRADES
While Detroit grabs a lot of attention with the personnel it has up front, the Pistons also boast a terrific starting backcourt in point guard Chauncey Billups and shooting guard Richard Hamilton.

Both are primary offensive options.

With Detroit involved in many low-scoring games, Billups shoulders the responsibility of making sure the Pistons come up big when it's crucial to do so down the stretch.

The decisions he makes as a playmaker are critical.

In the past, Billups has shown a shoot-first mentality, but he has worked to come off that a bit and to better his shot selection.

When the Pistons get stops and rebounds, they free Billups up to attack and create in the open court.

Some of what makes Hamilton tough to stop is his ability to move without the ball, work off screens and sink the midrange jumper.

Behind its starting five, Detroit has just the right amount of depth, with the key reserves being Lindsey Hunter, Mehmet Okur, Corliss Williamson and Mike James.

CHASING THE ULTIMATE GOAL
To get out of the East, the Pistons have to get past Indiana in the conference finals.

The Pacers present a challenge, but Detroit's toughness, both physically and mentally, could prove the difference.

In the NBA Finals, Detroit would most likely draw the Lakers.

The Lakers could get surprised by the Pistons, although L.A.'s chemistry -- which just didn't look right to me during the regular season -- has come around as has the team's defense.

Detroit is a team that wants to punch first all through the postseason, a much more confident bunch with a different mentality this year.

To the Pistons being in the playoffs is not enough, nor is making it to the conference finals.

Detroit wants to win a title.

It knows -- especially after the deal for Rasheed Wallace -- that it's been built to do so.

So the Pistons are on a mission, one that has as its ending beating the best in the West -- and for Detroit, that's not mission impossible.

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