Larry Brown has Pistons running on all cylinders

Detroit can deliver their coach a milestone victory.
AUBURN HILLS, Mich. (AP) -- The Detroit Pistons are a victory away from giving Larry Brown the only thing his coaching career is missing -- an NBA title.
Detroit can deliver the milestone victory by beating Los Angeles tonight at home in Game 5, or in one of the following two games on the road.
"He won't say it, but I think it would validate a lot for him," Lindsey Hunter said.
Brown has won more than 1,000 NBA games with seven teams over 21 seasons, but another victory this week would vindicate his Hall of Fame career.
"I probably would be smarter if it happened," Brown joked.
Skeptic shock
While many are stunned Detroit leads Los Angeles 3-1 in the NBA Finals, the Pistons are not.
The Pistons have been confident in their chances of pulling off the upset, and it had nothing to do with anything new Brown said or did.
Before the series started, Brown simply repeated his mantra, "Play the right way," -- meaning be unselfish on offense, and aggressive on defense. He has never strayed from his cool, calm demeanor.
"He's taken the same approach ever since Day 1 -- in the preseason," Tayshaun Prince said. "It hasn't changed since we got to the playoffs, and advanced to the finals."
When Brown's title quest was put in focus the day before Game 5, he did his best to deflect the attention.
"I've been taught my whole career, it's really not about me," he said, almost pleading to change the subject. "It's about these players."
After six seasons in Philadelphia -- where he became frustrated with Allen Iverson's tardiness and attitude -- Brown enjoyed coaching the Pistons this season, saying it was like coaching the Olympic team.
The players showed up on time for practices, accepted his demanding ways and played hard in games.
New wrinkle
Throughout Brown's 10-team, 32-year career, he has been hired to make poor or average teams good -- until he came to Detroit. The Pistons are the first professional team he's coached that had a winning record the previous season.
Brown was given a five-year, $25 million deal to turn a contender into a champion after Rick Carlisle was fired despite leading Detroit to the Eastern Conference finals for the first time since 1991.
"Larry brought a sense of urgency and passion to this team that we needed," Pistons president Joe Dumars said.