Basketball - NBA Breakdown of the Detroit Pistons

DETROIT PISTONS 42-9

What has changed: Not much has changed for the Detroit Pistons, which is the best thing to say for any team. Their starting 5,  McDyess and Evans have played all 51 games. They're the first team in over a decade to go the first 50 games without a change in the  starting lineup. The only change is that Darko Milicic is gone, and for all we know that's probably a good thing.

The Pistons are the best defensive team in the NBA. Holding their opponents to 89.7 a game average. Their starting lineup is best in the  league defensively. All five of them have a reasonable chance to be All-NBA Defense.

But the difference from last year's team that came from nowhere is offense. Scoring 98.1 a game they score enough to win each night even  on those rare occasions where their opponents score. That's why they've won their games by over 8 points a contest.

Richard Hamilton is shooting over 50% from the floor and has really evolved into the team's best scorer. The go-to-guy is Chauncey Billups  whose 18.9 points and 8.5 assists makes him an MVP candidate. Unless Artest plays healthy the rest of the year it'll be Ben Wallace to win  his 4th Defensive Player of the Year award.

One thing that has changed is Detroit is no longer the outright best team in the League, nor can they challenge for 70 wins. However they  can't simply rest their players. Whether they face Dallas, Phoenix, or San Antonio none of them are easy places to win. If the Atlanta  Hawks can beat them it means they're vulnerable, but they'll have to hold their League-best record if they want outright home court  advantage.

As long as they stay healthy the Pistons should be the Eastern Conference representative. Even an injury to Tayshaun Prince could ruin  their year. It didn't seem possible for anyone to do a better job than Larry Brown but Saunders has managed to do a better job while not  being a huge distraction himself. At their best, this is the team to beat who will probably be playing June this summer.