Motor City Sports

Ben Gordon had another good game Sunday afternoon – scoring 23 points to help the Pistons beat the 76ers 88-81.

Once again, though, he wasn’t even Detroit’s Most Valuable Ben.

It’s harder to detect Ben Wallace’s contributions from a quick look at the scoreboard. While there was a “23″ next to Gordon’s #7, there was a “2″ next to Wallace’s #6. Looking at the box score, you start to figure it out. Wallace had 16 rebounds, including seven offensive rebounds. He blocked three shots and added three steals.

It goes deeper than that. This was supposed to be a terrible defensive team, and it isn’t. Even with Tayshaun Prince out with a bad back, Detroit has done a good job of stopping teams from putting the ball in the basket, and a lot of that is because of Ben. He keeps players from getting to the rim, meaning they are ending up with low-percentage jumpers.

Even better, his hard work seems to be rubbing off on Kwame Brown, who has turned into a valuable post presence off the bench. He’s never going to provide Wallace’s defensive impact, but he’s also a much better offensive player, so he can provide the Pistons with a more offensive look without sacrificing too much defense.

It’s not a perfect team. They still don’t get enough offense from the frontcourt, and they don’t pass the ball. Worse, they are still prone to the lapses of concentration that have seen them get blown out of several first and third quarters.

Still, they are 3-4 even though Prince and Rip Hamilton have been out of the lineup and aren’t expected back any time soon. No one has seen the high-scoring offense they were supposed to have, so they have had to win with defense.

And that’s where Ben Wallace does things that no one else can.