Tales from the Detroit Pistons

Book excerpt: The Bad Boys--a collection of incredible basketball talent revered in Detroit and despised throughout the rest of the National Basketball Association. They were back-to-back NBA champions and the monkey (or 600-pound gorilla) that Michael Jordan's Chicago Bulls had to get off their backs before they could assume the NBA's throne. In Rick Mahorn's Tales from the Detroit Pistons, the former Bad Boy shares stories that cover all the key characters, including Isiah Thomas, Bill Laimbeer, Joe Dumars, John Salley, Vinny Johnson, Dennis Rodman, and coach Chuck Daly. Mahorn discusses the wars with the Bulls, Celtics, Knicks, and championship battles with the Lakers and Blazers. The book also examines the sorry state of the franchise before the two titles, their attempts to recapture their NBA magic with Grant Hill and Jerry Stackhouse, and the recent run of success that Dumars is having as the team's general manager. Mahorn's role as color analyst for Pistons' radio broadcasts has kept him in the loop as Dumars has added players like Rip Hamilton, Rasheed Wallace, and Darko Milicic, along with coach Larry Brown, over the past few seasons. Sharing stories from his playing and announcing days is a part of what makes Rick Mahorn's Tales from the Detroit Pistons special.