"The magic number for the Pistons winning championships has always been two.

In winning titles in 1989, 1990 and 2004, their roster was stocked with two deluxe defenders.

Dennis Rodman, a two-time defensive player of the year, teamed with Joe Dumars in shoring up the Pistons' defense during the Bad Boys era. During championship runs in 2004 and 2005, Ben Wallace and Tayshaun Prince were lockdown defenders.

The Pistons do not have that type of player on their roster, Wallace said. He said the team must find those players either in the draft or via free agency if they are to become a supreme defensive team again. The Pistons are giving up 95.9 points a game, which ranks 19th.

Opponents are shooting 48 percent from the field. Only New Jersey (48.6 percent) is worse."