Some things never change: people in San Francisco hate George Bush, and the Detroit Pistons are in the Eastern Conference Finals.

Tayshaun, Chauncey, Sheed, and Rip have all been here before. Many times. But this year is different. Last year was the weakest I’ve seen the foursome play. Tay forgot how to play one-on-one D, Chauncey was worn down, and Rip couldn’t get separation on his curls. But this year they’re back. And they look better than ever. Tay just locked down Hedo Turkoglu, Rip has been picking up the scoring, Sheed is always a monster, and Chauncey’s getting some extra rest for his tender achilles. But the best has been Tay. He’s been the team’s best player in the playoffs. He’s back to the long-armed, lock-down D that had become his trademark, plus he’s scoring at will with his ability to shoot over defenders. And they’re all rested with the rise of their bench. That bench….that bench is….scary good.

You start with Antonio McDyess, who is really the fifth starter in name only. He’s been down many of the roads with the first four, having been here in either a sixth-man or starting power forward role since the 2005 Finals Team. But Jason Maxiell is a best in McDyess’ old role. The super-sub looks like a more athletic and defensive-oriented Carlos Boozer. Constantly blocking shots and dunking on people, he’s become a big menace in his own right. The man is a beast in the low post. Then you have Rodney Stuckey, the rookie point guard who filled in for Chauncey for the past two games. Last night he dropped 15 points, 6 dimes, 2 steals and did not turn the ball over once. In a role where he can back up either Chauncey or Rip, Stuckey has elevated his game tremendously as the season has progressed. Aaron Afflalo was the best player at UCLA for a couple years, so adjusting to his role as an eighth-or-ninth-man was expected to be difficult. But it wasn’t. He’s developed in the bulkier, low post backup for Tayshaun. While Tayshaun causes problems with his long arms and athleticism on defense, Afflalo does it with his size and quickness. His minutes have gone down in the playoffs, but he’s still playing almost 10 a game. Wily vets Theo Ratliff and Lindsey Hunter round out the bench. Both of these guys are defensive-specialists. Hunter fits as the other backup guard to pair with Stuckey, and Ratliff is the fourth big. Both are proven performers at this level, and both feel the need to show that they still can play. Both could start for many teams but are perfectly content in their roles on such a good team.

But this is the big guys’ show. People talk about Nash, CP3, and Deron Williams, but Chauncey had his best season as a pro this year. He very well might have been the second best PG in the league (behind Paul) during the season, and continuing his stellar play into the playoffs. Rip has gotten back to his dominant shooting, dropping 32 & 31 in Games 5 & 6 to close out Orlando with Chauncey hurt. Tayshaun is playing the best ball of his career in these playoffs. He completely shut down Andre Iguodala and Hedo Turkoglu so far. He is going to be tested in the next round even further against either Lebron James or Paul Pierce, but he is up for the challenge. He’s also dropping 16 points and 6 boards a game while shooting 56%(!) in the playoffs. Meanwhile, Rasheed Wallace is still Sheed. He’s always going to be. He’s always going to lockdown your best low-post player, yell, scream, holler, and take over offensively when needed. He’s going to shoot over you and post through you. He’s the most underrated Power Forward of all-time, and might be the best true power forward (Sorry, Tim Duncan is a center) in the league right now. A battle with KG in the Eastern Conference Finals would be epic. But while the media loves the Celtics’ big 3, i’ll pick the Pistons’ big 4….with that bench….any day of the week.