By Kevin Asseo BBC Sport Online US correspondent

The Detroit Pistons might be the NBA's forgotten team.

While all the talk during the NBA play-offs has centred on the two-time defending champions Los Angeles Lakers, the surprising New Jersey Nets, and the high-scoring Dallas Mavericks, the Pistons are quietly taking care of business.

Their transformation into legitimate contenders for the Eastern Conference title may have gone relatively unnoticed because it has happened so quickly.

Last season the Pistons did not even qualify for the post-season, finishing the year with a disappointing 32-50 record.

Their 18-game turnaround this season - the Pistons were 50-32 - was the main reason their first-year coach, Rick Carlisle, was given the NBA Coach of the Year award this week.

But even Carlisle seemed surprised by the recognition of his efforts.

Jerry Stackhouse has had better support this season

"I feel very fortunate," he said. "I didn't think this was going to happen. I'm somewhat shocked."

Carlisle should not really be that surprised. The Pistons' management has assembled a team filled with tough NBA veterans, and no obvious weaknesses.

In previous seasons, the team was little more than a one-man show, relying heavily on swingman Jerry Stackhouse to carry their scoring load.

Stackhouse is a scoring machine, undoubtedly one of the NBA's top talents, but he needed help to turn the Pistons into winners. And he got it.

Clifford Robinson, a veteran of 13 NBA seasons and more than 100 play-off games, signed for this season and immediately took some pressure off Stackhouse.

Robinson averaged 14.6 points, making him the second-leading scorer for the Pistons behind Stackhouse.

Another recent addition, forward Corliss Williamson, acquired in a 2001 trade, gave Detroit even more scoring punch in their front line.

Adding proven scorers Robinson and Williamson to the roster has benefited the Pistons in more ways than one.

Corliss Williamson was a shrewd acquisition

Besides the scoring support they give Stackhouse, their play has cleared the way for one the league's top specialists, Ben Wallace, to do what he does best.

Wallace, a 6ft 9ins forward who plays more like a centre, can dominate a game with his defence, and often does.

Wallace led the league in both rebounds (13.0 per game) and blocks (3.48) and shut down many an opposing team's top offensive threat.

"A lot of guys are only concerned about going out there and scoring 20 or 30 points per game," Wallace said.

"My game is on the boards, playing tough defence, blocking shots."

Behind Wallace's defence and Stackhouse's offence, the Pistons eliminated the Toronto Raptors in the first round of the play-offs, the team's first series win since 1991.

With somewhat lacklustre opposition in the East - the New Jersey Nets are struggling and the Boston Celtics, the Pistons' second round opponent, have been inconsistent in the post-season - the Pistons have an excellent chance to emerge as Eastern Conference champions.

It has been a long time since Detroit's glory years of the late 1980s.

But with the team they have in place, the past may be close to repeating itself.