It’s that time of year again.

It is time for the Detroit Pistons to take to the hard court again.

I know the Pistons have lost in three con­secutive Eastern Conference Finals, and each loss was a big disappointment to the organiza­tion and its extremely loyal following.

But we all have to take a step back and ac­knowledge that the Pistons under team presi­dent Joe Dumars have put together one of the NBA’s more remarkable runs.

This team won the NBA title in 2004 and returned to the NBA Finals the next year, losing a heartbreaking seven-game series to the San Antonio Spurs.

Yes, each Eastern Conference Finals loss, in my humble mind, was a winnable series, espe­cially against Miami and Cleveland. So it came as no surprise that Dumars and the Pistons’ fan base were very disappointed when Boston came in earlier this year and knocked Detroit out of the playoffs.

In the heat of the moment, Dumars told the media that no one on the team was safe from a trade or whatever.

I’m glad that as the intense hurt of yet another loss in the Eastern Conference Finals permeated through the front office, Dumars packaged his disdain, reflected a bit, and let sound basketball sense outweigh emotion.

Making a deal just to please the media and fans was not the way to go, and, thankfully, he did not make a deal just to make a deal.

The Pistons’ core remains intact and they have yet another chance to ascend to the NBA Promised Land. I must admit, however, that this might be the last time this group – Chaunc­ey Billups, Richard Hamilton, Tayshaun Prince and Rasheed Wallace – plays together if they again fail in the playoffs.

The Pistons have started their exhibition season and Dumars has added center Kwame Brown, guard Will Bynum and rookie forward Walter Sharpe.

I think only Brown has a chance to be an in­tegral part of this team. Many are not enthused by his inclusion in the mix, but the former No. 1 overall pick in the NBA Draft may just be coming in to his own as a player. Add in the fact he will be with veteran players like Wal­lace and Antonio McDyess to help him along and the fact he is in better physical condition than past seasons makes him a very enthralling piece to the Pistons’ puzzle.

Also, new coach Michael Curry has noted that the team will go back to it original roots and re-establish the attitude of effort with in­tense defense and an overall team focus.

“The culture we changed over the summer,” Curry told reporters at media day recently. “We went back to staying here throughout the summer. Guys came in and competed every day. They worked with coaches and made sure they got better. We established that workman­like attitude over the summer.”

Players were asked to engage themselves in individual fitness work with strength and con­ditioning coach Arnie Kander. The thought is conditioning will be the vehicle that carries the Pistons late in a game, particularly on defense.

When a game is winding down and everyone is sucking air, the best conditioned team will have just that little something that can carry it over an opponent.

“We are going to be aggressive in everything we do,” Curry said. “I told the guys, if we play defense, we will be back at the level they experi­enced a few years ago. We have to re-establish our identity this year. I think this team has the players and the skill to do just that.”

Curry has promised to infuse youth into the team this season.

As the Pistons go back to playing rugged, man-to-man defense, Curry pledged to integrate young players such as Rodney Stuckey, Arron Afflalo, Jason Maxiell and Amir Johnson as integral components in the team’s plans.

I say it is about time,

If Curry does indeed use more than the starting five, the Pistons will field a team that can play the half-court game and a group of young players that can implement run-and-gun basketball.

I applaud Dumars for holding serve and using basketball reason over emotion.

Leland Stein can be heard on WGPR radio (107.5) every Sunday from 11 p.m. to midnight. He can be reached at lelstein3@aol.com.