The pay stubs insisted Joe Dumars was one of the top five players in the NBA. Only his heart was wiser. And his ego knew better than to argue. Which explains why the final link to the title-filled days of the Bad Boys in Detroit could help set the Pistons straight again with but a wink and a nod. The wink was for Grant Hill, letting him know the team now belonged to him. The nod was for Doug Collins, signaling his agreement to come off the bench. This all took place back in November, long before anyone realized Detroit was again a team with playoff aspirations. And right around the time Dumars realized basketball still could be fun for an aging star on a rising team. The Pistons meet the Magic at 7 Friday night in Game 1 of the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs. It has been four years since Detroit last reached the post-season and seven seasons since Dumars was the NBA Finals' Most Valuable Player during the first of two Pistons championships. "I told Joe before the season that he was going to be our one link taking this team from the dumper to the championship, back to the dumper and then into the playoffs again," Collins said when the Pistons clinched the playoff berth. "And when he did, I'd give him all the credit in the world. "When we hang his jersey up (to retire his number), don't anyone forget who the bridge was." There were days when Dumars wondered whether this bridge would lead anywhere. After reaching the playoffs each of his first seven years, Dumars was not prepared to endure the 42-, 62- and 54-loss seasons that followed. He is making $6.88-million this season (the fourth-highest salary in the league behind Patrick Ewing, Clyde Drexler and David Robinson) and is due to make $4-million in the final year of his pact in 1996-97. Yet Dumars was contemplating a walk. He was preparing to turn his back on the league, the money and the Pistons because basketball was no longer fun. That, of course, was 46 victories ago. "This has given me new life," Dumars said. "I've really enjoyed the season. We've had 48 wins (combined) the last two seasons. It's hard to get up for that." Technically, Dumars has had his least productive season since he was a rookie 1985-86. He is under 33 minutes a game and his scoring average of 11.8 points is well below his career average of 17.2. That is what can be gleaned from the stat sheet. But Dumars always has meant more to a team than his numbers. And that might never have been more true than this season. Collins approached the five-time All-Star early in the season and asked him to assume a sixth-man role. Dumars already had moved from shooting guard to point guard a year earlier to make room for Allan Houston. And now Collins wanted Hill to take over the point duties while still playing forward. The move meant a downsizing of Dumars' prestige and ruled out a near-certain spot on Dream Team III. Yet not only did Dumars agree to the switch, he went one step further. He approached Hill, the new cornerstone in Detroit, and told him to assume the leadership duties that Dumars had long held. "He told me, "It's your time. I've had my time,"' Hill said earlier this season. "I thought it would be maybe a couple of years after Joe retired before I felt it was my team. But he said, "I'm here to help you and Allan and the other young players have what I've had."' Dumars eventually rejoined the starting lineup midway through the season, replacing Lindsey Hunter, and he teamed with Houston to make Detroit one of the NBA's top three-point shooting teams. Still, the Pistons come to Orlando this week with little in their favor. They have no center, to speak of. They're 25th in the NBA in scoring and 27th in offensive rebounds. Other than Dumars, few have playoff experience. None was with the Pistons in the last post-season in 1992, let alone the last Detroit championship team in 1990. So they say this will be a learning experience. And they will have one of the NBA's best teachers on court with them. "I look forward to feeling that feeling again on Friday," Dumars said. "It sends chills all over my body." _ Information from other news organizations was used in this report.