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May

22

PLAYING WITH FIRE!

WHILE SURVIVING GAME ONE AGAINST CAVS, PISTONS ARE GOING TO GET BURNED IN THE LONG RUN!

Well, it wouldn’t be a Detroit Pistons playoff game without the normal ebbs and flows, without the Pistons lacking intensity on one end of the court for a half to be bailed out by Chauncey Billups or another one of their stars. The Pistons began the Eastern Conference Finals with an ugly 79-76 victory against the Cleveland Cavaliers, which saw Lebron James pass up a bunny layup and dish outside to Donyell Marshall for a game-winning three that clanked off the iron with under five seconds to go.

After struggling mightily on the offensive end of the floor throughout the first three quarters, Billups and Rasheed Wallace caught fire in the fourth quarter, burying several big threes to hold off the Cavs from stealing Game One and home-court advantage in the series. James scored a playoff-career low ten points and did not go to the free throw line throughout the game, leaving Cavs’ coach Mike Brown in shock. Despite his low-scoring performance, James was an assist away from a triple-double.

Detroit should consider itself lucky to have gotten Game One. Billups struggled throughout three quarters and had seven turnovers. After having a spectacular offensive series against the Chicago Bulls, lanky forward Tayshaun Prince was 1-for-11 from the field (he did dish out nine assists). Wallace struggled with his shooting until the fourth quarter but was at least a force on the boards and defensive end with 12 rebounds and seven blocks. Richard Hamilton led the team with 24 points and kept Detroit in the game by coming out on fire in the first half. Chris Webber gave the Pistons 10 points but struggled against the Cavs giant center Zyrdrunas Ilgauskas, who had 22 points and 13 rebounds (7 on the offensive end).

Like two of their wins in the Chicago series, Detroit trailed at the half before coming out with guns blazing in the second half. The Pistons quickly turned a six-point deficit into a one-point lead in the third quarter. However, the Cavs did not quit as James helped fuel an end of the third and early fourth quarter run that gave Cleveland the lead. The fourth quarter went back and forth with Billups, Wallace and Hamilton matching big shots with Ilgauskas. If it wasn’t for the heroics of these Pistons and some aggressive play on the boards by Jason Maxiell, the Pistons would have lost this game.

Cleveland has to feel very positive after this performance. Ilgauskas was strong inside as was backup big man Anderson Vareajao, who also gave the Pistons problems with his energy and activity last year during the seven-game series won by Detroit. James only got 10 points and Cleveland was still in the game. Sasha Pavlovic struggled from the field and Larry Hughes was quiet in the second half, but both players proved aggressive and not intimidated of the Pistons.

While I think the Pistons will win this series in six games, they never learn their lesson. Detroit players think they can turn it on when they want and still come out victorious. They echo a stuck record playing M.C. Hammer’s terrible song from “The Addams Family” movie: “They do what they want to do, say what they want to say, live how they want to live, play how they want to play, dance how they want to dance, and kick and a slap their friends.”

The Pistons attitude is going to get them in trouble this series, which may go seven if they play like Game One. Detroit is not playing Chicago, a team that does not have a go-to scorer and dominant player like James. While the Pistons like the grinder games, so do the Cavs and James, who can get to the lane anytime he wants and draw foul calls. Cleveland can also dump the ball down to Big Z, who could be on his way towards a methodically effective series.

Just last year, Detroit almost blew a 2-0 lead against the Cavs, who won three straight before dropping a tight Game Six and then falling apart in Game Seven. A year before, the Pistons had to win a Game Seven in Miami and then fell 2-0 in the NBA Finals against the Spurs before rallying and then losing in Game Seven. While winning the title in 2004, the Pistons overcame a 3-2 deficit against the New Jersey Nets in the second round.

While Detroit started the playoffs as if they had captured that magic 2004 form which ran off the Lakers in the NBA Finals, the Pistons are walking a slippery slope. While they are going to get past Cleveland, they will not beat the streaking Spurs with such inconsistency and peaks and valleys.