The Playoffs Are Here!

After winning the 2004 NBA Championship, the Detroit Pistons were poised to repeat the feat in 2005. They fell one game short, losing a tough seven-game title series to the San Antonio Spurs. Chauncey Billups, Richard Hamilton, Tayshaun Prince, Rasheed Wallace, and Ben Wallace went through the off-season wondering what could have been. They came back in 2006 and played like men possessed, compiling the best regular season record in the league. They were red hot for most of that season and almost everyone had them penciled in as the 2006 NBA Champs. Well, that title went to the Miami Heat who dethroned the Pistons as Eastern Conference Champions.

Now, the 2007 playoffs are here. Once again, the Pistons have something to prove. The team felt it should have repeated in '05, and should have rebounded in '06. What result will the '07 run produce? That's entirely up to the players.

The circumstances are a bit different. Ben Wallace defected to the conference rival Chicago Bulls after last season. Chris Webber now occupies Wallace's spot in the lineup. Also, while the Pistons compiled the best regular season record in the Eastern Conference, securing home court advantage throughout the playoffs, they did not finish with the best record in the league. That would be the Dallas Mavericks. If Detroit is to win its second NBA crown in four seasons and fourth overall, the players MUST show up each night ready to play, at full throttle, for 48 minutes, no exceptions. They cannot afford to take any team for granted, beginning with the eighth seeded Orlando Magic. The Magic enter the playoffs with the worst record of any 2007 playoff team, but that means nothing. If the Pistons really want this title, the quest begins with a beat down of the Magic.

As I watched Saturday's Game One, I saw signs the Piston players know and understand what has to be done. Then, late in the game, I saw signs of Detroit's dreaded "let ups," making inopportune mistakes and allowing Orlando to cut a 14-point lead down to three points in the final minutes, before going on to an eight-point victory.

I know, a win is a win. But Orlando is the worst team in the playoffs. So, if the best team in the conference can't beat down the worst team and keep them down, what will happen as the opposition gets tougher? I don't expect a sweep, but Detroit needs to win this opening series 4-1. Otherwise, I sense danger ahead.

Oh, Good Evening!