Sport-Blog.com

By Ed Jennett


It may have taken them longer than they would have liked, and longer than they expected, but the Detroit Pistons finally held up their end. After falling behind 3-2 and needing the full seven games to eliminate the Cleveland Cavaliers, the Pistons are back in the Eastern Conference Finals. Detroit needs to make the most of this opportunity, as their hard fought victory was just a temporary delay in the ascent of the Cavaliers and, more specifically, their superstar SF LeBron James. King James nearly led the Cavaliers to a huge upset in his first postseason appearance. The next time these teams face one another in the playoffs the result may be different and it will not be viewed as an upset. It will be viewed as the inevitable having happened.

This year however, it is the Pistons moving on to the next round. Detroit faces their Eastern Conference Finals opponents from a year ago, the Miami Heat. After losing Game 1 of their second round series against the New Jersey Nets at home, Miami won four straight to send the Nets sulking back to the swamps of New Jersey. The convincing victory was shocking, as most experts believed that the Nets had vastly improved from a year ago when they were swept out of the playoffs in the first round by Miami. Improved or not, the Nets were like the majority of the teams in the NBA, they had no answer for the dynamic duo of the Heat, C Shaquille O'Neal and SG Dwayne Wade.

Detroit had an answer for the two superstars last year. The stifling defense of the Pistons carried them to a thrilling seven game victory over. That past success does not guarantee success this postseason though. One key factor in that series was Wade missing Game 6 due to injury and then being ineffective in his Game 7 return. Miami is healthy and well-rested heading into this series.

Detroit is still very good defensively, but they are not the same team that they were a year ago. The mastermind of the defense that defeated Superman and The Flash was then-Head Coach Larry Brown, who forced the Pistons to fire him last offseason so he could take a higher paying job with his hometown team the New York Knicks.

Brown was replaced by longtime former Minnesota Head Coach Flip Saunders, who is considered to be an offensive genius. The Pistons were a better club during the regular season, but regular season success is not what the club is seeking. The team from Motown is seeking its second championship in three seasons, but Saunders has not had much success in the postseason. He only guided Minnesota out of the first round once, during the 2004 playoffs where they lost to O'Neal and the Los Angeles Lakers in the Western Conference Finals. The Lakers then lost to the Brown-led Pistons in the NBA Finals.

The Miami Heat has had a coaching change as well. Head Coach Stan Van Gundy supposedly resigned earlier this season so he could spend more time with his family. It is believed that he was actually forced out by his replacement, Heat President Pat Riley. Van Gundy was clearly out coached by Brown in the Finals last year and that had to have been a factor in the decision for Riley to return to the bench as Head Coach. Postseason success has followed Riley wherever he has gone as a coach. Riley led the Lakers to four championships, led the Knicks to the Eastern Conference Finals and NBA Finals in consecutive years, and led Miami to the Eastern Conference Finals in 1997.

Another difference in this version of the Detroit-Miami Finals is home court advantage. Last year the Heat had it, this year the Pistons have it. Home court advantage may not matter with these teams however, as Detroit won Game 7 in Miami a year ago. In fact, if the Pistons are not careful, having the home court advantage could turn into a disadvantage for them. Before Game 7 against the Cavaliers, Saunders and many of the Detroit players seemed overconfident and appeared to believe that just having the home court advantage would be enough to get them past Cleveland.

Fortunately for Detroit, the only player who did not seem to buy into this misguided philosophy was C Ben Wallace. The All-Star center and four-time Defensive Player of the Year will be the primary defender on O’Neal, so he will have to be prepared to play at his best in every game regardless of the location.

Despite the defensive prowess of Wallace, the main reason Detroit has had success against O'Neal this past two postseasons is because of the team defense that they played. While Wallace was the main defender of O'Neal, other Pistons also guarded him. Detroit also double-teamed O'Neal very well. This defense was drawn up by Brown though.

The x-factor of this series will not be a player, a building, or a city. It will be an intangible. That intangible is luck. Although the Pistons have clearly been a great team these past few seasons, they have also clearly been an incredibly lucky one. While having the best starting five (C Ben Wallace, PF Rasheed Wallace, SF Tayshaun Prince, SG Richard Hamilton, and PG Chauncey Billups) in basketball is not lucky, always having them available is. Pistons GM Joe Dumars is responsible for bringing all five players to Detroit, but the squad has been lucky that they have been so remarkably healthy, especially since the Detroit bench is shockingly weak. Luck, and health, definitely were important factors last year, because if Wade had been healthy it would have been much more difficult for the Pistons to have won Games 6 and 7.

Luck was also on the side of the Pistons when they faced the Lakers in the 2004 NBA Finals. While the Pistons were the picture of harmony, the feud between Lakers superstars O'Neal and SG Kobe Bryant was at its worst. The two were also not getting along with Head Coach Phil Jackson. Los Angeles was falling apart and both O'Neal and Jackson left the team that offseason. The lucky and opportunistic Pistons easily defeated the Lakers in five games to win the NBA Championship.

No one is always lucky, and luck may have finally run out for Detroit. Riley, O'Neal, and Wade all get along with one another. O'Neal and Wade are healthy and well-rested due to quickly dispatching the Nets. The Pistons should not expect luck to be a factor in the Eastern Conference Finals this year. What they should expect is the same result as last year, the road team winning Game 7 and advancing to the NBA Finals.

Prediction: Miami (2) over Detroit (1) in 7 games