\jeff{krimmel}

Don’t Count The Pistons Out

I watched almost all of the Heat-Pistons game on Monday, and I just have to say that it sounds like a lot of people are counting the Pistons out before it’s all said and done. I’m definitely rooting for the Heat in this series, mostly because I’m getting tired of how arrogant the Pistons are and I think Dwyane Wade is a good guy. (And yes, it’s “Dwyane Wade” and not “Dwayne Wade”, as I just found out the other day.)

When the Cavaliers were up on the Pistons three games to two in the second round, I still had absolutely no confidence the Cavs were going to win that series. They just didn’t have the look of a team that could beat Detroit if the Pistons finally decided to turn it on. That’s where the Cavs and the Heat differ. Even if Detroit turns it on, I think the Heat are still capable of beating the Pistons. But…

The Pistons shot horribly in game four on Monday. They missed a couple of potential daggers from three point land late in the third quarter, and the referees were all over them from beginning to end. Now, most of the fouls were indeed fouls, but I can’t imagine all the remaining games will be called as tightly as game four was. And I can’t imagine the Heat burying a championship-caliber Pistons team in Detriot. I’d be more than a little surprised if the Pistons lose game five tonight.

If the Pistons win tonight, they go back to Miami for game six. That’s pretty much the series. If the Heat can win at home, they’ll get the series. The Cavs were in a similar predicament. If they could have protected their home court for game six, they would have won the series. I just don’t see a road team winning a seventh game in Detriot. If the Pistons win tonight (which I expect they will), and they win in Miami on Friday night (which is a realistic possibility), they will be your Eastern Conference representative in the NBA Finals.

All I’m saying is that a lot of people are leaving the Pistons for dead at this point, and I really don’t feel comfortable doing that until their fourth loss of the series is in the books.