Patrick's blog

Worried, Pistons fans?

Indiana evened their Eastern Conference semifinal series with Detroit, winning 92-83 at the Palace on Wednesday.

The general consensus among my friends is that this will be a 5- or perhaps 6-game series. Well, I would worry about the Pistons winning at all above anything else.

First off, I am not a Pacers fan. I do not like Reggie Miller. I detest Stephen Jackson. I don't miss Ron Artest. I think Jermaine O'Neal is one hell of a player, though - a player that can really take his team a long way. And the players I mentioned besides O'Neal (excluding Artest, who is suspended for the season) are certainly strong contributors as well. Granted, Jeff Foster will likely never again in his life have a 14-point, 20-rebound performance as he did last night.

But the Pacers were very open about wanting to play Detroit. I believe that desire pushed them past Boston in the first round. And I also think the Pistons have holes - not that you can convince anyone around here of that. For one, the Pistons aren't deep at all. Antonio McDyess is playing well, but Lindsey Hunter is garbage. Hardly anyone else gets off the bench for meaningful minutes. In addition, Detroit can fall in love with the three-pointer. When they do, they can get into trouble. Meanwhile, Foster, Fred Jones, and Anthony Johnson are solid if unspectacular players. The Pistons enjoy a definite edge when it comes to the starters, so in the end I expect Detroit will pull through.

I wouldn't bet the mortgage on it, though.

posted by Patrick @ 9:18 AM