The Detroit Pistons' fall from grace in the post season is nearly complete as they have blown their 2-0 lead in their matchup with the Cleveland Cavaliers and now, tied 3-3 they have one last chance to advance to the semi-final against the Knicks.
The rest of the tournament is already set and we have only OKC vs San Antonio Spurs - who many people think is really the "final" as they are the two best teams remaining - and then whoever wins between the Cavs and the Pistons will face off against the Knicks.
Searching through the stories about this series thus far, as well as the one with Orlando, you will see so many things that the Pistons have done wrong and it is really quite amazing that they are still in this tournament because they have blown double-digit leads in a single game and have blown a 2 game lead in a series twice in a row. It just kind of makes you wonder how much longer they can go on before their luck runs out.
At the moment, and presumably until the starting horn, the Pistons are a 4.5 point favorite by Las Vegas lines but there are a lot of people out there that feel as though Detroit having home court advantage will play a part, but there are also people that feel as though the outcome of this game is going to be based largely on whether or not James Harden and Donovan Mitchell can limit turnovers and shoot greater than 40% from the field. As far as the stats are concerned if those two can achieve both of those things, victory is all but certain for the Cavs.
The Pistons are likely a better team to have playing against the Knicks because in their 3 meetups in the regular season, Detroit won all three games. The Pistons are also seen as being a better team defensively, which is necessary against the Knicks.
You can't really take past performance of the Pistons in the regular season and apply it to now though as they do seem to be screwing up on a regular basis and don't appear to have the cohesiveness that got them the number 1 seed in the first place.
Regardless of what happens starting around an hour from now I predict that no matter who wins the Knicks end up beating them in the next round and then OKC will sweep the Knicks in the final.
I stand by my previous statement by saying that the real NBA Championship is actually starting tomorrow when the San Antonio Spurs face off against the Oklahoma City Thunder. These are the two best teams in the NBA and whoever emerges from that - and all predictions point to OKC winning - is a massive favorite to win the entire thing.
Stuff gets crazy in the post season though. I don't think many people would have predicted the 3 seed Knicks making it to the finals, but that does appear to be what is going to happen.
I believe that the rest of the series will be decided in the next 2 days though. Can the Spurs contain the Thunder? Probably not. Can Detroit get their crap together and return to form? Almost certainly not but they do seem to play better when facing a do-or-die situation like this. My money is to bet against the spread, but I do think that the Pistons will eek out a win here.
Thoughts?