The Cleveland Cavaliers vs. The Detroit Pistons
The Cavs and Pistons start their re-match from their stellar 7-game series in the playoffs of last season. This time it’s for the chance to play in the NBA Finals. It will be time to see if LeBron James can topple the Pistons like Michael Jordan did after taking his lumps for a while against them. Or will the Pistons rise up and beat the Cavs down? We will see beginning tonight and here’s a look at the matchups in this series:
POINT GUARD: Chauncey Billups is a big-time player and he’s the guy the Cavs need to stop if they want to win this series. That is easier said than done. Billups has averaged 20.5 points, 3.0 rebounds, 7.0 assists and 1.4 steals per game so far in the playoffs. What makes him especially dangerous is his three-point shooting and that could be a problem against the Cavs as they tend to double the basketball and leave guys on the outside wide open. Larry Hughes is not a legit point guard, but he is a great defensive player who will be all over Billups and he has the size to give Billups problems. Hughes has averaged 15.9 points, 4.9 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 1.7 steals per game in the playoffs. He will need to improve his shooting as he’s only hit 36.5% of his shots from the floor. EDGE: PISTONS
SHOOTING GUARD: Richard Hamilton is a good offensive player even though he wouldn’t have any courage to drive to the basket without his little plastic mask. The NBA shouldn’t allow him to wear it because he’s not injured. Still, Hamilton is having success in the playoffs as he’s averaging 18.3 points, 4.6 rebounds and 3.8 assists. Sasha Pavlovic could cause problems for Hamilton on defense as he’s a much bigger player than Hamilton is and he’s very physical and often reckless in his play. Pavlovic has averaged 8.9 points, 2.4 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.1 steals per game in the playoffs. He needs to improve his shooting as he’s only hitting 38.2% from the floor in the playoffs. EDGE: PISTONS
SMALL FORWARD: This is the series where either LeBron James or Tayshaun Prince will emerge as “THE MAN”. This is a classic battle of offense vs. defense. LeBron James is virtually unstoppable with the ball in his hands. Look for him to be a little more selfish with the basketball in his hands as he knows this is his moment in the bright spotlight. He has averaged 25.9 points, 7.8 rebounds, 8.1 assists and 1.4 steals per game in the playoffs. Tayshaun Prince’s biggest job will be to try to slow down King James. Still, if Prince can make James work on defense that would help him on the other end of the court as it will tire James a little bit. Prince has averaged 17.3 points, 6.6 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 1.0 steal per game in the playoffs so far. EDGE: CAVALIERS
POWER FORWARD: This will be a physical matchup in the paint and a little beyond. Rasheed Wallace has been pretty good in the playoffs so far and the Pistons will need for that to continue if the they are to beat the Cavs. Wallace has averaged 14.5 points, 8.0 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 1.2 blocks per game in the playoffs so far. Drew Gooden is the classic power forward as he is a good rebounder whose game is usually around the basket. Gooden has averaged 12.2 points, 9.7 rebounds and 1.5 assists per game so far in the playoffs. EDGE: EVEN
CENTER: This is an area where the Cavs have a tremendous advantage over the Pistons. Zydrunas Ilgauskas is a classic center as he’s big and good around the basket. Chris Webber is a power forward trying to play center and it hasn’t worked too well in the playoffs so far in the playoffs. The Cavs need to feed the big man in this series as the Pistons have no one that can stop him. Big Z has averaged 14.3 points and 9.8 rebounds per game so far in the playoffs. Chris Webber has not played well and the Pistons will need him to step up or they could be done for the season. Webber has averaged 8.9 points, 6.6 rebounds and 1.5 assists per game so far in the playoffs. EDGE: HUGE FOR CAVALIERS
BENCH: The Cavs have been riding their starters most of the way so far in the playoffs. Still, Anderson “Wild Thing” Varejao is an outstanding player off of the bench for them. He brings high energy and can handle either center or power forward when Gooden or Z need a break. Varejao is averaging 4.4 points and 6.0 rebounds per game so far in the playoffs in 19.6 minutes per game. Eric Snow was the starting point guard for the Cavs early in the season, but he’s done a good job of running the team when Larry Hughes needs a break. He’s averaged 2.5 points, 2.1 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game so far in the playoffs. Rookie Daniel Gibson gives the Cavs a spark whenever they bring him in the game because he plays all-out all the time and it rubs off on his teammates. Gibson has averaged 11.4 minutes per game and 4.1 points. Donyell Marshall will likely get to play a lot more in this series than he has in the first couple because the Cavs will need all hands on the deck if they are to beat the Pistons. Marshall has only played in 9 of the Cavs playoff games and he’s averaged only 3.8 points and 2.0 rebounds in 6.9 minutes per game.
The Pistons don’t use their bench much except for Antonio McDyess. McDyess splits time with Chris Webber at center, but he’s also playing out of position as he’s a power forward. McDyess has averaged 5.8 points, 8.4 rebounds, 1.1 assists and 1.0 steal per game so far in the playoffs. Carlos Delfino is the only other Pistons player that has played in every game. He’s only averaged 10.0 minutes, 2.9 points and 1.6 rebounds per game in the playoffs. Jason Maxiell is a good player, but the Pistons never let him play. In 8 playoff games, Maxiell is averaging 3.5 points and 2.4 rebounds per game. “Flip” Murray (2.0 pts, 1.0 assist) and Lindsay Hunter (1.5 points, 1.4 assists) have both been very cold shooting as they are a combined 10 for 40 (25%) from the floor. EDGE: EVEN
PREDICTION: This is the Cavaliers time as they are younger and hungrier than the Pistons are. I like the Cavs in either 6 or 7 games.