With the Pistons now mathematically locked in to the #2 spot in the East (which had been effectively decided for several weeks now), I decided to take a look at the standings and figure out exactly what they need to do to clinch home court advantage in the finals, in the event of getting past Boston in the ECF. The Pistons are one game ahead of New Orleans, which is currently #1 in the West. Detroit is 2 1/2 games ahead of both San Antonio and the Lakers, but the key there is that they're 3 ahead of both teams in the loss column (i.e. 3 fewer losses). What I think it comes down to is this: the Pistons should be able to clinch HCA in the finals by going 4-2 in their last 6 games.

First off, if they finish 4-2 down the stretch, they will have clinched home court over both L.A. and San Antonio; neither of those teams can catch the Pistons unless Detroit finishes no better than 3-3. The key point vis-a-vis New Orleans is that the Pistons swept them during the season, which is the first tie-breaker for HCA. This means that the Hornets need to make up two games in the standings in the last 6 games to get HCA over Detroit.

So if the Pistons go at least 5-1 in their last 6 games, they'll clinch HCA in the finals no matter what; they'd get HCA over New Orleans even if the Hornets finished 6-0. But given New Orleans' schedule down the stretch, I don't think they're going to finish 6-0. They play home against Utah, at Minnesota, at the Lakers, at Sacramento, home against the Clippers, and at Dallas. That's 2 at home and 4 on the road, with 1 home game against another playoff team and 2 on the road against playoff teams. Given how closely everyone is still bunched in the West, those games with two playoff teams facing each other are likely to be important all the way through the last day of the season.

The upshot is that is I think 5-1 down the stretch is the best-case scenario for New Orleans, which means that the Pistons will probably be able to clinch HCA in the finals just by going 4-2. With only 2 games left on the road for the Pistons, that seems eminently doable.