Series Overview

Max

The Pistons have the experience, the savvy in closing out close games and the mental toughness to win on the road.

The Bulls have youth, hunger, a pesky defensive scheme and three rising stars in Luol Deng, Kirk Heinrich and Ben Gordon. Add in bit players Nocioni, Sefolosha and Chris Duhon with the experience of Ben Wallace and PJ Brown. One has to wonder will this be enough to dethrone the Pistons.

My guess is no. At least not this season. Pistons have been playing the best ball all season and are injury free. Its hard to guard all 5 players and when you get some bench guys hot like Dyess, Delfino and Murray the Pistons are almost impossible to beat.

The key to this series is getting off to a strong start in Game #1. Put some pressure on the Bulls, put then behind the 8-ball and see how they respond. They have not been past the 1st round since #23 wore a uniform. They had the luxury in the Miami series of always being in control and were able to win 2 playoff road games. They had lost all their road games to Miami last post-season.

Could be a tough series for the Pistons but as long as they take care of business at home I don't see this thing extending past 5.

Pistons in 5.

Series Winner: Detroit


TaShawn

Man, I just don't know. I wouldn't bet any serious money on it. When you really analyze the numbers, you realize that the only differences between these teams is that the Bulls don't allow quite as many offensive rebounds as the Pistons do, but the Bulls give it back by turning the ball over. They get 3 points per game from the offensive board differential and they give us 3 back with the turnover differential.

Both of these will get worse I believe. They have the ability to dominate us on the glass and we have the ability to pressure the heck out of them on the perimeter. I can see it going either way.

That means that this is a coaches paradise. The better coach has to come up with a game plan to change the dynamics.

My official prediction is that the Pistons rise to the occasion. I'm 51% certain they will.

Series Winner: Detroit


Jammertime

Gordon, Hinrich and Deng each had a good game against us this season, taking turns being the top scorer for their team. Nocioni is a force to be reckoned with off the bench and Tyrus Thomas might be the X-Factor in this series. He played very well against us in the regular season.

This is a young, energetic, tough and confident team. This will be a heck of a series. The Bulls are a lot like the Pistons. This is going to be a tough series. It's Pistons vs. Pistons Jr.

This series could go either way. It might come down to shooting percentage. Which team's streaky shooting will hold out the longest? If Chicago comes out of the gates shooting the lights out, their confidence will continue to grow.

In the end, I'm taking Detroit's experience in 7 games.

Series Winner: Detroit


Dlev59

Great rivalry, great sports cities, great storyline. The Baby Bulls VS Detroit Pistons. The Pistons must control the boards and the tempo to win this series. Billups must be the PG we all expect him to be, getting everyone involved and picking his spots on when to take over. The bench must contribute as they have been doing, Dyess will be huge off the bench and I believe Flip Jr. and Dale Davis will be called upon also.

Chicago will be running their inside out offense relying on their jumpshooting to carry them. If the jumpers aren’t falling, look for them to start attacking, perhaps, attempting to do both at the same time. The Bulls outrebounded Detroit by a huge margin during the season and you better believe they will be attacking the glass. (See Above).

Deng and Nocioni must be limited. Detroit’s bigs will have to come up BIG, and I think they will!!!!

Detroit in five, six at the most!!!!

Series Winner: Detroit


Linwood

This will be a hard fought series for both teams. I expect both of these jumpshooting teams to go through some serious scoring droughts when faced with formidable defense. Winner of this series should play in the Finals.

I give the advantage to experience. Pistons in 7.

Series Winner: Detroit


Cloudwalker

The team that takes care of the ball and executes their offensive gameplan best will be in the drivers seat here.

That being said, both teams goals will be to disrupt the others rhythm from a defensive standpoint. So, where is the focus? Offense or Defense?

Combination of both gets my vote.

Both teams rely on numerous screens and crisp ball movement to cause switches, mismatches, and late rotations to shooters with the end result being less contested shots.

Both teams utilize switching, trapping, and zone principles to disrupt what the opposing team is trying to accomplish offensively.

Ultimately, this is going to come down to force of will. The Pistons have it. Ben Wallace has it. The question is whether or not the Bulls have taken the pebble from Big Ben's hand.

I don't think it is their time just yet.

Pistons in a hard fought 6.

Series Winner: Detroit


Dumars4Ever

Lots of interesting match-ups in this series, plus all the drama and intrigue of Big Ben vs. his old running mates. The Bulls were great against Miami, so I think we'll be getting their best shot as well. Turnovers were a problem for the Bulls in the regular season, but they've been hard to figure in the playoffs: 21 in Game 3 in Miami, but only 5 in Game 4. I think the Pistons will be able to force a decent number of them from the Bulls, although the rebounding (where Miami got killed) might be an edge for Chicago. Still, all of our veteran experience and composure will count for something in the end. With a tip of the cap to the Bulls' maturation and terrific play against the Heat, I've got this one going the full 7 games, with the decisive game going to...

DEEEEEEE-TROIT BAS-KET-BAAAAAAL!

Series Winner: Detroit


BillLaimbeer

I honestly have no idea how this series will turn out. My mind says that the Bulls youth and athleticism will cause problems for the Pistons. My heart says the Pistons will step up to the challenge and tell the Bulls that it isn't their time quite yet.

Series Winner: Undecided


Himat

Pistons in 6. The Bulls will have their wins. Kirk and Gordon will have explosion games against the all star Piston backcourt. At some point Deng and Ben will out duel Tay and Webber. The Bulls bench will also outperform the Piston bench some games as well. In the end I think the Pistons poise will be too much for the Bulls. Ben can only teach them so much.

Series Winner: Detroit


Dba

And then I had to do this silly player comparison and it doesn't look quite as good. But, the Heat were old and weak, didn't show up most of the time and quit about two thirds of the way through. It could have been much different.

The Pistons match up much better with the Bulls than the Heat did. They can cover the Bulls guards and keep Deng from going too far off, and if you do that, there's nothing left.

Only one game ends up closer than ten points. The Pistons have to remain focused after their first loss, which will come. If they lose two in a row, it might be over.
Series Winner: Detroit


The Low

I expect this series to be really hard fought and emotional with the occasional pushing and shoving match. I don't expect any shenanigans to the tune of the brawl, but I gather this will be a testy series. If there are to be any blowouts they will most likely be repaid by the other team in the next game. I wouldn't be surprised if these games were all decided by 5 or more pts. These teams seem to thrive when they have it going so I don't see there being any last second finishes unless one team gives up a big lead late in the game.

Regardless of who wins, I don't think any win will be easy for the 1st 3 quarters with the winner pulling away for an 8-10 pt win with 4-5 min. left in regulation.
I want to say this series will go 7 games, however I think either team could win this series in 6 with all six games being dogfights (again with the winner pulling away in the waning minutes of the fourth. I may get a rebuke from the editor for this, but I can't call this match up. I think the series goes 6 games (7 is too much for as physical and hard fought as this series will be). I honestly believe a series can be fought tooth and nail and still not go 7 games. That's what I see for this series. Lots of blood and tears, but one team will get the upper hand and win it before the series goes the distance.

Series Winner: Undecided


Mercury

When we take a closer look under the hood at the key matchups between the Chicago (don’t call me baby) Bulls and today’s Detroit ( Zzzz is it playoff time yet?) Pistons, we instantly notice completely contrasting styles.

The Bulls rely on pure athleticism and perimeter shooting… they thrive on intense defense and creating a transition game from pressure defense (sound familiar to past Detroit teams?)… whereas the Pistons still amongst the top defensive teams rely on “situation intelligence” and gimmick defenses along with discipline of getting back on time..

The Pistons don’t win the rebound wars in the current post Ben days… particularly against the up-and-coming Bulls… Chicago can get to spots on the floor quicker than Detroit.

Individual matchups are less of a factor in this series as both teams rely on motion and several picks which leads to switching… players are often covering their help responsibilities instead of their own man.

For team tendencies you may review the How to beat the Bulls in the playoffs thread.

This is a matchup of a team that excels at creating turnovers (Bulls) vs. a team the protects the ball…. Both teams are perimeter oriented.

Very few secrets. It looks to be a long series.

Series Winner: Undecided

I am calling out Laimbs, Low, and Mercury for NOT HAVING THE ONIONS to pick a winner in this series! Guys, if you ain't picking the Pistons, you're picking the Bulls. None of this undecided crap. And Low with his "someone's gonna win in 6, just don't ask me who"...

This series, if the coaching was equal, would be totally in favor of Detroit. However, Skiles is the better coach, so Chicago will win at least one game, and very possibly more. I will assume that Flip Saunders will adjust enough, even if painfully slowly, to win the series given his vastly better squad.

I see a lot of people look at Flip Murray as an important part of this series. I agree. The more he plays, the worse the Pistons will do. At least one person mentioned Flip's poor man D, but his defensive rotation is horrid, Coach Skiles knows it, and whenever Flip Murray is on the floor Chicago will be running plays to burn Flip Murray. The more swithes you force, the more times Murray will fail to defend the right guy.

Then you have Hunter. Another player who the more he plays, the more it will hurt us. At his best, Hunter is a defensive specialist. If overused, you see his worst. Bad offense, not enough energy on defense.

Unfortunately, since Flip Saunders has chosen to go with either Flip Murray or Hunter at backup point this season, we are going to do very poorly any time Billups tries to take a rest. (Or if he suffers any injury or foul trouble.) We can adjust if we have too, but again, it may be slow and painful.

Webber may be a defensive liability. We could lose games if Chicago gets inside too much. But we have guys like JMAX and Dale Davis who can close down the middle. Will Flip adjust if there is a problem, or will he bury his head in the sand and pretend the problem is not there.

Now the good news. Like I said earlier, we have the players. We win the matchups. Lets start with Billups. If healthy, and we have about every reason to believe Billups will be healthy with all the rest he has been getting this past week (or at least rest from going 100% game conditions where injuries are prone to get aggravated) he is going to out muscle Hinrich. Forget any notion about who is the better defender, better anything. Look at the exact matchup here. Billups will get what he wants over and around and thru Hinrich while Hinrich is going to have a heck of a time running the point against Billups, let alone score much.

Next you got Rip vs. Gordon. Another case where the Pistons win the exact matchup completely. Sure, both these guys can shoot. But Rip is several inches taller than Gordon. Rip is just as quick or quicker too. Gordon is not going to score much on Rip, while Rip is not going to be slowed down any at all by Gordon.

Moving on to Tay. Deng might be able to get inside on Tay a bit, but the best part of his game, those midrangers he likes, will be shut down pretty much by Tay. And Tay on the other hand has his whole game going on offense. Tay will score right over Deng around the basket, while torching him from the outside as well.

Next you got Sheed vs. Nocioni. I would say PJ Brown here, but PJ is apt to only play sparse minutes in this series. There is just no way PJ Brown can stay on the floor much with Ben Wallace in this series. Chicago is going to be desperate to find offense, so expect Nocioni almost all the time. Here is the problem for Chicago: Sheed can go inside and score on Nocioni all day, and shoot triples on him whever he feels like it. With Sheed having a long term ankle / knee problem going on, Nocioni may be able to get away from Sheed here and there, and Nocioni has improved his outside shooting this year. However, I believe if Chicago is reduced to Nocioni have to get away from Sheed and shoot jumpers all game long, then the Pistons will win this in a cakewalk. Nocioni is good, but not that good.

Next you got Webber vs. Ben Wallace. Ben wins this one. Ben can do a pretty good job of shutting down the lane to the basket on us while Webber might turn out to be such a liability that we can't play him much. However, I will not count Webber out here. He is long over that flu, another season removed from his surgery, and just might surprise us. In any case, we don't have to worry. We have bench players who can come in and do the job. Either Webber is causing enough havoc on the offensive end to make up for his slowness in getting over to cover the lane, or he simply will not play.

As far as the bench, I will not get into that here much. We have a great bench, if our coach uses the right players from that bench. We will just have to see how it goes.

Sorry man, but, I'd be lying to you if I told you I felt 100% in one direction or the other. Now, do you really want me to lie to you, sir?

As far as what Detroit does well and Chicago doesn't and vice versa, this is as about as much of a toss up as you can get on paper. This is one of the very few times where I fee like I have to see how these teams kick each other before I get a sense of who will end up with the upper hand.

Sometimes even the experts pick pushes. It happends. For me its all going to be about what happends on Sat night. If the Pistons can come out strong and win that game that will really put pressure on the Bulls. Something they are not used to dealing with. Its already in the heads that the Pistons are the toughest match they will face so the Pistons must put them behind the 8-ball a bit.

The Pistons in 5, look for the Pistons to set the tone very early in game 1, even to the point where they may have a double digit lead.

The Bulls are young and will panic (that's what babies do), they may even adjust their game/lineup which will be fatal (ask Avery Johnson).

THIS AIN'T THE REGULAR SEASON FOLKS. It's all new. The Pistons will not play regular season ball. They have been preparing for this all season long.

Why will the Pistons win: (Since everyone covered the X's & O's, let me cover some of the intangibles:

1. Experience
2. Weak side help
3. Experience
4. If they get pass Tayshaun/Rasheed is inside waiting
5. Poise
6. Ability to defend the post and perimeter shooters
7. Experience
8. #1 in the league in lack of turnovers
9. Their ability to win on the road (better road record than at home)
10. Experience
11. Hunger

This one may be over sooner than you think.

We can't afford to lose one of the first two at home. Losing HC would hurt and give the Bulls a lot of confidence.

All that BS we endured about saving it for the playoffs. This is it. As good as they have been playing, the Pistons have an extra notch of focus and intensity. Get in it. When your opponent takes away your initiative, you take it back. The Bulls are dangerous because of their athleticism but ours is a better team.

I'm not 100% either, but what are you afraid of? Accountability? Even TaShawn buckled down and made a pick, though he admitted it was only 51%. Pick or get off the pot, gentlemen! (OK, not the same pot...)

I can predict 99% of sporting events based on review of data.
(not that I'm right even half the time)
With this series, I'm like The Low, except I'm going with the Pistons in 6, based on my gut reaction.............It really could go either way........