I originally posted this in the Afflalo is a superstar thread but it would be great to get some input on playoff matchups. Don't know about you all but I am pretty much done with the reg season and am waiting for the playoffs to start next month.

The way I see it we have 2 immediate concerns

1) How the Pistons matchup with Orlando
2) with Boston ( if we beat Orlando )

Going by the current standings here is what we are looking at.

1) Boston - Projected 66 wins with 14 games left
2) Detroit - Projected 59 wins with 14 games left
3) Orlando- Projected 53 wins with 12 games left
4) Clev - Projected 46 wins with 13 games left

Going by past standards it will have to be a pretty big upset for the 46 win team to beat the 66 win team in the 2nd round. However, its very much real for the 53 win team to beat the 59 win team in the 2nd round which is what we will be facing.

So with all things being equal, its not going to be a gimmie in the 2nd round this year. But that may actually help the team as they will have a chance to get better and get on a roll as they face the challenge from the south. Sure Orlando does not have much playoff experience but they do have some and their coach certainly does. Orlando is also just as good on the road as we are so home court does not glare out as a distinct advantage. However, adding Theo and getting him up to game speed is really going to help us in that series against Howard, Amir just does not have the bulk or experience to guard him. So in reality Theo getting most of Amir's mins could already be helping the cause.

IN the backcourt the Pistons have a slam dunk there no way can their puny PG's matchup with Billups and Stucky. What about the rest of the Magic? Turkoglu is kind of an x-factor and you never know what kind of a game Lewis will have.

Its going to be very interesting because they are not going to have much slack this year past the 1st round like they had before.

Also the top 2 teams ( Boston, Detroit ) probably will have homecourt in the Finals so they will be favored to win it all if they get there.

I'm still intrigued by the Cleveland - Boston matchup. I don't see a gimmie here and may pick Cleveland in my bracket. Pistons have a clear shot to the ECF........again.

Orlando is an interesting matchup, hinging a lot on Turkoglu. If he stays out of foul trouble, Sheed can at least control Howard, holding him to his averages. Lewis is a tough matchup for Dyess and Prince hasn't been a Turkoglu stopper. Max and Amir will be pretty important. And someone has to remember that Evans is motivated to play against the Pistons and can do some damage.

Still, Pistons 4-2.

Boston has pretty much had their way with Detroit in the head to heads. They played a strong game against Dallas last night, but then again, Dallas is looking really tentative, and not from Dirk. Kidd, Howard, & Terry are not playing well, and even though the big guys are, it's not enough. (Interestingly, zero minutes for Big Baby against Dallas.) If the Pistons and Celtics meet, it will be a classic series of grind it out games. Should be fun to watch.

I'm hoping that going into the playoffs not as the favorites will help Detroit.

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"But first, are you experienced? Or have you you ever been experienced? Well, I have."
Jimi

I'm not sure I agree with your premise there, about easy 2nd round matchups. Let's review the 2nd round series over the last four years:

2004: Pistons over NJ in 7. This turned out to be their toughest series of that title run, in the sense that they actually faced elimination, which didn't happen in any of the other playoff series that year.

2005: Pistons over Indy in 6. This was a tougher series than it should have been, as this Indy team wasn't particularly strong. But the Pistons made it awfully interesting by going down 2-1 and having to win Game 4 at Indy to avoid a 3-1 hole.

2006: Pistons over Cleveland in 7. A bad signal of things to come--no one thought this would be a tough series, and it probably shouldn't have been, but it sure was.

2007: Pistons over Chicago in 6. I think we all expected this to be a tough series, in fact, the toughest the Pistons would face in the East. So it was a surprise when the Pistons went ahead 3-0, but then disappointing that they got crushed in the next two games, and then it swung back to positive when they toughed out a gritty Game 6 win in Chicago to close it out.

So I don't think the Pistons have had much slack past the first round in recent years, although some of that (I think certainly the '05 and '06 second rounds) was self-inflicted via under-performing against teams they should have handled more easily.

Though perhaps that's really the point you're making, max: this Orlando team is good enough to force the Pistons to play at a high level to beat them over a 7-game series, without much room for slacking off. I do agree with that premise.

My concern is that the Pistons are all used up against the first and second round opponents, and then can't steal one of 2 games on the road in the ECF against a well rested Boston.

I don't like the Pistons in a 4 out of 5 matchup with the Celts.

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They are the archetype for dominance. They are the gatekeepers of the conference. They are the Detroit Pistons.

One also has to consider that the Magic have a chip on their shoulder from last year and have gotten almost 0 respect this year as a contender. Its all been Boston and Detroit. So they will be one peed off team there with something to prove.

Agree with all the above.

Turkoglu could be the x-factor if they beat us. Very unpredictable. Sheed can hold Howard if he can stay out of foul trouble. Thats going to be the thing there. Will Theo be able to hang with Howard?

Perhaps all of this talk is irrelevant because Lee has posted on several threads that the Pistons will lose in the first round.

I'm not at all sure a Boston / Cleveland matchup is a slam dunk for the Celts. A rested and motivated Wallace can really slow down Garnett, especially if he trusts the other bigs to rebound and is willing to follow him out onto the floor. LBJ can do everything Pierce can do and more of it. A healthy Gibson can hit threes right along with Allen. Vercingertorix and Big Baby? Got to go for mop-head. Z and Smith are better than Perkins.

Not sure how that series will go, but it will be long.

Have I ever told you how thoroughly I enjoy your posts?