Pistons will be different team in today's final

History is on Detroit's side, but Cavs guard Damon Jones said that history could be rewritten.
AUBURN HILLS, Mich. (AP) -- This is why Detroit wanted home court advantage.
The Pistons were determined to get it after falling just short of repeating as champions last year in Game 7 at San Antonio.
And they did, winning a franchise-record 64 games -- 10 more than they had in each of the previous two years under Larry Brown. That ensured the team would play in familiar surroundings in any Game 7s this postseason after playing in two on the road last year.
Like the Pistons, many fans at The Palace were nonchalant at times in Game 5, when the Cleveland Cavaliers took a stunning 3-2 lead Wednesday in their second round series.
The stakes
It's a safe bet the Pistons and 22,000 fans will take the Cavs seriously today with a spot in the Eastern Conference finals at stake.
"The Palace is going to be bananas," said Detroit forward Rasheed Wallace. "We're going to tear the roof off the joint."
The Pistons know it's possible to win a Game 7 on the road because they did it last year at Miami in their third straight Eastern Conference final. They know history is on their side in the decisive game. Home teams are 76-17 at home in Game 7s, an 81.7 percent success rate.
"You know what, I don't listen to history because history is always rewritten," Cavs guard Damon Jones said Saturday.
Experience is expected to give Detroit an edge, too.
The Pistons' top seven players were in a pair of Game 7s last year. Their starting lineup also played in a Game 7 two years ago -- when Detroit lost three straight to New Jersey and fell behind 3-2, as it did to the Cavs. And four starters are still around from the first-round series in 2003, when the Pistons overcame a 3-1 deficit to Orlando.
Cleveland's experience
Cleveland, on the other hand, has just four players with Game 7 experience: Jones, Eric Snow, Drew Gooden and Alan Henderson.
Jones played for the Heat last year when they were one of the trend-bucking teams to lose a Game 7 on their home court, and Gooden was with the Magic when they collapsed against the Rick Carlisle-coached Pistons.
While Detroit appears to have a lot in its favor heading into the game, it doesn't have LeBron James.
The 21-year-old has been nothing short of spectacular in his first postseason. Even though James hasn't been in a Game 7, he doesn't plan to start leaning on veteran teammates for advice.
"I haven't been in Game 1s or Game 2s or Game 3s or 4s or 5s or 6s until this year -- and I think I've handled myself the right way," he said.
James made two game-winning shots in the first round against Washington, leading the Cavs to the second round for the first time since 1993. He is averaging 31.1 points in the playoffs. Against Detroit, he has averaged 26.5 points, 8.7 rebounds, 6.7 assists and 1.5 steals per game.
A concern
Proving he's human, James is turning the ball over more than five times a game and has been spotty at times defensively.
When the 6-foot-8, 240-pound James has the ball, the Pistons know they must at least slow him down, but one of the league's best defensive teams hasn't been able to do that much. The Pistons have often looked helpless as James has attacked the basket for a breathtaking move -- like the time he split four Pistons through the lane for a dunk in Game 6.
Cleveland expects to have shooting guard Larry Hughes on the court for the first time since Game 2. Hughes rejoined the Cavs for Game 6, three days after his 20-year-old brother's funeral, but he didn't play.