Sunday, May 20, 2007
DETROIT (53-29, 8-2)
vs. No. 2 CLEVELAND (50-32, 8-2)
Season series: Pistons, 3-1, by limiting the Cavaliers to 83 points per game. Cleveland’s only victory came in overtime on March 7 when LeBron James scored a season-high 41 points in the Cavs’ first win in Detroit in more than three years. Every Pistons starter averaged in double figures against Cleveland, while James scored 27 points per game.
Storyline: Back in the conference finals for the first time since 1992, Cleveland runs into a Detroit team that is here for the fifth year in a row. The Central Division rivals met in the second round last year, with the Pistons winning the final two games to take the series in seven.
Key Matchup I: Tayshaun Prince vs. James. Prince did a good job on Chicago’s Luol Deng in the conference semifinals after Deng had torched Miami in the first round, but he couldn’t slow James much in last year’s series. New Jersey had some success when it turned James into a passer, but he might need to score big numbers in this round. Prince, who shot 52 percent and averaged 13 points this season against Cleveland, will try to make him work on the other end.
Key Matchup II: Antonio McDyess vs. Anderson Varejao. McDyess shot 65 percent and averaged 12 points in only 23 minutes per game against the Cavs. Varejao, also a reserve power forward, frustrated the Pistons in the series last year with his energy and toughness on the boards. Cleveland doesn’t shoot a great percentage, but he can help them overcome that by hustling after loose balls to create extra possessions.
X-Factor: 3-point shooting. Detroit shot 25 percent from behind the arc against Cleveland, but the Cavs were even worse (10-for-52, 19 percent). Both teams play tough defense in the paint, and the best way to loosen them up is by hitting from the perimeter — if either team can. Rasheed Wallace (2-for-15) and Chauncey Billups (5-for-17) must do better, and the Cavs probably can’t live with Larry Hughes (1-for-11) and Donyell Marshall (2-for-11) struggling the way they did in the regular season.
Associated Press