Pistons have to find an answer for LeBron
AUBURN HILLS, Mich. (AP) — Richard Hamilton slipped into his white Bentley luxury sedan, decked out in Jordan Brand gear from head to flip flops, and chatted for a couple minutes in the Detroit Pistons parking lot.
Hamilton was asked Thursday if he thought the Pistons could beat Cleveland in Game 3.
“We ain’t got a choice,” Hamilton said.
Detroit’s streak of advancing to the Eastern Conference finals will essentially be over if it can’t figure out a way to beat LeBron James and the Cavaliers at home tonight.
Pistons coach Mike Curry sounds like he expects the series to shift back to Cleveland.
“I fully believe that we’re going to take care of home court and win,” Curry said. “We’ll be sitting in the exact position — 1-2 — going into Game 4 as it was last year.”
The problem with that reasoning is, Curry is referring to last year’s first-round series against the Philadelphia 76ers.
The top-seeded Cavs won the first two games of the first-round series by an average of 15 points and seem unstoppable.
Curry, though, said it’s too early to count out his team.
“I’m sure the obituary has been written for a while, but the date keeps having to be changed,” Curry said. “We will die eventually.”
The Pistons season will likely end soon because they have no answers for James and his improved surrounding cast, and because Chauncey Billups is now playing for the Denver Nuggets.
James has continued to surpass unprecedented hype with his all-around game, which now includes tough defense, and general manager Danny Ferry has vastly improved the rest of the team.
“He’s better and they’re better and they’re used to playing with him, seeing all types of coverages,” Curry said. “We have to do a good job on him and at some points of the game, we just have to be able to defend him one on one without that guy feeling like he’s on an island by himself.”