Consider the Switch Turned On

Tonight in Philly, the Pistons slept through another half before showing up, but since they were only down 10 from the first, it didn't hurt them.

The critical play was a Sheed technical late in the first after a successful Reggie Evans flop. Wallace looked close to being tossed, but as usually happens with Sheed, he used the T to come back with better play, including a trio of triples in the third, when the Pistons swung the game with a 19-point bulge.

All the credit will go to Sheed, but Chauncey Billups deserves more, as he got the better of his battle with Andre Miller.

For the Sixers, it was a simple matter of getting turnovers early, and not enough late. They also didn't do nearly enough on the defensive boards, as the Pistons just wore them out in the second half with second chances. The Sixers also had nothing in the half court that worked, and didn't take enough care of the ball to give them any kind of chance. Also, bad free throw shooting -- a problem that has to be fixed for this young team to get any better, especially in close games -- was a serious problem.

It also didn't help that the refs started making sure a run wouldn't happen for the home team in the fourth. On consecutive possessions, brutal no-calls on Willie Green and Andre Iguodala helped suck the energy out of the building. But that happens to young teams, especially at home. (See the Cavs win in Philly after the buzzer, which ensured that the Sixers got Detroit in the first round anyway.)

Assuming Detroit takes care of business at home in Game 5, the question is whether or not the 2 seed will close in 6, or whether they'll sleep for another game. In any event, they've given their opponents in future rounds a lot to work with, especially if the opponent has a point guard with size. It was a nice story, but if Philly really wanted to get past the 2 seed, they couldn't lose this game; they were going to need multiple chances to close.

(Oh, and just for new FTT poster Tracer Bullet, here's the second choice of image for this wrap-up, in honor of the Pistons: Big Daddy Dick Cheney. Just like the Veep, the Pistons are old, tired, unwatchable, hated, hateful, and going to screw you. And just to add to your Nightmare Fuel -- Spurs-Pistons is still very much on the table. Enjoy.)