I would be happy with Cavs vs Utah.

Boozer returns to Cleveland! I smell drama!

Detroit in 4. Jazz in 7.

Cleveland would be scary if they had kept Boozer.

Amare has no class, he didnt even shake hands after the game, just walked straight into the lockers.

pistons will sweep, thats all that matters

But then again, no one predicted the playoff-inexperienced Warriors to beat Mavericks so easily in the first round even though they had just as impressive a regular season record. The Jazz are the anti-Pistons like Warriors were the anti-Mavericks.

i predicted golden state to beat dallas because they were 5-0 in the regular season. I am a baller.

The GSW were definitely the exception and not the rule, which is why that feat got so much attention.

But to compare the GSW vs Dallas situation to a potential Detroit vs Utah isn't at all an apples to apples comparison! First off, GSW dominated Dallas this year and clearly had their number. They played more games against each other than the Pistons and Utah, and the regular season matchups largely were the exact same lineups that met in the playoffs.

As for the Utah vs. Pistons series, Utah hardly dominated Detroit. They met twice... once on Nov 6th in Utah. Utah pulled out a 2 point victory 103-101. The 2nd meeting was at the palace where Utah won 100-99. They hardly dominated the Pistons.

As for the lineups... they have yet to truly face this current Pistons team as it is now. The Nov 6th one was early in the year without Chris Webber and the Pistons really struggling to adapt without Ben Wallace (they were not playing well there). The Jan 17th meeting was the very first game Chris Webber played with the Pistons - he came off the bench and only played about 15 minutes. Not to mention that it was Billups first game back from several games off due to an injury.

Add in the fact that Detroit has a history of stepping up to another level in the playoffs, and I think you can make a strong case that the regular season actually would support Detroit winning a series like this easily. If a half assed Detroit team only lost by 3 points in 2 games, think what a 100% strong Pistons team in the finals would do to the Jazz.

Pistons are lucky they arent gonna meet up with Warriors, Dubs blew them out twice this year.

Seriously though, in most cases it's irrelevant how one team matched up with a another during the regular season, if one team is ment to be champs no team will be able to get in their way especially a middle of the road team, Mavs proved they suck balls and folded under pressure in their last two playoff series, they're not champs.

Utah is totally outmatched...

But that Williams guy is pretty amazing...

Not only is the general public disinterested in Jazz vs Spurs, but even San Antonio is meh about it. Game 1 didnt even sell out (500 short), a first in the last 5 years of Spurs playoffs in San Antonio.

The Jazz/Spurs just feels so anti-climatic after Spurs/Suns. Plus, not only are the Jazz uninteresting to non-fans, but the Spurs are probably the most hated team in the NBA right now.

It's kind of an odd playoff year as most of the more exciting matchups were early on - GS vs. Mavs, Spurs vs. Suns, Detroit vs. Ben Wallace...

Cleveland vs. Detroit will be a big draw for fans in those areas and I bet it will do better ratings wise than SA vs Utah, but it has potential for some ugly games where the final score ends up 61-60 and nobody scores in the 4th quarter due to the defense first mentality.

In the end it's going to be SA and Detroit, which will disappoint the casual viewer who had dreams of teams like GS, Suns, and the Bulls going to the finals.

I wish the lottery would get here already. There's nothing interesting to talk about. Maybe Lebron could throw a punch or Horry could throw a guy, to change all that.

The way the standings are handled need to change, it really should've been Warriors vs Suns and Spurs vs Jazz in the semifinals.

You've got to give these series a few games. By the 6th game both teams hate each other and that's when Bruce Bowen will start kicking people in the balls.

well that sucks.........

WIDE OPEN SHOT! WIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIDE OPEN & THE FUCKER MISSED!

Great play call though. Fuck overtime and go for the win.

WAY TO GO LEBRON! King my ass.

I'm interested in the Eastern Conference matchup, but the Spurs against the Jazzzzzzz? There's some exciting basketball right there.

that was a typical cleveland meltdown in a big game. of course lebron is too much of a pussy to take the big shot....again. he could have easily drawn a foul if he had kept the ball. then again he would have just bricked his FT's, so i guess it didn't matter. that was classic cleveland there. now everyone has to see the shit big game performances i have to suffer through year after year. way to go guys, another brilliant effort down the stretch.

Pistons dodged a bullet there... they played very poorly, especially in that first half, but came out with the win.

In the end I'm glad they won that way. They tend to get overconfident if they win by 30, and I doubt they'll be feeling really good about this one. Plus, it really had to hurt Cleveland to lose one they had in their hands.

the cavs didn't exactly play their best either tony, but the cavs will lose by 15+ in game 2. i really think this was their one and only shot to steal this series. their spirit must be shattered right now, and i say they deserve it. horriffic execution down the stretch and lebron pussying out from the big shot again. god it sucks being a cleveland sports fan. all i want is ONE TITLE FROM ANYONE....ARGHHHH.

True... it wasn't the Cavs best game either. Although, Z and Varejao played well, and I thought they played with some passion (the offensive rebounds were getting frustrating!). For a road game, they didn't play that badly though.

I thought the Pistons played with zero passion, until the end and looked like they were sleepwalking. Billups looked terrible for 3 quarters and was coughing the ball up in situations where he normally doesn't. Sure, Cleveland's defense is tough, but the Pistons have played against tough defenses before (Spurs, Chicago) without looking like that.

Pistons barely beat Cavs where James shot a dismal 5-15?

Spurs are gonna kick Pistons ass in the finals.