Pistons at Cavaliers, 4.18.09, Round 1, Game 1

Matchup: Detroit Pistons at Cleveland Cavaliers
Series: 0-0
Spread: Cavaliers -12
My Pick: Cavaliers by 11

The Pistons open the playoffs in Cleveland. Cleveland is heavily favored for good reason. Excluding the meaningless final game of the season, the Cavaliers went 39-1 at home this season. For what it’s worth, the Pistons beat the Cavs once during the regular season and kept two other games close. The Pistons best hope of keeping this afternoon’s game close is if the Cavaliers perimeter shooters play erratically under the pressure of the top seed. Don’t count on it.

Update:
Final Score: Detroit 84, Cleveland 102
Notes:

• I’ve seen teams play worse defense than Detroit played yesterday -- for instance, I watched the Knicks play this game -- but I can’t remember ever seeing playoff defense as porous as what the Pistons displayed yesterday.
• King James scored 38 points on 20 shots, committed zero turnovers, and added eight rebounds and seven assists. LeBron scored 25 straight Cavalier points to decimate the Pistons’ championship aspirations two seasons ago. Since then, he’s improved mightily. At this point, any NBA analyst who calls Kobe Bryant “the best player in basketball” is an analyst I can’t take seriously.
• Antonio McDyess and Tayshaun Prince, among others, looked a step slow defensively.
• Rodney Stuckey was aggressive, but he needs to do a better job trying to finish plays instead of hoping for a whistle.
• Kwame Brown and Arron Afflalo both had nice games off the bench.
• Detroit did a nice job of taking care of the basketball, thus limiting LeBron’s opportunities in the open court. Unfortunately for the Pistons, Cleveland did an even better job avoiding turnovers.