Pistons could give Cavs a good series ... but probably not

The Cavs and Pistons are division rivals who went in completely different directions this season. Detroit is making its eighth straight postseason appearance, but the Pistons lost 19 more games than they did last season, finishing with a losing record for the first time since 2000-01. Meanwhile, the Cavs set a franchise record with 66 wins, 21 more than last year.

Any series between the best team in the NBA and the playoff team with the worst record figures to be one-sided. But the Pistons actually match up pretty well with the Cavs and do have a chance (slim as it may be) at making this series somewhat interesting.

LeBron James vs. Tayshaun Prince: LeBron James is the de-facto MVP, the NBA's second-leading scorer and a mismatch at the small forward position every time he steps on the floor.

But there may not be a player better qualified to keep James contained than Tayshaun Prince. James and Prince have faced each other 36 times in the NBA, and they were teammates last summer on Team USA. If there's anybody in the NBA who knows James' tendencies, it's Prince.

Prince is one of the best defenders in the league. His combination of length and basketball IQ makes him tough to shake. Prince won't stop James, but he can make him less efficient. James has shot just 42.6 percent against the Pistons in his career and just 26.8 percent from 3-point range.

2 -- In the 37 games that the Cavs and Pistons have played (both regular and postseason) over the last six years (the span of LeBron James' career), only twice has either team scored 100 points or more in regulation. The average score of those 37 games is Pistons 86, Cavs 84.

1. Should we be expecting an ugly series?

Absolutely. The Pistons play at the second slowest pace in the league, the Cavs at the sixth slowest, and Cleveland has one of the three stingiest defenses in the league.

First team to 85 wins.

2. How did the Pistons beat the Cavs back in their first meeting?

It was one of only two losses in a 27-game stretch for the Cavs. They were on their way to their ninth straight win with a 13-point lead early in the third quarter. But the Pistons outscored them 56-36 over the last 22 minutes of the game.

Mo Williams and Delonte West were both in foul trouble in the third quarter, and with Daniel Gibson needing to play extended minutes off the bench, Allen Iverson scored 19 of his 23 points in the second half. On the other end of the floor, the Cavs scored just 22 points in the paint, their third-lowest total of the season.

After that game, the Pistons were 8-3 and just a half game behind the Cavs in the standings. My, how things have changed.

3. So how do the Pistons "match up well" with the Cavs?

As noted above, you can't do much better than having LeBron matched up with Prince. In general, the Pistons are a veteran team, and because they play at such a slow pace, it's tough to go on big runs against them.

One matchup that should be to Detroit's advantage is at back-up guard. Gibson is not a good on-the-ball defender, and Will Bynum has the ability to get by him and get the Cavs' defense scrambling, much like Iverson did in November.

Also, with Antonio McDyess and Rasheed Wallace up front, the Pistons can put five shooters on the floor at once, and that can be tough for any defense to guard. Without Iverson, the Pistons are also a high assist team. Lots of ball movement is a good way to break down a strong defense.

4. Is this the end of an era in Detroit?

The end of the era came in early November, when the Pistons traded Chauncey Billups to Denver. The run of six straight trips to the Eastern Conference finals is certainly over, but Detroit's string of consecutive trips to the postseason might not end with this season. With Iverson and Rasheed Wallace coming off the books this summer, Joe Dumars will have plenty of cap space at his disposal. That gives him the ability to retool on the fly and put together a restructured roster that can still compete.

5. Do the Cavs have a weakness?

Not really, but their one issue right now is the health of Ben Wallace, who missed the final two games of the season with a strained patella tendon in his left knee. When he's healthy, Cleveland has a strong big man rotation of Zydrunas Ilgauskas, Anderson Varejao, Joe Smith and Wallace. But when they're down a big man, they must use Darnell Jackson for 10-15 minutes, unless Mike Brown decides to shorten his rotation.

If the Cavs' frontline is weakened, a team with a capable bigs, like the Pistons, can take advantage in the paint. And if one of the other Cleveland bigs gets in foul trouble, it could be an opening for Detroit to steal a game.

Cavs in four