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LeBron and the Cavs may be in store for a long, long series with the Pistons. In the first game of the Eastern Conference semifinals, the Pistons destroyed the Cavaliers 113-86 Sunday afternoon. An insane three-point showing put the Pistons up early and basically set the game out of reach. In the first half, they knocked down 10 of 11 threes and built a 21-point lead.

“They’re going to sweep the rest of the playoffs if they shoot like that and win the NBA championship,” James said. “We shot 50 percent and had only six turnovers in the first half and were down 22. It’s hard to explain that.”

On the other end, the Pistons displayed their usual stingy defense. LeBron was held to 22 points and the rest of the James gang couldn’t muster up any offense behind him. The Cavaliers got it handed to them in Game 1 and they’re going to have to pick themselves up off the dirt otherwise they will have no chance in this series.

The city of Cleveland is slowly changing its luck and we are glad a big mouth like Charles Barkley won’t be along for the ride. In the last couple weeks, I have listened to Charles “I never won a NBA Championship” Barkley talk down about LeBron James, the Cavaliers and the city itself.

Barkley, a TNT analysis, continued to point out everything James needs to improve on, while giving Kobe Bryant and Steve Nash an overwhelming stamp of approval. He was frustrated that the Cavs/Pistons game was the prime time show, claiming this series would be a joke. Lastly, he arrogantly stated that Cleveland may fold under pressure, considering the city is not use to winning.

I should step back and say “Thank you Charles” for all of the insight; he would be the best person to teach us how to not win an NBA Championship. If we continue to do the opposite of what Barkley says, we will be heading in the right direction.

The Cleveland Cavaliers started the second round of the playoffs and Zydrunas Ilgauskas still looks lost on the court. As I watched the Washington Wizards series, I was forcefully convinced by friends and media that the Wizards style of play was the reason Z looked so bad.

The Detroit Pistons play a half court offense and Z still looks bad on both sides of the court. I really believe the Pistons designed plays to drive the baseline, knowing that Z is not only out of place, but refuses to do his job and defend against it. I struggle with a man that is making the type of money we signed him for and doesn’t show up for the playoffs. A true competitor will make up for bad offense by playing hard nose defense and hustle for loose balls. He has done neither.

I see Larry Hughes, Eric Snow and Flip Murray struggle from the field, but recover with good defense and hustle. We are only one game into to this series and Mike Brown needs to act quickly if he has any chance to compete against the Pistons. If Z continues to sleep walk through this series, he should do it from the bench.

The Cavaliers have finished one of the most thrilling and intense first-round series in the NBA playoffs. Can they carry that momentum over to the Detroit series or will they be too emotionally and mentally drained? The Cavaliers will face the top seed Detroit Pistons in the second round. The Pistons showed their dominance by disposing of the Milwaukee Bucks 4-1 in the first round. The boys from Motown completed their series awhile ago so they will be nice and rested while the Cavs are coming off six hard-fought battles with Gilbert Arenas and the Wizards. The series begins Sunday afternoon in Detroit.

If we continue to play solid defense and get production from the bench I think we have a chance to make it a competitive series. However, in reality, I believe the former champion Pistons will prove to be too much for the young Cavaliers. Not to say that we have no chance of beating Detroit, but they are just too strong of a team and they already have our number this season. They have that grit and aggressiveness as shown by the way they have pushed around the Cavs physically. When it’s all said and done, I say the Pistons take the series 4-2.