Do the Pistons realize that it's the playoffs? 

    A young 76ers team has already extended the series to at least 6 games, when many pundits predicted that they would be swept.  While the 76ers deserve some praise for elevating their game during the playoffs, their two wins so far have been a result of the Pistons overconfidence and down-right laziness.

    The Pistons appear to be taking the 76ers very lightly.  In the closing minutes of their Game 1 loss, Billups and Hamilton were seen joking around on the bench.  When the Spurs were down by 30 in the beginning of the 4th quarter of Game 4 of their series, Tim Duncan looked pensive and pissed-off, not joking around with Manu or Parker.

    The Pistons were able to make a statement in Game 2, however, they quickly fell back into mediocrity in a Game 3 loss.  For the first half of Game 4, the Pistons looked sluggish and en route to another blowout.  I guess the fear of going down 3-1 was enough to rouse them to action for a bit.

     The Pistons are a good basketball team.  However, they are not as good as their attitude would indicate.  Since their championship in 2004, the Pistons have been going down hill.  They made it to the Finals again the next year, but they came up short against the Spurs.  The following two years, they were knocked out of the Eastern Conference Finals by the Heat and the Cavaliers.

    What made the 2004-2005 Pistons so successful was that all of the players played hard every game.  However, nowadays, the Pistons walk around with a false sense of superiority.  Times have changed and the Pistons are no longer even the best team in the East.

Detroit needs to start playing like it cares if it wants to win it all.