We're 13 games into the second round of the NBA postseason. Only one game has gone the way of the road team, and it happened to be the Detroit Pistons eking out a 90-89 victory in Orlando ... without Chauncey Billups.
Down in Old Mexico, San Antonio responded to getting deflowered by the New Orleans Hornets in consecutive games by whipping their adversaries in Game 3. The same story goes for the Utah Jazz, who responded to two bad losses in Los Angeles with a 104-99 win in Game 3.
Then we have the Boston Celtics. Not only did they win the first two games, they found a powerful serum that actually transmuted LeBron James into Andrew DeClercq. Then they switched venues Saturday night and, of course, Cleveland blew them out 108-84. This was without James going off the charts, putting together a non-LeBron 21 points on 5-of-16 shooting. Delonte West and Joe Smith basically best the Boston Celtics. I would have believed that statement much more were this last year.
And despite the 24-point skewering at The Q, Boston's absolutely in no danger. That's tough to say for a team that's winless on the postseason road, but with the league's best record comes the coziest playoff schedule. They get four games at home in each series, and needing four wins to claim ultimate victory in the series ... well, you seem smart enough. Do the math.
Look at the gambit Detroit pulled off in Game 4. Billups' hamstring injury kept him out of a jersey Saturday night, and the Pistons knew that they didn't need understudy Rodney Stuckey to replace those 20 points and 5 assists a game. Heck, they knew they didn't even need the game, because Games 5 and 7 were in Detroit, and they could take care of business there. Game 4 was essentially a free game, which they parlayed into a win and a 3-1 advantage going back home.
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