[cured]

That doesn't make sense. The playoffs are about matchups and the Pistons don't match up very well. They play very good defense but their offense is incredibly suspect and they won't stay in any game that becomes an uptempo shootout.

Gasol matches up very favorably with Rasheed Wallace. Ditto with Odom and McDyess. Derek Fisher doesn't have to worry about a gimped Chauncey Billups' speed. Kobe will have his way with Rip Hamilton and Tayshaun prince has an edge over Radmonovic/Walton.

You don't have to look too far back to see the Pistons aren't playing consistently. They lost games to the lowly, lowly Sixers. They had a good but not great series against a 3-happy Magic team. They've been up and down against Boston. I don't see any mark of consistency here. If you herald their defense so highly, then the only explanation must be they are suffering on offense. This is something that plays to the Lakers strengths, especially considering they're playing the VERY physical San Antonio Spurs right now and hold a 3-1 edge.

If the Pistons and Lakers meet in the finals, which they won't because Boston will end up winning the series, the biggest contributors the Pistons will have will be Maxiell and McDyess. The Lakers have historically had problems with big, high energy guys who like to tussle for rebounds. Not Billups, not 'Sheed, not Hamilton because they'll be too inconsistent. The Lakers defense has been overlooked but they've all but made last year's finals MVP, Tony Parker, a bystander to his team's destruction.