[bigboydan]

-- Detroit did what it was expected to do Friday, even up the best-of-seven series at 3-3 and force a decisive Game 7. It wasn’t easy either, as the Pistons barely squeaked by the Cavaliers 84-82 in the elimination contest.



-- Cleveland trailed 84-81 with seven ticks on the clock and Detroit intentionally fouled Lebron James, eliminating the Cavs’ chances of forcing overtime with a 3-pointer. James made the first free throw before looking for a tip in on the miss of the second attempt. They had the opportunity but Zydrunas Illgauskas’ put-back just missed.



-- James had another solid outing, finishing with 32 points and 11 boards. Fifteen of the 32 came from the free throw line, which appears the only way to stop the man-child. Illgauskas had his best game of the series with 16 points and six boards.



-- Detroit had four players in double figures, including Rasheed Wallace’s team-high of 24 points. Richard Hamilton continued to rip the competition with 17 points on 8-of-16 shooting.



-- Throughout the regular season, the key to the Pistons’ offense was point guard Chauncey Billups. The former Colorado standout was even mentioned in Most Valuable Player talks. Billups has struggled with his shot, hitting less than 40 percent from the floor for an average of 15 points per game in this series.



-- Detroit’s loss in Game 5 at The Palace of Auburn Hills was the team’s fifth of the season on their homecourt. Flip Saunders’ team is still a respectable 23-23 ATS at home, despite the 1-2 mark in this series.



-- Cleveland has won and covered three games on the road during the postseason, but is just 22-25 SU and 23-21 ATS away from home.



-- The Pistons failed to cover the number in Game 6 as five-point road favorites. The Cavaliers are 5-1 against the spread through the first six games, including five straight covers.



-- Still, oddsmakers have opened Detroit as a nine-point home ‘chalk’ for Sunday’s tilt. It’s hard to lay the points in this spot, considering Cleveland’s confidence has been getting better in every game.



-- One of the biggest mistakes in handicapping is to overanalyze a team based on their last effort/s. Sure, Cleveland has covered five in a row and they’re catching a big number, but it’s high for a reason. A double-digit victory by Detroit is indeed possible, considering the team has outscored opponents by an average of 11 PPG (100-89) at home this year.



-- Another number to keep an eye on is the ‘over/under’. The total has plummeted to 176 in the final game, down another point from the ‘over/under’ of listed in Game 6. The first two contests in this series went ‘over’, but the ‘under’ has rallied in the last four games, easily as well.



-- If you’re looking for money-line action, then you better be ready to buck up! Detroit is listed as a minus-600 (Bet $600 to win $100), while Cavs’ backers can cash them at a plus-450 (Bet $100 to win $450) price.



-- Parlay players looking to strike gold again could press the Cavs-Under parlay, which has cashed in four straight games. The only combination that hasn’t hit in this best-of-seven is Pistons-Under. Look out!



-- Here are a few more tips and trends on Game 7. The home team has won 82 percent of the time in the seventh and final game. Detroit owns a 4-5 career mark in Game 7’s, while Cleveland is a perfect 2-0 in this situation.



-- Tip off is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. EST, with ABC providing national coverage.



-- The winner of this series will meet Miami in the Eastern Conference Finals. The Pistons were 3-1 against the Heat during the regular season, while the Cavs split the four-game set at 2-2.

[Illusion]

Here's the real preview, Cleveland is gonna play their ass off and will probably get fvcked by the refs.