Quit playing around

Okay, this wasn't supposed to happen. But clearly, the Cleveland Cavaliers deserve more respect than they've been getting - especially from the Pistons.

“Ain’t no way they gonna beat us in no damn series,” said Rasheed Wallace after the game. “They did what they had to do. They took care of home. They did what they had to do.”

'Sheed. Enough of this $#!+, okay? Not when you shoot 3-for-13. Not when you were outscored by Sideshow Bob. Sprained ankle or not, if you're going to show that much disdain for the opponent, you have to go out there and wipe 'em off the bottom of your shoe. If you're going to thump your chest like that, don't put it on your teammates to carry it off for you.

You believe there's no way Cleveland will win this series. Fine. I feel that way, too. So do all Detroit fans. But there's no reason to let the Cavs get this close. You can't let them tie the series at 2-2 and extend it to six or seven games. Do you want to let Miami sit at home and rest up, while you're expending energy on an opponent you should've already defeated? (By the way, New Jersey - you are free to get back into that series any time you'd like.)

The Cavs are not as good a team as the Pistons. Is that some kind of news flash? Yet they've won two games - and without their second-best player, Larry Hughes. It's not because LeBron James has been in triple-double form. It's not because, as Evan said in the comments, the referees are swallowing whistles at the end of the game (though that certainly doesn't help). It's because the Pistons aren't taking the Cavs seriously enough. They're playing as if they can win with a sub-par game. And now it's coming back to bite them in the @$$.

(Photo by Clarence Tabb, Jr./ Detroit News)