If the Miami Heat make it past the Detroit Pistons (and I hope they do!), who will they play in the Finals?
600660
suns they can call it the fire series
601924
GO HEAT..... YES they will take that "Championship" Home
65557
Everyone is saying the Pistons, but I wouldn't bet on it. Surely they'll cruise through the Eastern Conference, but the Suns will be unstoppable come playoff time... Amare will be back with Nash and Marion, and an emerging supporting cast of Diaw, Bell, and  Jones/House who can all put up big numbers on any given night...
578563
i think MIami Heat is gonna beat and win the series against the pistons
564018
IF they even get that far...! Neither series is said and done with and neither team is guaranteed a spot in the finals. IF they ever played, I think the Miami Heat would take the series, 4-2. More experience (total), and Dwayne Wade is SMOKIN' right now! Gotta go with the Heat!
1034246
Miami 95, Detroit 78\nHeat Overcome Wade’s Illness to Eliminate Pistons\nBox Score \n|\nHeat Home \n|\nPistons Home\n\n\nMIAMI, June 2 (Ticker) -- When Dwyane Wade came down with the flu, the Miami Heat had to be feeling a bit queasy. In the end, however, the Detroit Pistons were left feeling sick to their stomachs.\n\nThe Heat are headed to the NBA Finals for the first time in franchise history, overcoming Wade's untimely illness with a huge game from Shaquille O'Neal and hot shooting from Jason Williams in an affirming 95-78 victory over the Pistons.\n\nNBA TV highlights from\nPistons-Heat: Play\nPress Conference: Play\nThe second-seeded Heat won the series in six games and ended the two-year reign of the top-seeded Pistons as Eastern Conference champions. They play at Dallas or Phoenix on Tuesday.\n\n"To be at the point where we are now on our way to The Finals is truly amazing for this organization," Wade said. "As the saying goes with this team, they did what they do and we went out there and played team basketball at the right time of the year."\n\n"I only celebrate when it's really over," said O'Neal, who is headed to The Finals with his third team. "I'll celebrate a little bit, but like I told the guys, the job is not done."\n\nMiami avenged last year's disheartening loss, when it held the lead with less than two minutes to play in Game 7 at home but was denied by Detroit. Wade labored through that game with bruised ribs.\n\nA sickening case of deja vu swept over South Florida when Wade missed Friday's shootaround - and briefly was hospitalized - with a bad touch of the flu. He showed courage in starting and playing 37 minutes but was not himself.\n\n"At 3 a.m. is really when I woke up and I knew I wasn't going to go back to sleep," Wade said. "My wife was giving me tea and vapor rub and everything she could. I told her to call our trainer, probably 7 or 8 today, and that's when he told me I needed to get to the hospital. I stayed at the hospital until 3 p.m. They I went home and changed and came to the game."\n\n"I feel bad for him after what he had to go through in last year's playoffs," teammate Antoine Walker said. "He got hurt ... last year and to see him not at 100 percent was tough. We felt for him but we were very confident that we could pick up the slack and make it happen."\n\nWade didn't have to be 100 percent, not with O'Neal unleashing a "Shaq Attack" and Williams finally finding his shooting touch. The Heat took the lead for good in the first quarter and took off in the third period, when Wade finally got into the act.\n\nO'Neal scored 28 points on 12-of-14 shooting, grabbing 16 rebounds and blocking five shots.\n\n"Shaquille is Shaquille. We couldn't get him the ball enough," said Heat coach Pat Riley, also going to The Finals with his third different team. "We couldn't straight post him up, so we started doing a lot of things to move him a little bit on pick-and-rolls so he could get the ball."\n\n"I just told the guys that they can come to me. Whenever they need a bucket just come to me," O'Neal said. "For the first five or six minutes, I actually didn't touch the ball and I got a little worried, but everyone else was playing so well, I just became a role player - until they came to me."\n\nWilliams made his first 10 shots before missing his last two, finishing with 21 points.\n\n"I think you saw his game tonight," Riley said. "It was at the right time, there's no doubt."\n\n"I just wanted to come out and try to do what I always try to do - be aggressive and knock down open shots, and luckily they were falling for me tonight," said Williams, who was shooting 38 percent in the postseason.\n\nWade had 14 points and 10 assists. He began as a playmaker, missed the start of the
506223
I'm going with the Pistons, ignoring their current 7-point lead. I have them beating the Heat in 6 games and I just don't see it possible if they lose tonight.
579608
heat - mavs for the finals
459597
Pistons Vs. Mavericks\n\nMavericks win (4-3)
610304
Thats Easy.  The Pistons are going all the way.  they'll meet the heat and win in 6 games and if San Antonio can get Shaq and Manu healthy, there will be a repeat of last years Finals.  Except Detroit will win in 5.
582663
I'd say the Dallas Mavericks and the Detroit Pistons will meet in the finals. The Mavs are probably the hottest team right now, really taking care of the Spurs who many thought would win it all this year. And they are finally winning the close games (like their recent OT game against the Spurs). Detroit is the most complete team, the best defensive team. As long as LeBron doesn't take over the series (I think he's a year or two away from being able to do that) and Shaq doesn't find the fountain of youth down there in Miami, the Pistons should be all set for the finals.\n\nI see Detroit winning a close one against the Mavs. Their defense will be the difference.
666445
The Detroit Pistons.  \n\nLet me start with their resume: The BEST starting 5 in the NBA, including four of their starters in this year's All Star game.  One All NBA First Team Defender, two second team members.  Two ALL NBA Second Team Members.  The Defensive Player of the Year.  One player, 5th place in the MVP voting.\n\nOh by the way, last but not least, here's their recent playoff history. ON THE ROAD:\n\nMay 2, 2003 -- Down 3-2 to the Magic, the Pistons go into Orlando and spank Tracy McGrady and company, 103-88, then finish the series off at home, 108-93.\n\nMay 14, 2004 -- Down 3-2 to the Nets, after having lost a gut-wrenching Game 5 at home in triple overtime, the Pistons go to New Jersey and win, 81-75. They win Game 7 at home, 90-69.\n\nMay 30, 2004 -- With the series even at 2-2, the Pistons having lost an embarrassing Game 4 at home (83-68), they flipped the script, going to Indiana and winning Game 5, 83-65. They closed out the Pacers in Game 6.\n\nMay 15, 2005 -- Trailing 2-1, the Pistons avoided a 3-1 deficit winning another clutch game in Indiana, 89-76. The victory broke the Pacers' backs and the Pistons won the next two games easily.\n\nJune 4 and June 6, 2005 -- The Pistons were down 3-2 to Miami. They blew away the Heat at The Palace in Game 6, then did what no other team had done before -- won Game 7 on the road, 88-82.\n\nJune 21, 2005 -- After getting their hearts broken at home on a last-second three-pointer by Robert Horry, the Pistons went to San Antonio and won Game 6, 95-86.
219258
The way the Lakers beat Detroit, I would say,"HELL YEAH". I'm putting my money on the HEAT to beat the PISTONS in 6 if ever Detroit make it to the Eastern Finals. Here's the thing, your NBA Finals this year will be between, the HEAT and the SUNS. Is it hot in here or what?
535003
The finals will be with the pistons and the mavericks
242045
I think they'll still win it. Unless Miami gives them a good fight, they should hit the Finals pretty well rested. Meanwhile, though San Antonio and Dallas look likely to square off in round 2, the winner will most likely face a run-and-gun Suns squad in the conference finals and get worn out. Detroit's a bit better than the West's big 3, though San Antonio stands the best chance at beating them in a 7-game series.
1127722
I say the finals will be Pistons vs Suns, with Suns winning.  I think Marion will be gone after next year because of salary cap limitations, but the Suns should dominate next year with everyone healthy.
642202
hope its detroit or miami