As I have expected, the Pistons rebounded on their homecourt in a very similar fashion to the way the Spurs won game 1 in San Antonio. Sometimes analyzing a playoffs matchup it is not always about mismatches or playing styles. The series can be won on how the team take advantage of their homecourt. On this court, Rip Hamilton, Chauncey Billups, and Ben Wallace played better and with much more intensity and energy. The Pistons are in no stretch of imagination a fastbreak team. But their were able to create the winning run by running fastbreaks. Leading by turnovers initiated by mainly Big Ben, Billups, and Prince. There is simply no other reasons. They play better with their fans behind them... One thing the Pistons didn't succeed doing in game 2 was feeding the ball down to the low post. They did that in the first half. According to my rough estimate, at least 30 points of their first half 41 points came from inside the paint. That opened up the perimeter and screen game for Billups and Hamilton. And the fastbreaks are by-products of momentum and the opponent losing composure. With a huge help from the fans, they forced turnovers after turnovers that fueled the game winning run... The officiating was quite fair in game 3. The Pistons can't argue anymore about these calls made on the homecourt. They won the game on their own hands. Let's hope the officiating factor is thrown out from now on... The X-factor Rasheed Wallace was a non-factor in the game. But the Pistons still won the game impressively. He didn't contribute in crunch time, or rather sat on the bench most of the fourth quarter. Rasheed wasn't helping at all. Although he was part of the reason that Detroit Pistons are what they are right now. But now Rasheed somehow became their burden. If Rasheed doesn't control himself and continue to play this crappy, the Pistons can't expect every game like they did in game 3... I wasn't buying into Chauncey Billups being the MVP of last season's finals. I wasn't quite sure he is the leader of the team. He cleared all my doubts tonight on both ends of the court. He was the spark to the victory. He seemed to be the go-to guy of the team, even though they don't need one most of the time... The Spurs are aware that they are in a series now. Manu Ginobili came back down to Earth. The Pistons finally used fouls to send a message to Tony Parker and Manu. I don't think they had done so previously. The defensive intensity was so different for the Pistons in game 3. The homecourt advantage amazingly plays a big part... I expect Pistons to again take care of business in game 4. They were able to execute better offensively now. Rip Hamilton got back to his rhythm. Ben Wallace flexes his dunking muscles. Establishing Rasheed early seemed to work well. Antonio McDyess became a truly viable option now. (For this season Rasheed wasn't missed at all) Pistons are just too good to just think the Spurs can sweep. Maybe they are just better when they are a heavier underdog.

6.14.05 photo: Reuters/Lucy Nicholson