Pistons Quit in the 4th Quarter; Trail 3-0

Welp, I could go on and on about how I thought this game was going to be different.  It was somewhat different after three of the four quarters, however there are four quarters in a basketball game and the Pistons straight up didn't show in the 4th quarter.  

The Pistons held Cleveland to just nine points in the 3rd to recover from the seven point deficit they had heading into halftime, but completely fell apart in the 4th as Lebron James, once again, put the Cavs on his back and willed them to victory. Lebron scored 11 of his 25 in the fourth and finished one assist shy of a triple-double.

Tayshaun Prince, clearly hampered by a back injury, helped the Pistons get off to a quick start in the first, but finished with just 7 points (all in the first) on 3-10 shooting. What was surprising to me was that he played 33 minutes.  At some point, way before he plays 33 minutes, you have to realize his back is too hurt for him to be any help to the team.

Rasheed Wallace had just five points, seven rebounds, and once again a nonchalant attitude.  The only time he got fired up was when he said something about the refs mother in the 2nd and received a technical foul.  The Pistons were down six at the point of his technical, and I was actually impressed that the rest of the Pistons didn't let that lead to their demise.  I think 'Sheed is guaransheeding that the Pistons won't want 'Sheed back next season, so at least we don't have to waste our time with that.

Turning Point:

The same guy who provided the turning point in Game One in my opinion, provided it again in Game Three.  A three-point shot at the 9:51 mark in the 4th quarter, and an overall solid game, from former Pistons player, Joe Smith ignited the Cavs in the fourth and punctured the metaphorical hole in the Pistons basketball that quickly deflated.  Smith finished the game with 19 points and 10 rebounds.  He has been solid for the Cavs this series averaging a little over 12 points and 6 rebounds per game.

Outlook:

So no team has ever recovered from this serious series hole that the Pistons find themselves buried in.  Sunday's game is at 3:30 PM and I'll have to look deep into my bag of tricks to pull out some ways to make fans hopeful, but this isn't looking good for the Pistons.  In fact, it looks more likely that we'll be seeing a little spring cleaning come Sunday.