Ball Don't Lie, the NBA blog on Yahoo!, asked Cavsblogger from Fear the Sword and I to write up our series previews. BDL posted them today, along with other NBA SB Nation playoff bloggers' previews.
I've put the first couple paragraphs below. You can check the rest of it out here.
As the cliché goes for underdogs like the Pistons, the playoffs represent a new season. A clean slate, if you will. The only problem is memories of a grueling 82 game season can’t be lost so soon and despite a valid effort to, there’s always the daunting little number next to the team’s name serving as a constant reminder of the season’s mediocrity that put them in their current state.
For the Pistons, that would be the No. 8 seed in the Eastern Conference Playoffs, a position even Nostradamus couldn’t possibly have predicted as the Pistons fate before this season started. However, with a blockbuster deal we wish we could rewind, some team turmoil, a sore back, and some laziness later, the Pistons find themselves gasping for air as they barely made it inside the playoffs' closing doors.
I will say, some of you may not like my series prediction. Actually, I hope all of you don't like my prediction because then that means you are all true Pistons fans and deserve to be here. I'm hoping my guess can send off some type of reverse jinx that causes the Pistons to win this series. The more I think about it, the more I think the Pistons can take this thing. Unfortunately, I can't get this miserable regular season and the half-assed playoff performances of the past few years out of my head.