Chicago at Detroit

There is one thing to be learned about this Detroit team. Pay no attention to how they fared in the regular season against an opponent or you will quickly be misled. They lost 3 of 4 to Chicago, and most recently by 18 points at home. You must remember they have lost to second-round opponents severely during their last five playoff runs. They lost to Indiana at home by 13 and 15 points, in Game 1 beat them by 22 points holding them to 56! They lost to Boston by 25, and then beat them by double digits. They lost to Philly late by 17, and beat them by double digits. They lost to NJ at home and then clobbered them. Last year they lost to Cleveland by 13. When the whistle blows for the second round, Detroit becomes a defensively aggressive team. They have won this game the last five years by 27, 15, 22, 11 and 12 points or 17.4-points per game (PPG)! They have done it by defense and have not lost any of the first 3 quarters of the game in the last three years, holding opponents to 71-ppg and under 40% shooting. Look for Detroit to set the tone for this series and win Game 1 by double digits.