State of the Pistons Address (May 9)

It's difficult to pick bones when you're up 2-0 and 'Sheed scores 29 and he looks like the best player in the league and Tayshaun continues to assert himself and scores 20 and you rack up 20 assists to only eight turnovers and Big Ben scores in double figures for the first time in what felt like a decade and Rip goes 15-for-18 from the line, but I'm going to do it anyway.

The Pistons won Tuesday, 97-91, but it should never have been even remotely that close. Up 52-36 at halftime, Detroit was, as Dan Patrick would dare say, en fuego. They distanced themselves from the Cleveland Jameses even more in the third, going up 18 before the last quarter.

Then, the Cavaliers took out their swords and started to play. And run. And pass. And score. And defend. By mid-quarter, they whittled the lead to single digits. It got as close as five. Detroit hung on and the game will probably go forgotten in no more than a few days, but something must be mentioned: Flip Saunders needs to utilize his bench more in situations like Tuesday's fourth quarter.

The starters were tired and their play turned lackluster (they all played more than 39 minutes). They settled for tough outside shots rather than working the ball around for good ones. They failed repeatedly to get back and lock down on defense while the Cavs were running frantically. They almost made it to a finish line. Flip could have prevented it.

At the first sight of dragging legs and uncharacteristic play, Flip needs to pull out the starters -- all five of them -- and go with Lindsey, Tony, Mo, Dyess, and Dale. Each of those guys knows their role: Be ready to go and give a spark when called upon. With the exception of Mo, they're your consummate savvy veterans. A jolt from them surely could have slowed the Cavs' momentum and stymied any hope of a comeback, and the starters weren't about to provide that.

I understand why Flip hesitates to overhaul his five on the hardwood; after all, the Pistons do have the Best Starting Five on the Planet (as George Blaha loves to say). But everyone knows how easily they become bored. Up 20, there's no sense of urgency for them, no interest. They're like a fourth grader who's finished his timed math test ahead of the rest of the class and must wait for them to finish. There's a subtle arrogance to that. And as the Cavs showed Tuesday, it can be problematic.

Instead of fearing an anger that could arise from starters upon being pulled out of their typical substitution pattern, Flip should welcome some fire. Think about it: Is Chaunce gonna smile at Flip if he is yanked with 10 minutes to go in a game still undecided? He'll root on Lindsey and all, but he won't be happy. He's a competitor. Same for the other four. But what I think Flip doesn't realize is that the starters' anger will translate into a chip on their shoulders when they're put back into the game. Give the bench four minutes to stifle the Cavs' surge, put the starters back in with a little something to prove -- that they won't blow a lead and that their attention was gained -- and you're victors by 38.

Perhaps that fourth quarter lull will be the only one in this series (similar to the Game 3 debacle in Milwaukee in Round 1) and the Pistons will sweep the Cavs and rest while watching the Heat and the Nets slug it out in the other Eastern Conference semifinals. But Flip and the Pistons should recognize that the bench is something not to be dreaded but to be greeted warmly. They’ve proven their worth and they deserve a little more tick. In the end, it may save them a valuable game.