I Hate Two Day Breaks Between Playoff Games -- Until Right Now

Rasheed and the Pistons need a rest

I tell ya, I'm not usually into two days off between playoff games. I'm an every-other-day-is-good kind of guy. But if there's any team that could use an extra day off right now, it's the Pistons.

They'll deny it, of course, because that's their way, but you had to think they were a tad on the tired side as Game 1 of the NBA Finals wore on. Shots were short, the hustle plays weren't quite there, and there was simply an overall malaise that was evident and, frankly, understandable. The Pistons hit a wall, which is what can certainly happen when you play just 72 hours after a grueling seven game series. Traveling from Miami to Detroit to San Antonio didn't help.

So I am not panicked, and the Spurs don't scare me, no matter how much the ESPN guys tell me I should be afraid. San Antonio wasn't much until the fourth quarter, and even then they were basically a one Manu team. But they, too will get better. Their rust from having not played in, oh, six weeks -- or so it seemed -- is gone now, but not before a truly awful start to Game 1.

The Pistons will play much better Sunday -- they have to, of course -- but they gotta keep this Ginobili from shooting through the lane like a poison dart. He got all of the calls, too, which was a tad discouraging. And speaking of calls, isn't it funny how the NBA Defensive Player of the Year, Ben Wallace, seems to not get any of them? Ben was called for an offensive foul even though the Spurs defender was clearly inside the cute little defensive arc beneath the basket that's actually supposed to help the refs, and on the reverse side, he was denied a charge on Ginobili even though Wallace was clearly outside the cute little defensive arc.

But let's not cry over spilled blood.

The Pistons are going to have to fight and claw to win this series, and they'll be better prepared to do that after this convenient 48 hour break.

Oh, and by the way, I'll take Tim Duncan over Shaquille O'Neal any day on my team.

Yet another reason to rest up.