They lost at home. They won on the road.
They blew out the 76ers. They got blown out by the 76ers.
Tonight, the Pistons finally will end this first-round playoff series.
Unless they don’t.
They will play like the veterans they are.
Unless they don’t.
They will live up to their seeding.
Unless they don’t.
They play games? We play games. Let’s play Twenty Questions to see how well you can predict our exciting, maddening basketball team.
1. The man in the mask is?
a) Rip Hamilton.
b) Antonio McDyess.
c) Flip Saunders, if they blow this series.
2. Rasheed Wallace is at his best when
a) he gets angry.
b) he doesn’t get angry.
c) he joins the other team’s huddle.
3. Quick. How many NBA titles have these Pistons actually won?
a) One.
b) One and a half.
c) Four, but they gave three away.
4. When the Sixers do beat the Pistons, they do so because
a) they’re younger.
b) they’re longer.
c) they’re actually interested.
5. When Chris Webber told TNT nobody listens to Flip in the locker room, he was
a) scaring us.
b) still mad over his minutes.
c) so THAT was Chris Webber.
6. When Charles Barkley told TNT that the Pistons should just play their subs, because at least they “play hard,” he was
a) making a good point.
b) way out of line.
c) probably hungry.
7. When Richard Hamilton gets rolling, it
a) is a thing of beauty.
b) means he’s getting screens.
c) must be every other game.
8. So far Chauncey Billups has
a) played like a star.
b) had trouble with Andre Miller.
c) set a Guinness record for the word “man.”
9. Samuel Dalembert gets his hair cut
a) with a machete.
b) by Brian Bosworth.
c) no, he doesn’t.
10. Without Tayshaun Prince in this series, the Pistons would be
a) less long.
b) less defensive.
c) done.
11. The best thing the Pistons can do with Andre Iguodala is
a) let him shoot.
b) keep Prince on him.
c) offer him a name we can pronounce.
12. The reason the Pistons struggle in these early playoff rounds is
a) they’re way too good.
b) they’re not that good.
c) they think they know how good they are but they’re not as good as they think the other team thinks they are when they think the other team thinks they’re good, kind of.
13. The Pistons’ best chance is when
a) they rely on their veterans.
b) they rely on their young guys.
c) they remember that the team with the most points wins.
14. The Pistons will fly home tonight
a) finished with the series.
b) with a Game 7 pending.
c) because how else would they get home?
15. Hey. You said there’d be 20 questions in this column.
a) Like the Pistons, I am unpredictable.
b) Like the Pistons, I make adjustments.
c) Like the Pistons, I just need to fill it up.
Contact MITCH ALBOM at 313-223-4581 or malbom@freepress.com. Catch “The Mitch Albom Show” 5-7 p.m. weekdays and “Monday Sports Albom” 7-8 p.m. Mondays on WJR-AM (760).
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