A few days off, so I'll tune in the NBA

Because of national TV, the Wings-Pens get a couple of days off. A Game 4 that normally would have been played tonight is on for tomorrow, on NBC, at 8 p.m. That means for one day I can turn my attention to the Pistons, who trail the Celtics in the NBA Eastern Conference Finals, 3-2.
Two must-win games face the Pistons, and, sorry to say, it is over for them. It was over in Game 3, when they lost at home to a Celtics team that had yet to win a road game in the playoffs.
I like this Pistons group, and I like the rookie, Stuckey, too. Next to the Wings' front office, the Pistons are a model franchise for pro sports teams. Joe Dumars is great at player personnel, and they seem to uncover diamonds in the rough in the draft.
I say it's over for them, however, because they had their chance to run away with this series when they won Game 2, in Boston. But by losing at home in Game 3 they relinquished their home-court advantage. And in the NBA, that is crucial. Also, after last night, with the Lakers dethroning the defending champion Spurs, the NBA wants badly a Finals that showcases the best rivalry in its history: Lakers vs. Celtics.
And if you don't think the NBA is a choreographed league, then look at the Fisher foul on the last play of the fifth game in the Lakers-Spurs series. I've heard some announcers and members of the media say that a foul should not have been called on Fisher, but the league itself does not agree. Had a foul been called, the series might have been tied. But the NBA refs swallowed their whistles, because, in part, the league wants Kobe and the Lakers in the Finals.
I will be rooting for Billups and the boys tonight. I like their work ethic. But with Rip Hamilton nursing a bad elbow, the Big Stiff, Rasheed, shooting from the perimeter instead of posting up, and the NBA geared to Lakers vs. Celtics, it is OVER.
If the Pistons do win tonight, then it's OVER in Game 7. But bet the house on this: It's over. It's Lakers vs. Celtics in the Finals.