[Iplayboard]

All the analysts are being politically correct and talking about how the Pistons played with poise down the stretch. However, in all honesty the Pistons won because most of the starting lineup for the Heat, including Dwayne Wade and Shaquille O'Neal, was not at or close to 100 percent for most or all of the series. If Shaq and Wade had been healthy the series most likely would not have even made it to a Game 6. Although the Pistons played well in Game 7, the real story of the series was the injuries that Miami sustained. I don't believe the NBA awards MVPs for the conference finals like MLB, but if it did the injury bug that bit the Heat would definitely take the cake. The Pistons win is somewhat tainted by the fact that their accomplishment largely depended on external factors over which they had no control.