How the Eastern Conference Champs Beat the Milwauke Bucks in the Playoffs

The reigning Eastern Conference champs faced the Milwauke Bucks in the first round of the palyoffs and it wasn't much of a contest really at all. The Pistons startedthe regular season on a tear and many NBA experts thought that they were going to have the best record in NBA history. Even though they did nto break any records with their regular season record, their starting five proven once again that they are the best in the laegue. Their starting five players were able to stay healthy and lead the Piston 4 games to 1 against the Bucks.

The bucks struggled to make the 8th spot in the playoffs and like most people predicted, they were no match for the Pistons. Michael Redd who is a great scorer tried to do everything he could against the tough Pistons defense but they were too much for him. The combination of of defense and scoring from Prince, Rasheed Wallace, Billups, Hamilton and defense from Ben Wallace overwhelemed the Bucks.

Most games during this series were blowouts by the Pistons as the Bucks managed to win one game on their home floor. New rookie center Andrew Bogut played well but his game must continue to develop if the Bucks are to get better next year. This year point guard T.J. Ford was finally healthy and he is a true point guard in that he looks to pass first instead of shoot first.

The Pistons are caoched by Flip Saunders who replaced Larry Brown. Most people did not expect Saunders to have the same success as Brown but if you look at the standings, Flip Saunders actually did a better coaching job than Larry Brown. While Saunders opened up the offensive playbook to open up the offense to score more points, Larry Brown made the New York Knicks into shambles and the Knicks finished with the second worst record in the league.