Every single one of you claimed to want the Pistons!

I understand the sentiment. Magic fans are sick and tired of being a Piston punching bag.

Before this season, Orlando had made the playoffs in two of the last five years. Detroit ushered us out of both those appearances. In 2003, our Magic became a statistic after blowing a 3-1 series lead to Detroit. Last season, they swept us in four straight. As a matter of fact, going into this year, our Magic had dropped eight straight and 12 of the last 13 meetings to our Motown nemesis.

So, be careful what ya wish for, Magic fans. Sure, Detroit has shown a lack of zest vs. a young, athletic Philly team in round one. But, there's a reason why that Piston team finished with the second best record in the NBA. They're really good.

But, they are beatable!

The Magic went 2-2 vs. Detroit this year. As a matter of fact, two of the season's benchmark wins came vs. this team. On January 21 in Orlando, Rashard Lewis drained a jumper as time expired lifting us to a 102-100 victory. Back on February 19, we stormed out of the All Star break and battered the Bad Boys on their home court, 103-85.

That win was huge psychologically for this team because we proved to ourselves that we can not only beat the unbeatable foe....we can destroy them in their backyard!

The keys to such a series? Here are just a few...

History tells us that we must somehow get our mitts around Detroit's All Star backcourt. In a 101-93 loss to these Pistons back on January 25, Rip Hamilton scored 32 points and Chauncey Billups had 21. Going back to last postseason's sweep, Billups and Rip had their way with us. But I love the way Jameer Nelson is playing on both ends of the court right now and remember, Grant Hill had trouble running around those screens set for Rip last year. Now, we've got Rip's former teammate, the hard-nosed Mo Evans, who will be shadowing Rip all series.

Sounds simple, but, we also have to hit our free throws. In light of what Greg Poppovich did to Shaq in the first round, you have to think that the Pistons are gonna test Dwight. Last year in game one, Dwight went 3-11 from the line. Our team missed 18 total free throws in losing that game 100-92. The Pistons will test us at the line.

Prediction? I'll save that for later when we know the outcome of the Detroit-Philly.

In the meantime, just between you and me, I'll be packing my bags for the Motor City.