Six. This is the number of times in a row that the Detroit Pistons are able to make it to the Eastern Conference Finals. In two of those times, they have won the NBA Championship. This year, they have made it again and will be facing the winner of the Boston Celtics – Cleveland Cavaliers series. Regardless of who wins between those two teams, the Pistons are prepared. They have ample time to rest, which is most important for their star point guard Chauncey Billups who had an ankle injury in their team’s match-up against the Orlando Magic. Detroit’s beating of Orlando in five games was their ticket to this year’s East Finals.

Boston has lost two in a row in their playoffs series against the Cleveland Cavaliers. The Celtics finished as the top-seeded team in the East. Now they are up against the fourth seed Cleveland and they can't seem to get their game going. They are headed back home for Game 5 but even that can't assure them of beating the Cavs for good.

The story of the “Wizard of Oz” taught a valuable lesson: there is no place like home. For most of the remaining teams competing in this year’s NBA Playoffs, their home court was the key to success. Out of eight teams, only one has lost in their official arena. The Western Conference saw Utah, Los Angeles, San Antonio and New Orleans playing their best games in their respective courts. The Eastern Conference, meanwhile, has Detroit, Boston, and Cleveland protecting their turf. Orlando was the only team that relinquished the advantage of playing for a very supportive home crowd.

LeBron James is the main man for the Cleveland Cavaliers. He, of the entire line-up of players the team has, had seemed to have single-handedly brought the Cavs into the playoffs series – the ultimate destination of every team in the league.  

But looking at his performance in the playoffs, including the first two games against the Celtics, basketball fans are wondering why his regular season prowess seemed to have been on and off during the playoffs. Where is LeBron James? Is he really an overrated player? A little flashback on LeBron’s performance is needed to answer this question.

The San Antonio Spurs did not become last year’s NBA Champions for nothing. They showcased their team power and muscled their way to the title by beating the other ball clubs that stood in their way. However, this year’s Playoffs are becoming a stumbling block to them as they were handed two consecutive losses by the New Orleans Hornets. Not having homecourt advantage was a factor in the Spurs earlier defeats but Game Three was another story. Returning to the AT&T Center in San Antonio, Texas, Tim Duncan and the Spurs rallied their way to a much-needed victory with a 110-99 beating of the Hornets.