Two fantastic NBA Playoff games took place last night. Here are my post-game reflections...

Detroit Pistons vs. Cleveland Cavaliers

Guaran-Sheed?

Being a die-hard Indiana Pacers fan, let’s just say that I’m not particularly fond of Detroit Pistons star forward Rasheed Wallace. I can't stand the way he runs his mouth. I can't stand his wannabe-Dirk Nowitzki game. I can't stand the way he whines and protests after every single foul that is called on him. I can't stand when he throws temper tantrums and flings off his headband. I can't stand that bird #### stain on the top of his dome. Most of all, I can't stand his “Guaran-Sheeds.” I hate "Guaran-Sheeds."

As you can imagine, last night I took great pleasure in watching a “Guaran-Sheed” victory prediction go up in smoke for the first time. He previously was 3-0 after making these pre-game predictions, with two of those “Guaran-Sheed” wins coming against my beloved Pacers. I was at the second of those two games--Game 4 of last year’s second-round Pacers-Pistons playoff series--where I witnessed Wallace and teammate Chauncey Billups tear my Pacers apart firsthand. That was the last time I saw my favorite player of all time--Reggie Miller--play in person. That was also the last time I went to the Pacers state-of-the-art venue Conseco Fieldhouse. I still have this nasty, bitter taste in my mouth. I-puked-and-didn’t-brush-my-teeth nasty.

Monday night’s Pistons-Cleveland Cavaliers game was also Game 4 of a second-round playoff series. I guess Wallace and the Pistons think that they can waltz to the Finals every year simply by guaranteeing victories every time any Eastern Conference team comes within striking distance in a series. LeBron and his Cavs disagreed. The Cavs won the game 74-72 and sent the series back to Detroit tied 2-2.

Another problem I have with Wallace’s promises is that he doesn’t always show up after making these predictions. Last night Wallace looked disinterested. He was so out of it that when the “Kiss Cam” made its way around the arena during a timeout, he playfully was trying to kiss Billups. He scored a pedestrian 7 points and ended up sitting out a large portion of the game with what seemed to be nothing more than a lightly sprained ankle. That also bugs me, because most so-called NBA gurus rave about the Pistons toughness. Nowitski has returned to play after losing teeth, spraining ankles, etc… Why has he been labeled “soft” while Wallace gets “tough?” It simply doesn’t make sense.

I think guarantees are becoming far too prevalent in sports today. Back in the day, these predictions were reserved for the likes of the NBA Finals and the Super Bowl. For example, flashy Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Chad Johnson could be a meteorologist for the local news with all the forecasting he does. Wallace is making his "Guaran-Sheeds" such an annual ritual that his latest assurance hardly even generated any news. In my opinion, if you make one of these guarantees you need to A.) Be the best player and a leader on your team; and B.) Follow it up with a monster stat line.

Wallace is not the best player on his team (he’s the fourth best, for the record), he’s’ not a leader, and he didn’t even come close to a monster stat line last night. He finally wrote a check that his butt couldn’t cash. I suppose that’s what Wallace meant when he made the post-game comment "The sun even shines on a dog's #### some days." This is suddenly a series as the Pistons biggest dog is now feeling some heat being applied to his rear end.

Sideshow Bob no longer

Varejao was all over the court, playing like the second coming of Dennis Rodman. Not only did he have 10 points and 6 rebounds in 28 minutes, he matched Ben Wallace’s intensity, and made countless hustle plays. His biggest play of the night was a charge he took from Chauncey Billups with 30 seconds left in the contest. Cavs Head Coach Mike Brown gave this beauty of a quote as a response “Andy’s charge was huge. He has about the quickest feet of any guy that I know that is seven feet, or six-ten and some hair. He’s great. His feet are extremely quick and he is a very smart basketball player.”

Varejao will definitely have to maintain this level of both play and energy for the Cavs to have a shot at stealing this series from the Pistons. However, he is playing the finest basketball of his relatively short career, so I think both he and the Cavs have an outside shot.

My Forecast (No, this is not a “Gauran-Sheed”)

I’m still thinking Pistons in 7… But, if I were Detroit I’d try to close this baby out in six games. They do not want to give LeBron James the opportunity to knock them out with clutch heroics late in Game 7. No matter how clutch Mr. Billups thinks he is.

San Antonio Spurs vs. Dallas Mavericks

Coming soon...