Can the Bulls Stave Off Elimination in Detroit?

After dropping Game 4 to the Bulls, the Pistons return home for a chance to clinch the series against the Bulls. Considering the Pistons absolutely destroyed the Bulls in the first two games at the Palace of Auburn Hills, it's not a surprise to see that Las Vegas has made them overwhelming favorites. That said, I'm actually expecting a surprisingly close game.

Ignore the scores of the first two games. They mean nothing. Instead, look at what happened the last two in Chicago: the Bulls essentially owned the Pistons for three of the last four halves of basketball, with the last 24 minutes of Game 3 being the only thing preventing this series from being tied up. That should be a surprising realization for casual observers who have bought into the description of this series being out and out dominated by Detroit.

For the Pistons to close out the series, they need to get back to pounding the boards and getting solid production from all of their starters. Chauncey Billups has been a constant in this series, but he battled early foul trouble in the last game which took the Pistons out of their rhythm. Chris Webber was out of rhythm his entire stay in the Windy City, failing to score a single point after combining to go 0-for-8 in two games.

Can Chicago's big three work through Detroit's vaunted zone defense? Will Ben Gordon lose it and go Artest on Detroit's hecklers? Will Kirk Hinrich be called for any loose ball infractions? Ben Wallace continue to make his former team pay the ugly Hack-A-Ben strategy? We'll find out. Feel free to leave your observations in the comments as you watch the game.