The first round series begin the Philadelphia Sixers and the Detroit Pistons is shaping up like a classic Championship fight where the two combatants keep getting knocked down and coming back for more.

Last nights 95-75 surprising beat down by the Sixers gave them a 2-1 series lead that no one could have predicted in their wildest dreams.

The win further secures the Sixers in the realm of legitimacy that they do indeed belong in the playoffs.   No longer can the critics, myself included, say that the Pistons were caught off guard or played apathetically.  This was as thorough a win as has been seen all year.

The sixers bloodied the Pistons into submission early and completed the onslaught with a 22-9 run to end a third quarter marked by fastbreak and alley-oop dunks that exposed and embarrassed the visitors from Motown, and left them with a broken nose, both figuratively and literally; Antonio McDyess left the game in the third quarter, thanks to an Andre Iguodala elbow.

McDyess’ status is unkown for Sunday’s game, but certainly the injury could put him and Detroit at a disadvantage whether he plays or not.

Another disadvantage for the Pistons could be Samuel Dalembert, who played his best game so far this series, dominating the boards with 16 rebounds and contributing 22 points.

Andre  Miller added 21 points on 9-14 shooting, and he was supported with solid efforts from Reggie Evans (5 rebs, 9pts), Lou Williams (9 points), Rodney Carney (4 rebs 8pts) and Thadeus Young (10pts 2 steals).

In fact, the only bad part of the outcome was the play of Iguodala, who scored only 10 points on 2-9 shooting.  However, he did contribute on the defensive end with 4 steals, not to mention getting McDyess out of the game and possibly more with the inadvertent elboe.

If you haven’t jumped on the bandwagon yet, now may be a good time.  The Sixers responded well, as they have since the All-Star break, to a tough loss the other night in Detroit seemed to take the heart out of the Pistons.

Do I still think the Pistons will win the Series?  Yes…. I do, but the Sixers have certainly given themselves a more than reasonable chance to upset the Pistons in the opening round series.  And for those of you out there who have yet to jump on the bandwagon, their’s plenty of seats still available.