After sweating it out in six thrilling games against the Wizards, the Cleveland LeBrons, after the first few minutes, were never in this one today. They dropped a squeaker in Game One against the Pistons, 113-86. Here's a short list of things that the Cavaliers game against the Pistons did not have in common with the games they played against Washington:

• It was not close
• It was not particularly exciting
• It was not completely devoid of defense

Every Pistons starter who plays that thing called "offense" was in double figures. Big Ben Wallace (reportedly about to win his 4th defensive player of the year award) had just two. As a team, though, the Pistons shot 15-of-22 from behind the three-point-line, few of them with even a hand in the face. And that's after cooling down considerably in the 4th.

In fairness to Cleveland, they, like the Spurs, had a rough travel schedule and not a lot of turnaround time between the two series. King James, who sat a lot of the 2nd half, finished with 22 points in 36 minutes. Other Cavs who had good games include... um...

Perhaps the biggest highlight of the day for Cleveland was celebrity Damon Jones' dress-code-compliant jacket. That is the jacket of a man who was planning to be on TV today, and who planned to get the most out of it. I think he was successful.

Cleveland 86, Detroit 113 [ESPN.com]

Contact information for this author is not available.