The 76ers got thumped 34-16 in the third quarter by the Pistons and they couldn’t recover. Rookie Thaddeus Young led the way for the 76ers with 15 points, 9 rebounds and 3 assists. Andre Miller had a decent game with 13 points, 2 rebounds and 3 assists. Willie Green also had a decent game with 13 points, 3 rebounds and 3 assists. Samuel Dalembert was tough around the basket as he finished with 12 points, 12 rebounds and 1 assist. Andre Iguodala had another tough game as he only shot 4 of 16 from the floor finishing with 12 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists. This series now stands at 2-2.

The 76ers took it to the Pistons tonight as they outrebounded them 43-34 on their way to a very easy win. Samuel Dalembert dominated the paint as he finished with 22 points, 16 rebounds and 2 blocked shots. Andre Miller did a good job of running the offense as he finished with 21 points, 6 rebounds and 3 assists. Andre Iguodala had another rough night as he only made 2 of 9 shots but he still finished with 10 points, 4 rebounds, 6 assists and 4 steals. Thaddeus Young pitched in with 10 points, 2 rebounds and 2 steals in only 21 minutes. The 76ers are now up 2-1 in this series.

The 76ers got blasted on Wednesday Night as the Pistons answered the wake up call the Sixers delivered in Game #1 of this series. The Sixers only shot 39.5% from the floor and they were outrebounded 42-34 by the Pistons. The Pistons also shot 54.9% from the floor as the repeatedly shred the Sixers defense. Louis Williams led the way for the Sixers with 17 points and 2 assists off the bench despite only shooting 4 of 12 from the floor. Andre Miller pitched in with 14 points, 3 rebounds and 3 assists. Reggie Evans was very tough off the bench as he finished with 13 points and 11 rebounds in 30 minutes off the bench. The Sixers are now tied 1-1 in this series as it shifts to Philly for the weekend.

The 76ers stunned the Pistons in Detroit earlier tonight by outscoring them 52-35 in the 2nd half and holding them to 39% shooting from the floor. Andre Miller led the way for the Sixers with 20 points, 3 rebounds and 6 assists. Willie Green pitched in with 17 points and 2 assists. Andre Iguodala had a rough shooting night (4 of 15) but he still finished with 16 points, 9 rebounds and 8 assists. This win has to give the Sixers big time confidence and we’ll see if it carries over into game #2. The 76ers are now up 1-0 in this series.

This series could get ugly quick as the Pistons are one of the best teams in all of the NBA. Here’s a look at the matchups in this series:

POINT GUARD: Andre Miller is one of the most underrated players in the entire NBA. He played in 82 games (all starts) for the 76ers and he averaged 17.0 points, 4.0 rebounds, 6.9 assists and 1.3 steals per game. The Sixers will likely need Miller to be a little more selfish in this series with the basketball.

Chauncey Billups is one of the best clutch shooters in the NBA. He played in 78 games (all starts) for the Pistons this season and he averaged 17.0 points, 2.7 rebounds, 6.8 assists and 1.3 steals per game.

EDGE: EVEN

SHOOTING GUARD: The 76ers will need Willie Green to make Richard Hamilton work on both sides of the basketball court if they want to win this series. Green played in 74 games (all starts) for the 76ers this season and he averaged 12.4 points, 2.5 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game.

Richard Hamilton will attack the Sixers’ defense with his mid-range game on offense. Hamilton played in 72 games (all starts) for the Pistons this season and he averaged 17.3 points, 3.3 rebounds, 4.2 assists and 1.0 steal per game. Hamilton will likely have a good series against the Sixers.

EDGE: PISTONS

SMALL FORWARD: The 76ers must win this battle to have any chance of winning this series. Andre Iguodala needs to take more shots than usual in this series. He played in 82 games (all starts) for the 76ers and he averaged 19.9 points, 5.4 rebounds, 4.8 assists and 2.1 steals per game.

Tayshaun Prince is the defensive stopper on the Pistons. He will have his hands full with Iguodala in this series. He played in 82 games (all starts) for the Pistons this season and he averaged 13.2 points, 4.9 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game.

EDGE: 76ERS

POWER FORWARD: Rookie Thaddeus Young will likely be the starter at power forward for the Sixers in this series. He will have to keep his head as he will likely be matched up with Rasheed Wallace. Young played in 74 games (22 starts) for the Sixers this season and he averaged 8.2 points, 4.2 rebounds and 0.8 assists per game.

Rasheed Wallace is the master of getting into the opponents head and he will test Young early and often. Wallace played in 77 games (76 starts) for the Pistons this season and he averaged 12.7 points, 6.6 rebounds, 1.8 assists, 1.2 steals and 1.7 blocked shots per game.

EDGE: PISTONS

CENTER: Samuel Dalembert really stepped up this season for the Sixers. He played in 82 games (all starts) and he averaged 10.5 points, 10.4 rebounds, 0.5 assists and 2.3 blocked shots per game. He will likely have to dominate the paint to give the Sixers a good shot in this series.

Antonio McDyess did a fine job for the Pistons this season. He played in 78 games (all starts) for the Pistons and he averaged 8.8 points, 8.5 rebounds and 1.1 assists per game.

EDGE: 76ERS

BENCH: The 76ers only really go 4-deep on the bench. Louis Williams is a combo guard as he can handle either the point or shooting guard position. Williams played in 80 games (0 starts) for the 76ers this season and he averaged 11.5 points, 2.1 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 1.0 steal per game. Power forward Reggie Evans will likely get a lot of playing time in this series with the play to likely be rough around the basket. He played in 81 games (61 starts) for the Sixers last season and he averaged 5.2 points, 7.5 rebounds, 0.8 assists and 1.1 steals per game. Rodney Carney didn’t play as well as he did in his rookie season. He played in 70 games (6 starts) this season for the Sixers and he averaged 5.8 points, 2.1 rebounds and 0.5 assists per game. Rookie F/C Jason Smith had a decent rookie season for the 76ers. He played in 76 games (1 start) for the Sixers and he averaged 4.5 points, 3.0 rebounds and 0.3 assists per game.

The Pistons bench is a really solid and young bunch for the most part. Power forward Jason Maxiell is the most impressive player the Pistons bring off the bench. He played in 82 games (7 starts) for the Pistons this season and he averaged 7.9 points, 5.3 rebounds, 0.6 assists and 1.2 blocked shots per game. Rookie guard Rodney Stuckey showed some promise as a rookie this season. He played in 57 games (2 starts) for the Pistons this season and he averaged 7.6 points, 2.3 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game. Jarvis Hayes was a solid small forward off the bench for the Pistons this season. He played in 82 games (1 start) for the Pistons this season and he averaged 6.7 points, 2.2 rebounds and 0.8 assists per game. Juan Dixon was brought over from the Raptors in a trade. He played in 17 games (0 starts) for the Pistons and he averaged 6.5 points, 1.6 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game. Rookie Arron Afflalo also played well in limited minutes for the Pistons. He played in 75 games (9 starts) for the Pistons and he averaged 3.7 points, 1.8 rebounds and 0.7 assists per game. Amir Johnson is a solid backup big man for the Pistons. He played in 62 games (0 starts) for the Pistons last season and he averaged 3.6 points, 3.8 rebounds and 0.5 assists per game. Theo Ratliff was brought in late in the season by the Pistons and he is a solid defender. Ratliff played in 16 games (3 starts) for the Pistons and he averaged 3.0 points, 3.1 rebounds, 0.4 assists and 1.2 blocked shots per game.

EDGE: PISTONS

PREDICTION: PISTONS IN 4 GAMES