Pistons 79, Cavs 61. 8 down. 8 to go.

The Pistons came out and got it done today, completely shutting down LeBron James, and thus the Cavaliers in the second half.

I love watching the Pistons, because the things they are good at – defense and rebounding – depend almost entirely on effort. The player who wants the ball the most gets the rebound, even if they aren’t the tallest guy on the floor. And defense is basically one big game of “one more time.” You’re tired after the first five minutes. After that, it’s simply a question of whether or not you’re determined to run down the court just one more time.

Sometimes, it’s what makes the Pistons good that gets them in trouble. This team is unabashedly aware of its place in NBA history. They want to be considered one of the all-time greats. The trouble is, they don’t have that kind of natural talent. Everything they’ve gotten, they’ve had to work for it. But it’s easy – and less demanding – to forget that.

After playing 7 quarters against LeBron and friends, the Pistons lead by a combined 50 points. At that point, it was too easy to say “We’re obvicously superior. We don’t need to work at it.” You saw what happened next.

It took until the second half of game 7 – after just eking out game 6 – for the Pistons’ work ethic to once again assert itself. A record-setting performance later, and the Pistons moved on.

8 down. 8 to go. Time to get back to work.

Update: I wrote the above before tonight's Game 1 against Miami. The Pistons lost. But seriously. It's a long series. You've got to trust it.