2007 Eastern Conference Finals Predictions

The number two seed Cleveland Cavaliers face off against the top seeded Detroit Pistons in a rematch of last year’s Eastern Conference Semifinals. This time around the stakes are much higher as the winner will advance to the NBA Finals for a chance to take on the winner of the San Antonio Spurs/Utah Jazz series. Find out who Jimmy Boyd is taking in this series with his Eastern Conference Finals Predictions.

The Pistons will have to get past the pesky Cavaliers to advance to the NBA Finals for the third time in four years. Last year, Cleveland had Detroit down 3-2 and lost game six by a score of 84-82 which could have sent the Pistons home early.

The Pistons history makes them the favorite to win the series. This is the fifth straight year the Pistons will be playing in the conference finals. That kind of string gives you a world of experience that can’t be duplicated any other way. The Pistons are also the number one seed for the third time in four year earning home court advantage. That advantage got them past Cleveland last year and just might end up being the deciding factor again.

History is not on Cleveland’s side. This is the third time in franchise history that the Cavs will be appearing in the Eastern Conference Finals, but they are yet to advance to the NBA Finals for a chance at an NBA title. But neither of those teams was as good defensively and neither had a Lebron James who is mature beyond his years. He is leading the Cavs with 25.9ppg and 8.1apg as well as pulling down 7.8 rebounds per game. He hasn’t forgotten about last year’s disappointing series loss to the Pistons and will be looking for revenge this time around. Expect his numbers to increase even more as he looks to lead his team to the NBA Finals in just his fourth year in the league.

With Larry Hughes, Zydrunas Ilgauskas, and Drew Gooden the Cavs have a very solid squad. However Chauncey Billups, Rasheed Wallace, Tayshaun Prince, and Richard Hamilton, Chris Webber, and Antonio McDyess are better. I think we’ll see a number of close games in this series, but ultimately the Pistons have too many weapons and too much experience. During the regular season, the Pistons won three of four meeting with Cleveland to prove that the Cavs still haven’t closed enough of the gap. As I eluded to earlier, home court will prove to be the deciding factor in this series. Expect the Pistons to move on the NBA Finals in six games.

• 2007 Western Conference Finals Predictions

• 2007 NBA Finals Predictions

Updated May 21st, 2007