While I don’t offer much commentary on the NHL, the Stanley Cup playoffs have always been a great “ride.” Game 1 of the Finals last night was everything a fan could ask for and more. My early Christmas wish is a great NBA Finals. Coverage starts tomorrow.

My free play for Tuesday is at the Oak A’s over the Cle Indians at 7:05 ET. Last night’s win over the Thousand Brewers increased my current MLB streak to 8-2 80% since May 30 and my record with the Las Vegas Insiders in the MLB to 10-3 77% since May 1! Tonight I’m featuring another Las Vegas Insider exclusive, plus a rare MLB 20* play (first this month). Get them BOTH, right now!

MLB ratings

Three teams entered last night’s games with four-game winning streaks and two of the three extended those winning streaks to five. The Nationals and Reds won, while the D’backs lost. Brandon Webb couldn’t hold a 3-0 lead for Arizona, but he wasn’t around to take the loss, which would have been his first of the year.

On the other end of the spectrum, the Brewers snapped the longest active losing streak in the majors at eight, beating the Padres 5-2. That leaves the Rockies with the longest active losing streak (six straight losses and 11 of 13), with the Braves and Astros (each having lost five in a row) just a game behind.

All 30 teams are in action tonight with more than a few games of interest. The Red Sox and Yankees opened their four-game series at Yankee Stadium last night (NY won 13-5) and it continues tonight with Pauley vs. Wang at 7:05 ET. Last year’s defending champions, the Chicago White Sox, open a three-game series tonight with the biggest surprise team of 2006, the Detroit Tigers. The Tigers own the best road record in MLB (20-7), while the White Sox own the best home record (20-8).

There’s a good pitching matchup tonight in Los Angeles as Pedro Martinez (Mets) takes on Derek Lowe (Dodgers). While Martinez hasn’t won since April 28, a span of six of six starts, it’s not due to poor pitching. Pedro has thrown 42 innings in his last six outings, allowing just 10 ERs, for a 2.14 ERA. His strikeout-to-walk ratio is 55-6.

In his last three starts, he has allowed 14 hits and just two ERs (22 innings), for a 0.82 ERA at a 26-1 ratio. However, the Mets have scored just 10 runs in those six starts, giving Pedro an 0-1 record with the Mets going 2-4.

As for Derek Lowe, he’s allowed two ER or fewer in 10 of his 12 starts this year, but despite a 2.68 ERA, he’s 4-3 on the year and the Dodgers are 7-5 in his starts. . Lowe, like Pedro, has been nearly unbeatable in his last three starts. He has allowed 13 hits and just one ER in 20 innings, for a 0.45 ERA. He looks like a ‘dead nut’, doesn’t he?

Goodbye Birdie (Detroit)

What happened to the team that opened the season by winning its first eight games was 22-3 after an 85-70 Christmas Day win over the Spurs, 36-9 on February 3, 47-9 (.839 ) at the end of it. February? The Pistons finished the season 64-18, the most wins since the Lakers won 67 in 1999-2000. They were the best in the league 37-4 at home and had a 27-14 record on the road (second best to San Antonio’s 29-12 mark), but maybe we should have seen that coming?

In hindsight, it’s always 20-20, but why didn’t many realize Detroit was just 17-9 (.654) after going 47-9 (.839) through February, including an ATS mark of just 8 -17-1? Even more troubling was Detroit’s road game down the stretch. Starting with a January 31 loss at the Meadowlands to the Nets (91-84), Detroit finished the regular season 10-11 SU and a pathetic 5-15-1 ATS in its last 21 road games. How come the ‘bells’ didn’t ring?

Well, maybe it was Detroit’s way of opening the playoffs? Detroit easily beat Milwaukee (4-1) and then defeated the Cavs in Game 1 of the second round, 113-86. Yes, the Pistons won Game 2 just 97-91, but that game was well controlled, and the final scoreline didn’t indicate Detroit’s dominance. At the time, the Pistons were 6-1 in seven games, averaging 106.6 PPG. They left for Cleveland, leading the series 2-0.

What happened then was that the Pistons got ‘beaten down’ and NEVER recovered! Cleveland won Game 3, 86-77 and, despite a “Guaran-Sheed,” lost Game 4, 74-72. The Cavs even won Game 5 in Detroit, 86-84, but when Detroit avoided elimination in Game 6 (won 84-82) and won convincingly in Game 7 (79-61), many thought it was all over. be fine. it was not

The Pistons were dominated by the Heat in the Eastern Conference Finals as they had no answer for Dwayne Wade and no one big enough to stop Shaq. They lost all three games in Miami by 15, 11 and 17 points, averaging a paltry 79.7 PPG while allowing the Heat to hit around 55 percent of their shots.

A final tally shows Detroit averaging just 82.3 PPG in its last 11 playoff games, going 4-7 SU and 2-9 ATS. That includes a branded 1-5 SU and 0-6 ATS on the road. All 11 games were ‘under’ the total. Again, maybe we should have seen this coming? Flip Saunders’ “new offense” had the team in the top 10 in offense through the end of January, but by the end of the year, Detroit was ranked 19th.

The Pistons, a team hailed for their selflessness and team play, got back together in the end. They were united in blaming head coach Flip Saunders! Asked earlier this year by Sports Illustrated to rank this Piston team among the greatest teams in NBA history, Chauncey Billups modestly replied, “I have to rank us in the top five all-time.” I hope Chauncey and his teammates enjoy watching Miami/Dallas.

Ness Notes is available Monday through Friday at 1:00 ET.

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