The Pistons' thin bench is only going to be a severe liability if one of their starters goes down with an injury. If any of Detroit's starters misses an extended period of time in the postseason the team has problems serious enough to keep it from repeating as the NBA's champion.

Less wear
and tear
The Piston have a short bench but fatigue is not a big issue with them because they are a very smart team.

They have a finely-tuned starting five and they all work well together.

The Pistons don't waste a lot of energy on the court.

They run when they can and they are very much under control.

The Pistons are a perfect example of why coaches like to have veteran players.

Also, in the playoffs the television timeouts are longer and that's a benefit.

Because of these timeouts playoff games have more rest time for players built into them.

Veteran players realize this and they know when the next television timeout is coming.

Also as a team Detroit uses its timeouts well.

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The Pistons take advantage of all these things to get a little bit of an extra breather here and there so that in case of a close game the starters will be strong down the stretch.

They're confident, they trust each other, and they know what they are doing.

That lets them relax more even though they are facing the pressure of the playoffs.

Counting on McDyess
Before the playoffs began I wrote the play of Pistons' starting power forward Rasheed Wallace would be pivotal since I wasn't sure how many quality minutes Antonio McDyess -- the team's top reserve -- could give Detroit in the playoffs.

I thought McDyess played okay in Detroit's five-game, first-round win over Philadelphia.

He was especially effective in the first two games of the series -- both of those games wins for Detroit.

In Game 1, McDyess logged 21 minutes, shot 7-of-9 from the field, scored 15 points and had eight rebounds.

In Game 2, he played 28 minutes, making 6-of-10 shots from the floor for 12 points, and he also had eight rebounds,

Overall in the series against the Sixers, the 30-year-old averaged 20.8 minutes, 8.6 points and 5.6 rebounds while shooting a percentage of .514 from the floor.

During the regular season McDyess averaged 23.3 minutes, 9.6 points and 6.3 rebounds with a field-goal percentage of .513.

In addition to being the No. 1 man off the bench, McDyess is a key part of Detroit's frontcourt rotation.

In the first round the Pistons did not need extended minutes from him because center Ben Wallace, Rasheed Wallace and small forward Tayshaun Prince were healthy and playing reasonably well.

And the heat on McDyess to score points has been eased by point guard Chauncey Billups, shooting guard Richard Hamilton and Prince all playing at another level offensively in the postseason.

But McDyess has to be ready to answer the call if either of the Wallaces has a game where they get into foul trouble.