Central Nervous System

We're nearly three hours away from the opening tip of Game 3, and I'm nervous like Nick Anderson at the foul line. The folks at Need For Sheed have put a banner counting down the number of wins the Pistons need to win the championship across the top of their page. No one is giving the Magic a second thought, despite the fact that they've played fairly well through the first two games.

I guess the fact that Detroit has elevated its game so far has something to do with the lack of respect we're getting.

I hope my presence at the game tonight is enough to push the Magic to victory. I'm still jittery, though; the Magic are 1-2 in the other three games I attended this season, and the one victory was against the 76ers, who were without Allen Iverson and yet still managed to take the game down to its final seconds. Jameer Nelson blocked Kevin Ollie's shot as the buzzer sounded. A thrilling victory to be sure, but the 76ers? Come on.


Also causing concern: the amount of rest between games. While it should have been enough for Dwight Howard to recover from the illness he battled through in Game 2, I'm worried that the few days off may have cooled Hedo Turkoglu's shot. Turk is tied with Darko for the NBA lead in playoff field goal percentage at a ridiculously high 66.7%. That's fantastic, but Hedo is one of the streakiest shooters in the Association. If he's cooled off at all, we're in trouble.


For what it's worth, the Pistons have lost their past six Game 3s. I can only hope we can make it seven tonight.