Any time you guys wanna show up, that would be great

Yeah, this isn't funny or cute anymore. Last year, the Pistons started a disturbing trend where they clearly only played hard when they wanted to, believing that they could "turn it on" whenever they wanted and win games when they absolutely had to. It was a frustrating thing to watch all last year, and the way they dicked around the first two games of last year's finals -- which ultimately probably cost them the series, Rasheed's epic brainfart notwithstanding -- seemed to light a fire under them, as they came out this season with a sense of purpose and desire and blazed through the league. They got homecourt advantage throughout the playoffs. They blew the doors off of Milwaukee in the first round. They creamed the Cavs in game one, and dominated the first three quarters of game two in similar fashion.

And then everything stopped.

And they've played like crap for the majority of the last nine quarters of basketball.

They took the Cavs too damn lightly. Guarantees, lackluster play, inexplicable fouls and coaching moves ... what the hell are these guys thinking? They let an inferior team hang around and build up its confidence; they thought they could just "flip the switch" and win when the chips were down; and their lackadaisical attitude now has them firmly pressed up against the proverbial wall. This team, whose Renaissance was constructed primarily on defense, now believes that in the last five minutes of games they can win by simply outscoring you. Ugh, there are so many things wrong with the way they're playing that it's maddening to even start thinking about all of them.

And the worst part is, it would be one thing if the Cavs were playing lights-out, way above their heads, or if LeBron was going off for 45 every game and taking over at crunch time. But they're not and he's not. The Cavs are playing okay. They're playing like a team that should make the second round of the playoffs and go no further. The Pistons, conversely, are playing terrible, with a blatant lack of respect for their opponent. And now they've put themselves one of those 45-point outbursts away from going home embarrassed and ashamed. And they have no one to blame but themselves.

Heads out of rectal cavities please, boys. Don't become the Red Wings.