Sixers need regal performance in Detroit's Palace

"Some guy was like, 'Man, I just want you to win 30 games. Get 30. Then I'm good.'

"And I'm laughing, like 'Thirty? That's it?' I said, 'Man, I'll get you 40.'

"He said, 'I know you've got to say that, but give me 30.' I said, 'I'm telling you, man. We're going to get hot.' "

Forty it is.

It is, in many respects, a stunning number, particularly in the light of an 18-30 start. It also comes with accoutrements: The team's first playoff berth since 2004-05 and a best-of-seven, first-round series against the Detroit Pistons, the opponent Iguodala unabashedly refers to as "the best team in the East, by far."

It all begins Sunday night in the Palace of Auburn Hills.

Iguodala's only previous playoff series came as a rookie in 2004-05. The Sixers, despite what amounted to a coming-out party for center Samuel Dalembert, lost in five games. Iguodala has come light years from there.

"I saw his ability to cut down his turnovers," coach Maurice Cheeks said. "I talked to him about cutting down on home-run plays . . . home-run passes [that turned into mistakes] and led to other teams' fastbreaks. His production went up because of Andre Miller, and also his jump shot got a lot better.

"His game has risen so much, and his leadership skills, too. It took a little bit of a learning curve to figure out he was going to be this leader; it's not easy to be a leader when you're not doing well, when your team is not doing well. He had to learn how to do that. As our team got a little bit better, he obviously got a little bit better."

Now, they all will have to be better again.

The Pistons didn't finish with the best record in the NBA East: 59 victories, against the No. 1-seeded Boston Celtics' league-best 66. But they do have the most experience, via appearances in the Eastern Conference Finals each of the last five seasons and the most complete starting lineup in the conference that includes joined-at-the-hip guards Richard "Rip" Hamilton and Chauncey Billups.

"They don't make many mistakes," Iguodala said. "Basically, you've got to play perfect. Boston, they're having a really good year; you can't take anything away from them, but Detroit is the only team I've ever played against at any level that can turn it off and turn it on within, like, one possession."

The Pistons were also a daunting 34-7 at home. If you're searching for solace, one of those losses came against the Sixers, an 83-82 decision on March 12. The Sixers also won, 101-94, on April 9 in the Wachovia Center, on a night when Pistons coach Flip Saunders held his starters out of the fourth quarter. But just for the record, that was no ploy: The Pistons had already all but locked up the No. 2 seed and had been using their regulars for limited stretches for a few weeks.

Still, the season series ended at 2-2.

"It definitely gives us some confidence," Miller said. "We know we can play well against them. It's just about consistency, to play well in that environment when things get tough. It's probably one of the top three arenas in the league as far as competing. It helps that we play well on the road."

Well, what about "that environment?"

"It's always a rough place to play as far as the fans go, and those were regular-season games," Lou Williams said. "When I think about playoff basketball, I always think about the Detroit Pistons because of the amount of years they've been in the playoffs in a row. Their games always seem to have the most energy when you watch on TV.

"We don't have to spell it out, to say we're the underdogs. I think everybody realizes that. But we're very confident; once the ball goes up, both teams have an opportunity."

The Sixers could have had an even greater opportunity. They were in excellent position to climb higher in the seedings, perhaps to draw either the Orlando Magic or the Cleveland Cavaliers in the first round. But they dropped seven of their last 10 games, including their final four.

"I certainly didn't like the end of the season, losing those four," Cheeks said. "But we have another season coming up."

To accomplish anything in the series, the Sixers have to be able to defend, to rebound and run. That's when they're at their best. They can't allow the Pistons to control the tempo. They can't allow themselves to get distracted by the crowd, or even some of the curious antics of Rasheed Wallace, the power forward who has played center all season.

"You have to always be prepared and not fall into that [trap]," Samuel Dalembert said, "because he can make you fall asleep very quickly and wake you up with a three. He's kind of a tricky player.

"We just have to be careful and not get caught up playing their style of game. If you look at our games with them, any time we turned the ball over we paid the price at the other end. That's how good they are. We just need to stick with our style, focus on defense, which is what got us here. If we try to change, it's not going to work." *