--G Richard Hamilton led the Pistons in scoring against Orlando this season at 21.7 points per game. Hamilton will be matched against ex-teammate Maurice Evans and should have a big series against Orlando's mediocre guards.

--C Theo Ratliff will get plenty of opportunities during the conference finals after getting sporadic time in the first round. His height and length will be needed to help defend Dwight Howard.

"Theo will help us put another 'big' to be able to play against Superman (Howard) inside," Saunders said.

--F Jarvis Hayes lost his rotation spot to Arron Afflalo in the series but regained his shooting touch in Game 6. He made two garbage-time three-pointers in the fourth quarter Thursday.

--G Rodney Stuckey didn't put up big numbers in his first playoff series. He was too tentative at times and overly aggressive in other situations, though he played fairly well as a distributor (4.0 assists per game). Stuckey scored 12 points in Game 2 and a combined 19 in the other five games.

"He's played like a young player would play," coach Flip Saunders said. "He's had some moments where he's played well and he's had some moments where he's waited for somebody else to do something. It's part of the learning process."