INDIANAPOLIS -- The Detroit Pistons know they could be seeded anywhere from sixth to eighth for the Eastern Conference playoffs, but players and coaches say it does not matter who Detroit faces in the first round.
"I don't think about being an eighth seed being a situation we can't handle," Pistons forward Tayshaun Prince said. "Any situation would have been tough for us, the way we've been playing. It doesn't matter who we play. We have to be prepared, we have to be ready." Detroit guard Richard Hamilton agreed.
"We're already near the bottom in the playoffs," he said. "At this point in time, regardless of who we play, we just have to know that we made it to the playoffs and hopefully, we can make a run."
The Pistons' 106-102 loss to the Indiana Pacers on Saturday not only snapped their three-game winning streak, it also dealt a major blow to what little control they had for their postseason fate.
Going into that game, Detroit could have moved up to as high as the fifth seed.
Now, it can do no better than sixth, and that will happen only if a couple teams -- Philadelphia, Chicago and Miami -- lose all or most of their remaining games.
The Pistons will have some say in that when they face Chicago tonight and Miami in Wednesday's regular-season finale.
The winner of tonight's game will hold the tie-breaker advantage if the Bulls and Pistons finish with identical records.
Neither team wants to finish in the dreaded No. 8 spot, which means they would begin the playoffs by traveling to top-seeded Cleveland.
Detroit and Chicago would have identical division records if the Pistons win tonight. The next criterion used to determine the higher seed is conference record.
The Pistons are 26-24, and the Bulls are 23-27, which would give the better seed to Detroit.
But to the Pistons, the positioning does not matter.
"We're looking forward to playing whoever we match up against. Seventh, eighth, it don't matter," Prince said. "We have to find a way to come together as a team.
"The way things have been going throughout the season for us, hopefully when we get into the playoffs, we'll be able to come together and give whoever we play a tough series."
Brown's value
While the Pistons had trouble rebounding early against Indiana, a tight left hamstring kept Kwame Brown out.
Coincidence?
Detroit coach Michael Curry does not think so.
"We kind of missed Kwame (on Saturday)," said Curry, whose team allowed 22 second-chance points on 14 offensive rebounds in the first half against the Pacers.
"In the first half, his big body could have been good for us. He's been playing well for us, taking up a lot of space and really helping us on the boards."
Brown said the injury occurred Friday against New Jersey.
"Will (Bynum) kind of fell down, and I tried to jump out of his way and tweaked it then," Brown said.
Brown said he does not think the injury is serious and expects to play tonight against the Bulls.
