For the last game and a half the Pistons have had their way with the Sixers.

Will it change Thursday night when the series returns to the Wachovia Center?

The Sixers would like to think so and they were talking a good game in the locker room at The Palace after the loss.

But it’s apparent that the Pistons are much more comfortable in big games at this point, and their years of playing together are starting to show against a young team with a number of players making their first playoff run.

By the way, the Samuel Dalembert Mohawk is something to behold. Sam says he won’t change it even though he got nothing but grief from Rasheed Wallace all night – in more ways than one.

Besides, the only alternative at this point is pretty much a shaved head.

Winning Game 1 has given the Sixers a boost of confidence, which Samuel Dalembert thinks is a good thing.

“It’s a little edge on them,” he said. “Now, everyone kind of feels a little more loose. At the start of the game, the young guys were a little hesitant and not able to play their game the way they’re capable of playing. At the end of the game, Louis Williams was playing the way he’s capable. Now, winning the first game, the pressure is on them a little bit. We’re still the underdogs so we’re going to have to come in and play the way we’re capable.”

The Sixers had better believe that they’re the underdogs. They might have stunned the Pistons, but you need four wins to take a series.

If the Sixers have learned nothing this season it should have been that they can’t relax at all if they want a chance to win. And a loosey-goosey attitude against the Pistons isn’t a good idea.

“We’ll be all right,” Reggie Evans said. “We’re real humble. We’re real humble guys. We’re not gonna get too dramatic. We’re not in Philly where we got all the Philly fans, ‘Hey, hey, hey, you did good, you did good. We appreciate you.’ We’re still in Detroit, still gonna have a lot of people who are gonna get nasty. I think we’ll be all right, but at the same time it’s gonna be tough.”

Andre Miller knows just tough. Asked what it said that the Sixers have won three straight games against the Pistons dating back to the regular season.

“It doesn’t say anything because they’re gonna come out tougher and stronger,” he said. “You saw at the end of the game when they kind of were able to get to the free-throw line and make plays down the stretch. We definitely have to be ready for how they’re gonna come out and play.”

The Pistons, many of whom claimed to have slept little Sunday night, aren’t discouraged. They also had what Tayshaun Prince said was a good practice on Tuesday.

Rip Hamilton was optimistic.

“We’re still upbeat,” he said. “We missed out on an opportunity (Sunday). We had a good lead, they kept fighting, they got a win. We’ve just got to keep them down. We can’t play to the score. e’ve just got to stay aggressive.”

Wow! What a game this one turned out to be.

I thought it was over a few times, particularly midway through the third quarter when they fell down by 15, but the Sixers who showed up late in the third and the fourth quarter were the team that won 21-of 28 games to get in the playoffs, not the one that finished out the season.

There were some nerves evident early, but they settled down, and Reggie Evans was terrific in the second half and took away Jason Maxiell, who was one of Detroit’s best weapons early with his offensive rebounding.

Before the game, the Pistons’ locker room was calm and nearly deserted. While the Sixers had game film running on their TV, the Pistons were watching the Lakers and Nuggets.

Were they overconfident? Perhaps.

There’s an old saying about it not being a series until one team wins on the road, so I guess it’s now a series.

Long after most people on the East Coast were asleep, the NBA finally announced the dates and times for the first round of the playoffs. Everything had to wait for the Western Conference standings to be finalized and television to grab the series it wanted.

For the Sixers, it's a 6 p.m. start in Detroit on Sunday and a 7:30 start on Wednesday. The first game will be on TNT, the second will be on NBATV and presumably one of the locals.

Game 3 in Philly is at 7 p.m. on Friday, April 25 on ESPN 2 and game 4 on Sunday, April 27 at 7 p.m. on TNT.

If more games are necessary they'll be Tuesday, April 29, Thursday May 1 and Saturday May 3 with times to be determined.

Andre Miller doesn't speak much, so when he does his teammates listen.

Before Wednesday night's win over Detroit, Miller told the team that the final five games were important, not just for seeding, but to sustain momentum when the playoffs finally get here.

“We really don’t have time to relax,” Miller said. “For this team it’s been a (long) season, but we don’t want to go into the playoffs with a letdown. I’ve been on a team in Denver where we did this, we were in this position and guys started to sit out and it carried over into the playoffs. The main thing is just to stay in some type of rhythm and keep some type of focus.”

That fact that he spoke at all grabbed the Sixers' attention.

“Andre Miller, he doesn’t speak much, but before last night’s game, right before we got on the court, he was like, ‘We need these games,’ ” Andre Iguodala said. “And for him to say that I think guys kind of got it. For him to say something and he was like, “We need these games. We need all of them. Let’s be ready to play.’ I think that kind of turned on the switch to some of the younger guys and everybody on the team.”

If you’ve watched the 76ers over the last couple of months you’ve

probably noticed that they play hard with a passion for the game that sometimes

seems more collegiate than pro.

That’s why these last five games are important for more than just seeding

purposes.

“The type of guys that we have, I think we feed off of energy, feed off

momentum, so if we can create that for ourselves going into the playoffs I think

that would be good,” Sixers guard Lou Williams said. “These last couple of games

have been rocky because of the clinching and then we kind of relaxed. I think

these couple of days of practice will be good for us and give us an opportunity

to refocus.”

They could use that. They went 2-2 last week after losing just twice in their

previous nine games, a sign that there could be some slippage.

If they’re to head into the playoffs on an up note, and with the best seed

possible, they need to rededicate themselves, and Monday’s practice, nearly two hours at the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine, could help.

“We can try to play our own way, we can try to play a different way, but if we

don’t win that’s affecting us,” center Samuel Dalembert said. “I think everybody

will realize that from the last game. I don’t want to rest.”

After missing the playoffs for three of the last four years, Dalembert knows

what it’s like to sit home. When he arrived in the NBA in 2001, he said he never

envisioned that. The Sixers of that time, fresh off a Finals appearance, were

focused on championships rather than merely making the playoffs.

“For the young guys to be able to experience that the first year is tremendous,”

he said. “…I think they’re gonna be able to know that every year this is what we

expect.”

The one team in the Eastern Conference that has epitomized that attitude over

the last half decade is Detroit, the Sixers’ next opponent and a possible

playoff matchup.

With their experience and their style, the Pistons are formidable.

“They’re a tough team because they try to slow you down but then they try to run on

your misses,” Williams said. “And then they have a veteran group who are

knowledgeable about the game so it’s always a challenge when you play Detroit.”

For a variety of reasons.

“They’re gonna be a challenge for us because our style of play is running and

their style of play is half-court,” Dalembert said.

To force their own style on Detroit will be difficult at best, but it can be

done.

“They don’t have a lot of turnovers,” Sixers coach Maurice Cheeks said. “If you

don’t create turnovers against Detroit you will not be able to run against

Detroit.”

When New Jersey Nets coach Lawrence Frank was asked before Tuesday night’s game about the Sixers’ recent successes he was off and running.

He talked about Andre Miller having a career year and Andre Iguodala continuing to improve and filling up the boxscore. He talked about a good mix of veterans and youth.

Then he touched on something that might surprise some Sixers’ fans who love to hate on Sam Dalembert.

“Dalembert’s an unsung hero in my eyes because he impacts the game on both ends. He gets them extra possessions on the offensive boards and he takes away possessions, not just with shot blocking, but his ability to impact different things. They can switch with him. He’s a very versatile, long defender who’s definitely impacted the games that we’ve had.”

Before Tuesday night’s game, the Sixers and Nets had met three times this season. In those games, Dalembert averaged 10 points, 14.3 rebounds and 3.3 blocks. Last night he added 15 points, 13 rebounds and five blocks.

Sam is one of only 10 players (among qualifiers) to average a double-double for the season with 10.6 points and 10.2 rebounds.

“That’s an honor,” Dalembert said when told of Frank’s remarks. “Unsung hero – I feel like one of those epic movies that I like so much. You always have one of the guys besides the main character is always out there making extra things happen, being a little bit of a pain in the butt, like a devil in a moustache fighting. It’s like, ‘Damn, this guy is annoying.’ When you’re a defensive player, you feel like you have to give extra possessions. Offensively, I just take whatever they give me. I try to get a little tip dunk – just try to give extra points. Defensively, just try to give extra possessions, which really helps us.”