Heat lose to Pistons and world ends?

Ok, so I expected the Heat to beat the Pistons last night and they didn't. Big deal.

I am a fan, of course I am going to expect the Heat to beat the Pistons. But one difference continues to glare at us Heat fans where the Pistons are concerned: they are completely healthy.

And, they are completely on board with what they are supposed to do.

Now, those chemistry supporters - you know, those writers out there that disdain talent in favor of chemistry - are absolutely wet in the pants over this. Because, it would seem, that chemistry trumps talent.

Yet, time and time again, this is not so.

Last night, all that happened was a Pistons team, which has had not a single significant injury all season nor a major change to the roster, continued to do what they have always done - play hard, physical defense, slow the game down and win.

That isn't to say the Pistons aren't talented. That would be insane. Their starting five is excellent and arguably all five have all-star caliber talents.

Yet, the Heat are not without talent either. They, too, have a starting 5 that has great ability. You could argue that James Posey and Udonis Haslem are not all-star caliber, but the Heat's bench with Zo, Gary Payton and Antoine Walker have all made the trip.

But Zo, Jason Williams and James Posey didn't suit up last night and that was significant for the Heat - and just as much so for the Pistons in terms of matchups.

The Heat relied on Dwyane Wade and Shaq to do their scoring - and they did. They combined for 57 of the Heat's 82 points (29 for Wade, 28 for the Daddy). The Pistons, on the other hand, had 5 players in double digits.

The Heat missed the services of Jason Williams at point guard, who makes the transition game much smoother as he gets the ball up the court faster and has been able to hit his shot very efficiently. James Posey gives the Heat another athletic perimeter player to defend and shoot the open three. Zo is the intense game changer that comes off the bench for Shaq - who suffered 2 fouls in the first quarter.

If the Pistons lost three players for the game last night - any three - it would have had a significant impact on their game. Imagine if they lost 2 starters and their main reserve off the bench - how much would that have impacted the Pistons?

So much so it wouldn't have been much of a test for the Heat and in fact, would have been an expected win.

So, why should it be any different for the Pistons?