The rising Chicago Bulls will face the veteran Detroit Pistons in a series that starts later today.  You just know that Ben Wallace was hoping he would get to play against the Pistons at some point and you just have to have the feeling that Big Ben will dominate the paint in this series.  This will be an interesting match-up of athletic ability (Bulls) vs. veteran know how.  Here’s a look at the matchups:

POINT GUARD:  Chauncey Billups just dominated the smaller Jameer Nelson in round #1 against the Orlando Magic and he’ll try to impose his will again against the Bulls.  Billups averaged 22.3 points, 4.0 rebounds, 7.0 assists and 1.25 steals per game against the Magic in Round #1.  He also shot good from everywhere on the floor as he hit 52% from the floor, 40% from three-point range and 85.3% on free-throws.  Kirk Hinrich was horrible in the first round against the Heat.  He averaged 11.0 points, 2.3 rebounds, 5.3 assists and 1.25 steals per game.  Hinrich was often in foul trouble and he only shot 31.3% from the floor.  He will need to improve his play in the Bulls are going to have a chance to win this series because they will need all hands on the deck.  EDGE:  PISTONS

SHOOTING GUARD:  Ben Gordon was on fire the whole series against the Heat as he was repeatedly torching Dwyane Wade.  Gordon averaged 25.5 points, 5.3 rebounds, 5.5 assists and 1.25 steals per game against the Heat.  Gordon is a fantastic shooter whose game is very similar to that of Richard Hamilton so this will be a fun matchup to watch in this series.  Richard Hamilton averaged 18.3 points, 3.3 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game against the Magic but he didn’t shoot well (38.6% FGs) and that will need to change if the Pistons are to prevail over the Bulls.  EDGE:  BULLS

SMALL FORWARD:  This will also be a good matchup to watch on the floor.  Luol Deng is a very athletic player that is great at finishing on the fastbreak.  Deng abused the much slower Miami Heat in Round #1 as he averaged 26.3 points, 9.0 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 1.75 steals per game.  Deng also shot 57.9% from the floor in the first round.  Tayshaun Prince is the Pistons best defensive player and he’s a good offensive player when the team needs him to be.  Prince averaged 16.5 points, 5.3 rebounds and 3.8 assists per game against the Magic.  Prince was shot well from everywhere on the floor against the Heat as he hit 53.5% from the floor, 7 of 10 from three point range and 81.3% from the free throw line.  EDGE:  EVEN

POWER FORWARD:  Rasheed Wallace always plays better as the games get bigger and his game has improved already in the playoffs.  In the first round of the playoffs, Wallace averaged 15.3 points, 7.8 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.0 blocks per game.  Wallace also hit 10 of 19 (52.6%) from the three point line.  P.J. Brown will start for the Bulls but he will only play about half the game with Andres Nocioni getting a lot of time here.  Brown averaged 6.5 points, 4.5 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.0 steal per game in series #1 against the Heat.  EDGE:  PISTONS

CENTER:  Ben Wallace will be fired up to take on his old team, that’s for sure.  Wallace was his usual old self against the Heat in round #1 as he averaged 9.3 points, 9.8 rebounds, 1.8 assists, 1.5 steals and 1.5 blocks per game. He will dominate the paint in this series, mark my words!  Chris Webber will have a rough time keeping Wallace off of the boards.  Webber will make him work on defense though as he averaged 12.0 points, 7.8 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.0 steal per game against the Magic.  EDGE:  BULLS

BENCH:  This is an area that the Bulls will probably dominate the game.  Andres Nocioni will be the most important player off of the bench for the Bulls.  In round #1 he averaged 12.0 points, 5.5 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.0 block per game.  He will be matched up with Rasheed Wallace most of the time and he will make him work.  Chris Duhon will provide backup minutes at point guard but he’s a smallish player which are the kind that Chauncey Billups beat up on.  Thabo Sefolosha will provide energy off of the bench for the Bulls.  He did a great job of defending Dwyane Wade in the first round and he could bully Richard Hamilton when he’s on the court.  Rookie Tyrus Thomas is a high-flying finisher that will be a physical mis-match for the Pistons when he’s on the court.

The Pistons don’t use their bench much at all.  Antonio McDyess will get the most playing time and he’s still a pretty good basketball player.  He averaged 5.5 points, 9.3 rebounds, 1.3 assists, 1.0 steal and 1.0 block per game in round #1 against the Magic.  But, McDyess only shot 8 of 32 (25%) from the floor and that will need to improve if the Pistons are to get any help out of their bench.  Carlos Delfino and Flip Murray didn’t do much in round #1 and they probably won’t be trusted in round #2.  EDGE:  BULLS

PREDICTION:  This series will go 7 games and I like the Bulls to spring an upset here.  The Pistons lack of a bench will hurt them in this series and Ben Wallace will make the Pistons pay for letting him leave.