As many here have stated, myself included, Tyrus should be a bigger factor against Detroit than he was against Miami because of match-up advantages.

Skiles appears to agree in principle with that conclusion, though he still expresses reservations about TT's "reliability."

Here are some relevant quotes:

''It's possible,'' coach Scott Skiles said, when asked if he might use Thomas more against the Pistons. ''Frankly, Tyrus has to be more reliable. It's that simple.

''I know everybody wants to see him go out and dunk the ball and block a shot. But we have a team game, and every person is predicated on what the other people are doing, much like Detroit. We have to know that everybody we put on the floor knows exactly what we're supposed to be doing, exactly where they're supposed to be and exactly what's going on. That's the long answer. The short answer is: Yes, I can see him being more of a factor in this series, and we have this period of time to get him ready for that.''

''He's been pretty good around the rim against them,'' Skiles said. ''They've got a lot of length, a great shot-blocking team, and he's been able to slide behind them on occasion. He's caught some lob-and-dunks. He's been able to operate a little against them, and against some other teams he hasn't. They know that, too, at this point. It's been a team he's been OK against.''