Although the Detroit Pistons were the victors in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals series with the Cleveland Cavaliers, the team has more adjustments to make going into Game 2 tonight than do the losers.

Despite losing 79–76, Cleveland accomplished most of its defensive objectives, even as three of the team’s four best scorers had off nights. And still, the Cavaliers had an open shot at the win with seconds to go in the game. (Western Conference fans should stop snickering about the low score: If your final series were between Houston and San Antonio, triple digits would be an endangered species for the remainder of the postseason.)

Detroit, on the other hand, has cause for concern. Just as in Game 3 of the Conference Semifinals last year, their offense deserted them. The Pistons scored 96 points per game during the regular season, and 98.5 through a four-game sweep of Orlando and the first two games against Chicago. But in the last five games, the Pistons offense has sputtered, managing only 86.8 points per contest.

The Pistons defense meanwhile is doing well. It is giving up an average of only 86.6 points a game in the playoffs, but that’s not leaving much margin for error, given their suddenly feeble offense.

This scenario should give Pistons fans a terrible sense of déjà vu. Last year the Pistons offense suffered a similar meltdown at the same juncture. After scoring 96.8 points per regular-season contest and topping the century mark in five of their first seven playoff games, the Pistons hit a wall and managed more than 90 points only twice in the remaining 11 postseason tilts.

It’s more than a coincidence. During Game 2 of the Conference Semifinals last season, the Cavs began to blanket the Pistons’ three-point shooters, denying them good looks from behind the arc. The Pistons offense went south thereafter. By Game 5 of that series Pistons forward Tayshaun Prince acknowledged to reporters that the obstruction of open looks behind the arc had hampered his team’s offense.

This spring, at a parallel moment, Game 3 of the Conference semis, the Bulls began employing the same strategy. The Pistons shot 18-of-37, a scorching 48.6%, from behind the arc in their first two games against Chicago. For the rest of the series, they shot 16-of-83 or 19.3%.

Until the Pistons turned up the defense in Game 6 of that series, the Bulls looked like a lock to force a game seven, after trailing three games to none.

During Game 1 on Monday the Pistons shot five of 14. Although it’s encouraging to see that the team is becoming less reliant on the long ball, it hasn’t restored the luster to its offense. A one-dimensional Detroit team should be an easier mark for the Cavs.

The Cavaliers can be pleased with their defense, but not their offense. However, their offensive woes are a fluke. The Pistons swarmed LeBron James allowing him few open driving lanes and contesting every shot. The result was a 10-point night, but he was one assist shy of a triple-double (in fact, if Donyell Marshall’s last second three-pointer had gone in, then we would be inundated with LeBronmania stories heralding how the superstar can now dominate a game without scoring large numbers). James, who is averaging 24.5 points per playoff game on 41.7% shooting isn’t likely to repeat his 5-of-15 brickfest from the series opener. Before Monday, James had finished a playoff game under 20 only once. That was during Game 3 of the Nets-Cavs Conference semifinal series, when he scored 18 on 5-of-16 shooting. He responded to that disagreeable performance with a 30-point (10-of-15 shooting), nine-rebound, seven assist effort in the next game.

James wasn’t the only Cavalier having an off night on Monday. Guards Larry Hughes and Sasha Pavlovic shot a combined 8-of-27. Neither is considered a sharpshooter, but both can be relied upon for better performances than that. Hughes is shooting 39%, and Pavlovic 36.9%, in the postseason. In addition, power forward Drew Gooden was unusually passive, scoring only six points, half his postseason average.

Some of these drop-offs can be attributed to the Piston defense, which as always ranks among the best, but the Cleveland falloffs are too severe to be sustainable. The Pistons’ offensive troubles should keep the coaching staff up late at night. Scoring 86 points a game isn’t going to produce many postseason victories.

Outside the Buckeye state, the Pistons are widely favored, but I’m not so sure. Last year there was a significant 14-win gap between the two teams. This season the gap is only four games, and when measured against point differential, it narrows even further. The Pistons’ point differential is consistent with their 54–28 record, but the Cavs margin usually produces a 53–29 mark.

Both teams have overwhelming motivation. A trip to the Finals is the only way the Pistons will consider this season a success. On the other hand, this is the closest the Cavaliers have come to the Finals in more than a decade, and a trip to the big stage with James at this point in his game will validate Clevelanders’ championship dreams. This should be an extremely hard fought, low scoring series, and barring a sea change in the Detroit offense, I predict the Cavaliers will win in six games.

mjohnson@nysun.com