Veteran Pistons to face novice Orlando

? Even though the Detroit Pistons are in the playoffs for the sixth straight year, Richard Hamilton insists they don’t have a ho-hum attitude.

“We all get the same, exciting feeling,” Hamilton said Friday. “It’s like the first day of school. You take your clothes out, lay them on the bed and get some brand-new sneakers.

“You’re always excited about the first game. I can’t wait.”

Detroit will play host to the Orlando Magic tonight in Game 1 of their first-round, best-of-seven series.

The Pistons are shooting to at least reach the conference finals for the fifth straight year, a streak only one NBA team has surpassed in 20-plus years. The Los Angeles Lakers advanced to the conference finals six times in a row from 1984-89.

“We have to worry about the Magic, and that’s it,” Detroit point guard Chauncey Billups said. “Do we feel like we’re built to make a long run? Yeah, we do.

“But when you overlook teams – especially a team like Orlando that is very dangerous – we can be beat, and we showed that a lot of times this year.”

In recent years, the Pistons have been at their best when down or doubted and at their worst when they’re ahead or expected to win. Bucking that trend might be the biggest challenge for the Eastern Conference’s top-seeded team against the only team in the playoffs that had a losing record.

The Magic are making their first postseason appearance since 2003 when Tracy McGrady and Co. blew a 3-1 lead in the first round against Detroit, which has three starters who played key roles in that series.

All-Star center Dwight Howard and starting point guard Jameer Nelson are among the Orlando players who will make their playoff debut tonight.