NBA Finals breakdown
By Robert Ferringo of
DocSports.com
ALSO:
John Paulsen is blogging the
NBA Finals. Click here
for more.
If a team becomes an NBA dynasty, and no one
is there to hear it, will their sneakers really squeak in the halls of
basketball history? This is the riddle that faces the Detroit Pistons and
San Antonio Spurs as they tip off the NBA Finals at 9:00 pm EST on Thursday
at SBC Arena in San Antonio. This is the first time in 18 years that the
Finals will feature the league’s previous two champions. Detroit (+245) won
last year, and San Antonio (-280) held the crown in 2003.
The hip thing to do this week is talk about how disinterested people are in
the Pistons/Spurs series. They say it will be a thoroughly uninspiring end
to an uninspiring playoff season, as two clubs hide their lack of talent by
playing good, if not snooze-inducing, defense. The ratings for the NBA
playoffs on ESPN have been down 7%, on TNT they have been down 14%, and the
ratings for ABC, which hosts the Finals, have been down a horrific 31%.
Those people that say the Finals lack intrigue are wrong. And a lot of
people are going to miss a good show.
This showdown will match up two teams that know how to play The Game, and
understand the subtleties and nuances of it. No, the Pistons and Spurs
aren’t a collection of flash-in-the-pan college dropouts or spoiled former
prep stars that are all highlight and no heart. These guys are skilled
gamers and seasoned veterans who would lay in L.A. traffic for a playoff
win. Oh, and that defense that they play isn’t “good” or “hard-nosed.” It’s
torture-your-younger-sibling-and-make-them-cry-to-their-mommy D, and it’s
what has made each of these franchises victors over the past six years.
This is the biggest stage at the highest level for a game played the world
over. The Finals will feature the best player of his era, two all-time
coaches, some budding stars, a handful of all-stars, plenty of solid role
players with proven track records of success, and two charged up fan bases.
And don’t forget Darko, a.k.a. the Human Victory Cigar.
To add to the drama, more than pride will be on the line here. Other than
the Los Angeles Lakers, these two teams are the only ones to hold the Larry
O’Brien Trophy since 1999. The Pistons are playing the role of the defending
champions, and the Spurs are attempting to reclaim the prize that they held
in 1999 and 2003. The winner of this series gets to carve its name into the
annals of the sport, and will leave armed with a résumé befitting a bona
fide Dynasty.
Many people feel like Detroit doesn’t even deserve to be in the Finals. They
believe that if Dwyane Wade had been healthy over the last two games (or
even the last minute, 15 seconds) of the Eastern Conference Finals Detroit
wouldn’t be here. However, the same could be said about San Antonio. The
Spurs were 1-1 against Phoenix in the Western Conference Finals when the
Suns had Joe Johnson in the lineup. Johnson, who wore a mask to protect a
fractured orbital bone, would’ve made an even bigger impact had he played
the whole series. Also, it took San Antonio six games to best Seattle in the
second round when the SuperSonics were playing without two starters,
all-star Rashard Lewis and Vladimir Radmanovic.
Will these Finals save the NBA’s ratings? No. Will it be aesthetically
pleasing? Not to the common fan or to Madison Avenue. But will it feature
six or seven hard-fought, well-executed, fundamentally sound games with all
the passion, energy, subplots and drama that a championship series needs? My
money is going down on it.
So without further ado, your 2005 NBA Finals Breakdown:
PG: Tony Parker (SA) vs. Chauncey Billups (Det)
Parker has been averaging 18.7 for the Spurs, and now in his fourth season
has developed into a solid floor leader. He’ll be looking to push the tempo
against Billups, who has been logging heavy minutes in the playoffs. Despite
his production, Parker is better going to the rim and has really struggled
with his outside shot the last two series.
Billups is the Money Man for Detroit. He takes and makes most of the
Pistons’ big shots, and will have to be ON this entire series for his team
to beat the Spurs. He is averaging 18.0, and is automatic at the line,
shooting 89%. That’s a huge advantage when trying to protect a lead in the
last two minutes of a game.
SG: Bruce Bowen (SA) vs. Richard Hamilton (Det)
I know that Manu Ginobli is technically the Spurs off-guard, but once Ron
Artest was suspended Bowen became the league’s top one-on-one defender. He
will harass Hamilton mentally and physically, much like he did against Ray
Allen, and make him work for his points. You can’t leave him on offense
because he’s lethal as a spot-up shooter.
Hamilton is the smooth scoring leader for the Pistons, notching 21.3 points
per game. He dominated for stretches in Games 6 and 7 against the Heat, and
is the guy that Detroit looks to when their offense gets stagnant. Instead
of chasing around Ginobli, Hamilton will probably guard Bowen so he can rest
a bit on defense.
SF: Manu Ginobli (SA) vs. Tayshaun Prince (Det)
Besides Wade, Ginobli has been the NBA’s breakout player this postseason.
The deft lefty is averaging 21.8 and has been nearly unguardable since
April. He is always a step ahead of the defense, whether it’s finding the
trailer cutting to the hole or taking those large strides to the hole and
flipping in some contorted shot. Plus the foul.
The Pistons’ beat writers voted Prince as the MVP of this team. He’s going
to need to be for Detroit to repeat. His length and athleticism make him the
perfect counter to Manu. On offense, look for Prince to post up the smaller
Argentinean for a few lefty hooks or turnaround jumpers. Prince should meet
or exceed his 14.7 playoff average.
PF: Tim Duncan (SA) vs. Ben Wallace (Det)
Again, let’s not get caught up with the position labels here. When all is
said and done, Duncan will eventually pass Karl Malone as the Greatest Power
Forward of All Time. Duncan (24.9 pts., 11.7 reb.) is cool and calm, but
also focused and intense and sets the tone for this cold-blooded San Antonio
crew. He knows when to dominate and when to defer, but will need to prove
that he can make his free throws (73 percent in the playoffs) in order to
remain The Man in crunch time.
Wallace is the reigning Defensive Player of the Year in the NBA. He will
have to stay out of foul trouble and, most importantly, keep Duncan off the
offensive glass. Wallace has had more than 10 rebounds in 58 of his 68
playoff games, and is averaging 11.7 in the playoffs.
C: Nazr Mohammed (SA) vs. Rasheed Wallace (Det)
Mohammed has been getting a lot of love for his play for the Spurs in their
march to the Finals. He’s averaging eight points and eight rebounds and been
a solid second option for San Antonio. However, he’s not facing Steven
Hunter or Reggie Evans anymore. He’ll have his hands full with ‘Sheed.
Rasheed has put his money where his mouth is. After his meltdown in Game 5
of the East Finals, he came back and was an absolute animal in Games 6 and
7. Wallace is the wild card for Detroit. If he channels his energy into his
play, he’s a matchup nightmare and a clutch performer. If he loses his cool,
that may mean more minutes for Elden Campbell. No one wants that.
Bench
For San Antonio, it’s all about Big Shot Bob Horry. Horry has truly proven
himself to be one of the All-Time Clutch performers, and is good for at
least two back-breaking 3-pointers a series. However, where he also does a
ton of damage is on the offensive glass. Besides Horry, the Spurs will go to
Brent Barry, another long, tall, athletic perimeter shooter, and Glenn
Robinson to provide some outside touch and offensive pop off the pine.
For Detroit, they don’t rely on their bench for anything other than to rest
the starters. Antonio McDyess has been a nice find, and can offer some O,
and Lindsey Hunter is always ready to pump up some threes. I’m very
intrigued by Carlos Arroyo, and can’t figure out why he hasn’t played more
for this team. He is an outstanding passer and offensive facilitator, and
can handle the ball well enough to allow Billups to move to the 2, but Brown
hasn’t gone to him.
Coaches: Gregg Popovich (SA) vs. Larry Brown (Det)
This is a push. Popovich is underrated, and has shown creativity (see:
bringing Ginobli off the bench against the Sonics) throughout the playoffs.
He is a steady influence, and has a great understanding of the pulse of this
team. It’s not an accident that his teams are 16-4 in closeout games in his
career.
Brown has forgotten more basketball than I know. However, he can’t be
excused for the distraction he rained down on his team with all the talk of
him going to the Cavaliers. Also, he gets too comfortable with his regular
rotation at times and, as an underdog in this series, needs to be willing to
make some moves to put his team over the top.
Some random stats to leave you with:
- This is only the fifth time ever that the top two defensive teams have met
in the finals. The Spurs were No. 1, and Pistons were No. 2 this season. The
top ranked team has won three of the last four times that’s happened.
- San Antonio was a ridiculous 38-3 at home during the regular season.
- Detroit was 19-11 vs. the West this year; San Antonio was 23-7 vs. the
East.
- Detroit’s five starters played 1,397 minutes together this year – by far
the most in the NBA.
- Detroit has held six opponents to 66 points or fewer over the last five
years. All other teams combined have done so three times.
- With their 111-108 win at Phoenix in Game 2 of the West Finals, San
Antonio became only the third team in NBA history to win the first two games
of a playoff series on the road after having trailed entering the fourth
quarter in each game.
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