NBA Finals Preview

by Andy

So the NBA Finals start Thursday night and we at Watercooler thought that maybe some of our loyal readers want to know what we think about the Finals. We know that means a miniscule percentage but hey, it’s a pro sport and it is the finals so here goes nothing.

Representing the Western Conference again for the 3^rd time in 5 years are the San Antonio Spurs. Led by the professor, Greg Popovich, this team is poised for another championship. The Spurs have arguably the best trio in basketball in “Mr. Fundamentals” Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, and 6^th man? Manu Ginobili. Duncan is the healthiest he’s been in 3 years, which makes the Spurs that much scarier. Bruce Bowen, one of the Associations best defenders with be all over LeBron like white on rice. Adding fuel to the fire are seasoned veterans Robert “Big Shot Bob” Horry and Michael Finley. These guys have been here before, but so has the rest of the team, so nerves shouldn’t be a factor.

Out of the Eastern Conference are the Pistons, ERRRR, the Cleveland Cavaliers. Who would have thought that this young almost talentless team would be here, defeating the Detroit Pistons in the Eastern Conference Finals in six games. Lead by LeBron James, Mike Brown and Co. have shown their critics that they are for real. Very little experience in this situation could come to haunt them. LeBron will look for help from guys like Larry Hughes and “Z”, but after that it gets shaky, even relying on Hughes is scary for Cavs fans. Anderson Varejao and Daniel Gibson most likely will not be helpful enough to pull this team ahead of the Spurs. One guy that could add an interesting twist to this series is Sasha Pavlovic, who is in most peoples eyes a poor mans Ginobili. He is leading the Cavs with a 41% 3pt. percentage, and if he and Danny Gibson can get hot, they could actually make this a series. It is just hard to think that Mike Brown is going to outcoach and outsmart Popovich and Carlesimo.

The Cavs swept the regular season series taking both games from the Spurs. Should that scare anyone, no not really. Since the All-Star break San Antonio has been on a terror. The team turned midseason struggles around to take off on a 13-game winning streak and compile a 23-6 record after the All-Star break.

Another note that shouldn’t excite anyone is that these two teams ranked in the top 5 in Defense in the regular season. With San Antonio running through Duncan and the Cavs all just standing around waiting for James to do something, this series is going to be slow and probably not as exciting as last years Mavericks/Heat series. Look for both teams to run in spurts, but slow it down to run their offensives that got them to the Finals. They say the Spurs are boring to watch, but I’ll take boring and championships over exciting and long golf seasons --- A La the Suns. This could hurt the TV ratings, but having a new team in the Finals (Cavs) should spark and draw some new interest from fans.

Projected Starting Lineups and Picks:

PG: Tony Parker (X) vs. Daniel Gibson – Does Gibson know where France is?

SG: Michael Finley (X) vs. Larry Hughes – Manu likes coming off the bench, so gotta give it to the vet. And Hughes hasn’t showed up since he got his loot from the Cavs.

SF: Bruce Bowen vs. LeBron James (X) – I don’t even have to say why I picked him.

PF: Tim Duncan (X) vs. Drew Gooden – Another no brainer, especially since Gooden has a small patch of hair left on his head.

C: Fabricio Oberto vs. Zydrunas Ilgauskas (X) – My spell checker is going nuts right now. I like Z because he is bigger and has more range, but Oberto does the dirty work.

Coaches: Popovich (X) vs. Mike Brown – Brown used to work under Pop, but that won’t mean a thing because he is completely out matched on the dry erase board in this match up.

Bench: Spurs vs. Cavs (X) – Even though Manu comes off the bench he plays as many minutes as the starters so I gotta give it to Anderson Varejao, Sasha Paplovic, and Eric Snow?

Prediction: The Spurs easily win on paper, but that’s why they play the games. The Cavs aren’t supposed to be here, so that might give them a little chip on their shoulders and everyone loves #23 and the underdogs so it will not be a lop sided series. Duncan, Parker, and Ginobili are just too good and have too much experience.

Spurs in Six.