The Four Top Teams

Now there are only four teams left, two of them will advance to the NBA Finals, but which two? Your pick is as good as mine, because there isn’t a clear-cut winner. San Antonio, LA and Detroit won eight championships in the last nine years, and Boston finally has a chance of winning their first title since ’86. I understand I’m not telling anything new here, so let’s take a close look at these teams, and especially the positional match-ups.

Boston Celtics vs. Detroit Pistons

Point guard: Billups vs. Rondo. Rondo is fast, athletic, got some nice tricks in his bag, but Billups has been the leader of the Pistons for quite a while now. He’s seen it all, and is basically responsible for every game-clinching shot in the last five years for Detroit. Advantage: Pistons.

Shooting guard: Allen vs. Hamilton. Both great shooters, but one huge difference: Rip averages over 21 ppg in the playoffs, while Ray struggles to score even 13 (on 38%). Allen will have a huge problem defending Hamilton too, because we all know that the masked man keeps running and running until he’s open to receive the pass and taking the shot. As a basketball fan you have to love Ray’s J, but he’s not the best defender out there. And if he’s not scoring, you’ve got a problem. Advantage: Pistons.

Small forward: Pierce vs. Prince. Now this will be a very interesting match-up, because they’re both good at their position, yet extremely different from one another. Prince is a great defender, but nowhere near the scorer that Pierce is. And with Pierce it’s the other way around. Coming off the best game of his life, the Celtics need his points desperately, especially if Ray Allen’s shooting woes continue. Pierce also had some rough games against the Cavs, but he can’t have any letdowns against the Pistons. Tough choice, but here we go. Advantage: Celtics.

Power forward / center: Garnett vs. Wallace: I know, Sheed plays center for the Pistons, and KG is the power forward for Boston, but I think these two will face each other throughout the series. Sheed can shoot 3’s, which is something KG won’t do, but otherwise these two big men have a great range, especially for someone at their position. They match up pretty well, but KG’s 20-25 points are needed, where Wallace will focus only on defense, and let his teammates create scoring opportunities. Advantage: Celtics.

Center / power forward: Perkins vs. McDyess. Assuming McDyess will start, he’s a guy who can play on both sides. Perk is a limited player, but still effective on the defensive end, and makes a bucket or two on an offensive rebound. Advantage: Pistons.

Bench: Detroit’s bench is great. They played a lot during the end of the regular season, which shows Flip Saunders and his starting five that they can relax while being on the bench. Rodney Stuckey did a great job against Orlando filling in for an injured Billups, and with Jason Maxiell you can always count on a couple of rebounds, blocks, and some posterizing jams. The Celtics have proven veterans on their bench in Posey, Brown, Cassell and House. And let’s not forget about the surprising youngster Leon Powe, the do-everything forward who could be a starter on some teams in this League. Advantage: Celtics.

Coaching: Doc Rivers vs. Flip Saunders. Some might say I should go with Flip Saunders, simply because he has more playoff coaching experience than Rivers. I like Flip, but the Pistons are also a team which can implode at any given time (see last years against Cavs). Therefore I think experience might be a bit overrated when it comes to these two coaches, therefore I’ll be a wuss and say: Advantage: none.

What I’d say: I think Detroit will win this, although the Celtics are better matched to the Pistons when it comes to playing style than they were against the Hawks of Cavs. This will be another grind-it-out, low-scoring and hardnosed defense kind of series. But the thing is: the Celtics needed 14 games to beat Atlanta and Cleveland, and haven’t won a single game on the road. It makes you wonder how they will fare in The Palace of Auburn Hills. Luckily for the Celtics they start out in Boston, and Ray Allen can’t keep on shooting like he’s Ray Charles. If he ever finds his shot back, the time is now. Result? Pistons in seven. Unless Boston really shows why they won 66 games, I doubt they can beat Detroit. This would be very disappointing, because when you saw Boston during the regular season, they looked damn-near unbeatable. And who doesn’t want to see a Lakers-Celtics finale? But we might have to settle for a 2004 Finals rematch.

Los Angeles Lakers vs. San Antonio Spurs

Point guard: Fisher vs. Parker. Derek Fisher might be more important to the Lakers than you might think. It was important to have him on the court against Deron Williams in the second round, because of his shots, leadership and also playmaking ability. Fisher always stays cool, and it will be interesting to see if the can somehow contain Tony Parker a little bit. The thing with both of these point guards is that they shoot a high percentage from the floor. Fisher won’t score 25 a game like Parker, but you can’t gamble and leave him open. Defensively, Parker won’t do much for you, but he’s so dangerous with the ball in his hands. Advantage: Spurs.

Shooting guard: Bryant vs. Ginobili. It would make more sense to talk about Bryant-Bowen, but for the sake of argument let’s keep it like this. Manu is a star in his own right, but a bit streakier than Kobe. Ginobili might not be a great one-on-one defender, but he is a damn smart one, because he’s one of the greatest actors in the game. Offensively, there isn’t much he can’t do. If his 3’s are falling too, it will be a long night for the Lakers. Then again, LA has the MVP of the League, an all-defensive first team selection, dangerous on both ends of the floor. And that’s an understatement. Kobe Bryant is hands down the best player in the NBA right now, and had a couple of days to relax his aching body after beating the Jazz in six. Will he get the Lakers back to the Finals? Advantage: Lakers.

Small forward: Radmanovic vs. Bowen. Well, they both can shoot 3’s. And one of them will be chasing Kobe Bryant all day and night, so it’s tough to say who will have the “advantage”, so to speak. When the Radman gets hot, he’s a valuable asset for the Lakers, but the dude is also know for some boneheaded plays. We could call him Vladimir Gump, because you never know what you’re gonna get. Phil Jackson did reward him with a starting role, and I must admit that Radmanovic is a bit more consistent than he used to be, so that’s a good thing. But as far as an impact on the game goes, Bowen is more dangerous. Why? Because he has the knack to make you, the Lakers and the city of Los Angeles hate him. And he embraces that role. Advantage: Spurs.

Power forward: Odom vs. Duncan. The thing I’ve noticed with Lamar Odom is that you have to get him going early on. When he gets a couple of easy buckets in the first few minutes of the game, he stays focused. He’s a tremendously talented player, but sometimes you just don’t see him out there. I’m interested who will get the defensive assignment on Tim Duncan. People can and will tell you how boring he is, be he is so fundamentally sound, he won four rings, and his team is competing for the championship every year, so my bet is that a lot of players want to be boring like good ol’ Timmy. He’s still one of the best, if not the best power forward out there. Advantage: Spurs.

Center: Gasol vs. Oberto. This also could’ve been Gasol vs. Thomas, but who cares? Oberto is very active on the court, does a little bit of everything and is a pretty good passer. Kurt Thomas was acquired in a trade late February, the first thing I thought: “One of the smartest trades this season”. If you saw Game 7 against the Hornets you know why. He had 6 rebounds in only 7 minutes. Sure, doesn’t seem much, does it? But 5 of them were offensive. That’s why you have a Kurt Thomas on your team. Pau will have some trouble playing against them, but what I like about Pau since he’s been on the Lakers, is that he always seems to be in the right place to get the easy basket. He’s very skilled offensively, so you definitely need to put a body on him at all times. Advantage: Lakers.

Bench: Let’s say Thomas comes off the bench for the Spurs, putting him in the game with (Next-Gen Bowen?) Ime Udoka and you’ve got the defensive end covered. And let’s not forget that Udoka is a legitimate threat from the 3-point arc. When Parker goes to the bench, Manu is the point guard with either Finley or Udoka playing alongside him, so with that eight-man rotation you can come a long way. The Lakers bench goes to four, with Vujacic, Farmar, Turiaf and Walton. Cool Hand Luke often replaces Radmanovic, which brings them another playmaker. Walton is not a guy who will give you great stats, but (warning: cliché ahead) he brings all the little things to the game that you can’t measure. A great passer and he can shoot a little. Jordan Farmar had some difficulties against Deron Williams in the second round, and it won’t get any easier for him against Parker or Ginobili. Ronny Turiaf is great. Very enthusiastic, whether he’s in the game or not. And if he is on the floor, he’ll dive after every ball, jumps for every board, and dunks as hard as he can if he gets the chance (on a final note: Trevor Ariza might be back too). But in this case, you have to go with experience and defense. Advantage: Spurs.

Coaching: Phil Jackson vs. Gregg Popovich. If Phil Jackson is one of the best coaches ever, Pop is right up there. Sure, Jackson has won more titles, but Popovich has some experience himself too, right? I’ll choose the easy way out. Advantage: none.

What I’d say: The Spurs sometimes looked lost against the Hornets, but showed who the reigning champs in Game 7 were. They play good D, and have the ability to score with Parker and Manu running out there, and Duncan manning the block. The starting five of the Lakers can all score, so that makes it hard to defend them. I can see them beating the Spurs in seven, but I’m wondering if I’m really objective in making such a statement.

If you actually finished reading this blog, it might be June already, thanks!