Point guard: Mo Williams vs. Rodney Stuckey
If would’ve asked me to choose between these two during the first half of the season, Stuckey would be my pick. I’m not sure what happened, but he didn’t finish the season strong, while Mo Williams has been quite consistent throughout the year. Williams will often be used as a spot-up shooter feeding off LeBron’s creativity. Stuckey will be asked to push the ball up front, either creating for his teammates, or creating for himself. If the Pistons want to have any chance against the Cavs, Stuckey must play his best basketball of the season. But to choose between these two, I’ll take the easy route: Advantage: none.
Shooting guard: Delonte West vs. Richard Hamilton
West is a perfect fit in Cleveland’s system, but he will have a tough time defending Hamilton. West can do it all: shoot, pass, bring up the ball, but his focus in this series shouldn’t be on offense, but trying to contain to the always moving Rip Hamilton. Whether the masked man has the ball or not, he’s dangerous every second that he’s on the court and a master of the mid-range game. Advantage: Pistons.
Small forward: LeBron James vs. Tayshaun Prince
Prince with his long limbs is a great defender, but we’re talking about LeBron here. James is unstoppable, but if LeBron decides to pull up for the J every now and then, Prince could make it a bit more difficult for him because of his Doc Ock arms. Other than that, there isn’t much more you can do. Advantage: Cavaliers.
Power Forward: Antonio McDyess vs. Anderson Varejao
One player that has really impressed me this season was Antonio McDyess. The man has been in the League for quite a while now, but is still scoring and especially rebounding with the best of them (had a career-high 22 boards last month). “Chosen 2” Andy has put up a decent season, showing that he is more than just an energy guy, by providing points and always being active on the boards and on defense. But skill-wise, I think the old man could still beat the young guy. Dice still knows his ways around the basket, and can also shoot the rock if the opportunity presents itself. Advantage: Pistons.
Center: Zydrunas Ilgauskas vs. Rasheed Wallace
Big Z vs. Mr. T. Wallace can’t have games with 9 points and 6 rebounds during the playoffs. Ilgauskas is a skilled big man, not very fast, but knows how to score with baby hooks and his little jumper. He also has a height advantage over Wallace, yet Sheed is the better defender, so he could still cause some problems for Ilgauskas. Another important thing for Detroit is that Wallace stays as long on the court as possible. He must find a way to stay out of foul trouble, and you know that’s a difficult thing when you’re a big man and LeBron is on the other team. Advantage: Cavaliers (but a very, very slight advantage).
Bench:
No Allen Iverson for the Pistons, and I’m wondering which player off Detroit’s bench can give them some buckets. Will Bynum? In fact, when you look at the roster, he’s one of the few guys who actually did that in the last couple of weeks. The Cavs have former Piston Ben Wallace, but as far as I know it’s not sure yet whether he’s playing or not, but it would be nice to have him around. Daniel Gibson can be streaky sometimes, but when he’s open to shoot the three, you know the Pistons will collectively hold their breath. But the x-factor for the Cavs is Joe Smith. I wouldn’t be surprised if he gets a lot of minutes in the fourth quarter, and that makes it easy for me: Advantage: Cavaliers.
Coaching: Mike Brown vs. Michael Curry
Brown has playoff and finals experience, and Curry is having tough first season as a head coach. Advantage: Cavaliers.
What I’d say:
Cavs in five. This just isn’t Detroit’s season, and the Cavs won 66 games with something the Pistons used to excel in: defense. And their offense isn’t too shabby either. Just eleven months ago the Pistons were battling the Celtics in the Eastern Conference Finals, but the run is over, which was obvious when Billups boarded a plane with Denver as his destination.
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