After upsets, disappointments and cinderella stories, the NBA championship is down to four teams. The San Antonio Spurs made short work of the Phoenix Suns, beating them in six games after a controversial league decision forced two of the Suns' stars out of action in Game five. The Utah Jazz ended the amazing run of the Golden State Warriors. The Detroit Pistons withstood a small scare from the Chicago Bulls and LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers took out the star trio of Jason Kidd, Vince Carter and Richard Jefferson of the New Jersey Nets.
Eastern Conference Finals: (1) Detroit Pistons versus (2) Cleveland Cavaliers
On paper, the Pistons are a better team, but the Cavs have something the Pistons don't have. His name is LeBron James. Last season, James alone was enough to give the Pistons a huge playoff scare and this year shouldn't be any different. James is averaging only 25.9 points per game and shooting a very poor 42% from the field during the playoffs. But, that doesn't tell the entire story. He's also averaging over 8 assists per game and a mere 2.4 turnovers to go with it. That means he's really getting his teammates involved and taking care of the basketball. In addition, he's shooting better from the foul line (78%) and getting more attempts there (10.9 per game). The Pistons will also have to worry about the Cavs slight rebounding edge (they outrebound the Pistons by an average of four per game on the offensive glass). Detroit doesn't have a lot of depth, so they'll need someone to step up off the bench to support their top four if they want to move on. Here's the matchup:
- Center: Chris Webber vs Zydrunas Ilgauskas (advantage Cleveland)
- Power Forward: Rasheed Wallace vs Drew Gooden (advantage Detroit)
- Small Forward: Tayshaun Prince vs LeBron James (advantage Cleveland)
- Point Guard: Chauncey Billups vs Eric Snow (advantage Detroit)
- Shooting Guard: Richard Hamilton vs Larry Hughes (slight advantage Detroit)
- Bench: advantage Cleveland
- Coaching: advantage Detroit
Prediction: Detroit wins in six or seven, because they are the better defensive team.
Western Conference Finals: (3) San Antonio Spurs vs (4) Utah Jazz
The Spurs have a huge advantage due to the fact they've been here many times. This is a first for the young Jazz squad and they'll rely heavily on the veteran leadership of role playing guard Derek Fisher to carry them through. Carlos Boozer will be a tough matchup for Tim Duncan, because of his physical play and quickness. Still, Duncan has been brilliant during the playoffs and shouldn't yield to anyone at this point. If the Jazz want a shot at winning this, they will have to continue to execute and take care of the ball. The Spurs don't allow many mistakes and have the ability to pull ahead in a hurry if the other team starts committing turnovers. Also, Manu Ginobili is going to be a tough guard for Utah, who really doesn't have a great defensive shooting guard to speak of. Here is the matchup:
- Center: Frederic Elson or Fabricio Oberto vs Mehmet Okur (advantage Utah)
- Power Forward: Tim Duncan vs Carlos Boozer (slight advantage San Antonio)
- Small Forward: Bruce Bowen vs Andrei Kirilenko (advantage Utah)
- Point Guard: Tony Parker vs Deron Williams (draw)
- Shooting Guard: Manu Ginobili vs Matt Harpring, Ronnie Brewer or Gordon Giricek (advantage San Antonio)
- Bench: advantage San Antonio
- Coaching: draw
Prediction: Spurs in five or six.
