Thursday, June 07, 2007

The Finals

Alright so I've had a few days to think about what my NBA Finals prediction is going to be and to be honest, the more I think about it, the more confused I get.

Immediately after the Cavs won Game 6 I thought to myself, "Well, that was a nice run by the Cavs. They pretty much maximized the potential they had given the fact that they are a one-man team and have an idiot for a coach." And the Spurs are about as close as you get to a dynasty in the NBA these days. But then I started reading stuff online about how in their two regular season meetings, LeBron just demolished Bruce Bowen and because of his size, is one of the few players in the league who can take it to the rack against the Spurs' stingy interior defense.

And it pains me to say the Cavs have a legitimate shot in this one because frankly, their team is just awful besides LeBron. I was telling Graham the other day that I really think the Wiz kids could have beaten the Cavs in a seven-game series. But the WIz kids would have NO shot against the Spurs. The Cavs on the other hand, do have a legit shot at winning this simply because LeBron has elevated his game. But if he wants to pull this off, Bron Bron is going to have to take his game to a stratosphere it's never been to.

The bottom line is that the Spurs have a complete team, and are equipped with three players (Duncan, Parker, and Ginobili) who can take over a game on the offensive end at any given point. The Cavs have just one player who can do that (LeBron). By the way, enough of this talk about how Daniel Gibson is that second scorer that the Cavs have needed forever. The guy had two good games against the Pistons and now he's no longer a surprise. You really think Gregg Poppovich doesn't have a plan to slow him down. Boobie is coming back down to earth in this series.

That being said, I still think the way LeBron is playing will be worth atleast two wins for the Cavs. But that's it. The Spurs are the best defensive team in the league and they will find a way to get the ball out of Bron's hands when it comes down to crunch time. This will be the coronation of Tim Duncan, although his stats won't be extremely impressive (I see him averaging a 20 and 10 in the series), and Parker is going to play a huge role as well. The Cavs don't have anyone capable of keeping up with him. The Cavs have had a nice run here, but predictably I'm taking Spurs in 6.


The most intriguing stroyline of the Finals: How much bigger will Manu's bald spot get?

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