THE MATCHUP
HOW THE SPURS GOT THERE
San Antonio entered the season with one goal in mind - an NBA championship. Anything less would be deemed a failure for this Spurs team. The Spurs rolled through the regular season as it finished with a league-best 46-12 record and the No. 1 seed throughout the playoffs.
Although the West is the tough, many expected the Spurs to erase last season's shock 1st Round exit and advance to another NBA Finals. Whilst everyone was feeling dejavu in the Spurs' 1st Round series against the Lakers, they overcame their gitters and moved onto face the Mavs. They took care of Dallas pretty comfortably before coming from behind to outlast the Kings to move onto the NBA Finals and a tough matchup against the Detroit Pistons. San Antonio used a 9-5 playoff record to date to get to the NBA Finals, which indicates how battle-tested they are to this point.
The Spurs is led by All-NBA and All-World star Tim Duncan. When Tim goes, the Spurs go and he is the key to his 3rd career title. Duncan is supported well by burgeoning international stars, PG Tony Parker and SG Manu Ginobili. The rest of the team comprises of role players who are built around the big 3.
HOW THE PISTONS GOT THERE
Detroit was not happy with last season's 1st Round upset to the Magic. Anything less than a return to the NBA Finals would be deemed a failure. With Ben Wallace back in the fold, a championship was waiting for the taking. The Pistons were easily the class team out East as they had a Conference-best 40-18 record that was good enough for home court advantage up until the NBA Finals.
Much like the Spurs, the Pistons were looking to get at least past that 1st Round hump. You could hardly call the Hawks a hump in the road as the Pistons got out the broomstick and thrashed the living daylights out of 'Toine and the Hawks. A message was sent to the rest of the NBA that the Pistons were back. Pistons then faced up against arch nemesis, the Indiana Pacers, who proved to be a formidable foe. However, once again the Pistons proved to deep and too strong. The upset-minded Magic were up next in the Eastern Conference Finals, however the Pistons brushed them aside. The Pistons easily took care of the East's best with a 9-3 record and is in fine form going into the NBA Finals.
Whilst the Spurs are Tim Duncan's team, the Pistons don't really have that one superstar franchise player. Instead they have 3 or 4 good, fringe All-star like players. The heart and soul of the team has to be Ben Wallace, who once again scored the Defensive Player of the Year Award. He's joined by Rasheed Wallace and Tayshaun Prince in the frontcourt to probably form the best defensive frontline in the league. The starting guards are high-octane scorers Rip Hamilton and Chauncey Billups. Their starting lineup is very good, and they are supported by players such as Antonio McDyess off the bench. If the Pistons are to win, it'll need strong play from all 6 of these guys.
X's PREDICTION
This matchup might not be a fan's dream in terms of playing style, but clearly, the top 2 teams in the NBA throughout the regular season and playoffs will now meet to playoff for the ultimate prize. This series could go either way, and probably won't come down to the Tim Duncan-Ben Wallace matchup. It is more likely to come down to the supporting cast. Pistons have a deeper supporting cast in the frontcourt and I think that will make the difference.
I'm predicting the Pistons will win this series in 5 tough, low-scoring games.