This is it, folks. The NBA's version of the Final Four. Out West, we've got Steve Nash and the Suns against Tim Duncan and the Spurs. Back East, the defending champion Detroit Pistons will square off with a hobbled Shaq and the Miami Heat. Both Conferences sent their top two teams to this round. We can expect some great basketball in the coming weeks.
Here are my predictions:
WEST
Phoenix Suns - 1
VS
San Antonio Spurs - 2
NBA MVP Steve Nash has been playing like some sort of long-haired Canadian superhero of late. And his Phoenix Suns own the home-court advantage. But Tim Duncan and the San Antonio Spurs have crucial championship experience on their side.
In the final analysis, Nash can out-pass Tony Parker, but Duncan is capable of out-scoring, out-rebounding, and out-blocking Amare Stoudemire. And San Antonio's outstanding team defense will not allow Nash to score 30+ points, like the Dallas Mavericks did. SPURS IN SEVEN
EAST
Miami Heat - 1
VS
Detroit Pistons - 2
This is the matchup fans of the NBA have been waiting for all season. Can the Pistons bounce a heavily-favored Shaq-led team from the playoffs two years in a row? Is Shaq healthy enough to be a big factor in this series? Is Dwayne Wade capable of scoring 20+ points per game against the swarming Detroit defense? Will the brilliant Larry Brown out-coach Stan Van Gundy?
This should be an incredible series. I expect home-court advantage (which the Heat hold) to mean almost nothing. The Pistons were 2-1 against the Heat in the regular season, winning once on the road, and losing once at home. In the end, it will be Detroit's hyperkinetic defense that makes the difference. PISTONS IN SEVEN
Article comments
1 - Tony L
The NBA playoffs are about as long as snail marathon. I gave up on them years ago!
2 - Matthew T. Sussman
Snazzy picks, RJ.
I will refrain to make any predictions in either series (probably because I'll be wrong no matter who I pick) but this is the time of playoffs I start watching and caring.
I mean, when the Washington Wizards and Indiana Pacers are in the second round, that tells you the teams still in contention aren't necessarily high caliber. In the conference championships it's all business.
3 - Matt Paprocki
The Spurs all the way. They'll have a tough time running with Phoenix, but their depth is where they'll make up for that. How many minutes has the Suns bench played all year combined? 2, maybe 3?
One injury, even minor, is all it's going to take for them to go down and they're already missing Johnson.
Ginobli is tough, Barry can back him up easily, Parker is quick to stay with Nash, and Duncan is more than capable of handling Stoudamire. All they have to worry about is Duncan's ankle.
The East is weak and always has been. It's going to be a great series between those two, but for whatever reason, it seems like their side of the NBA plays a completely different style of basketball. They're way too slow and hardly put in enough points to compete with the West.
4 - Matthew T. Sussman
I read on ESPN.com that the Spurs are kind of injured. I'm surprised nobody's mentioned that yet.
5 - RJ
Here's Dan The Bastard's column dissing Detroit.
Gawd, what an asshole...
6 - RJ
"The East is weak and always has been. It's going to be a great series between those two, but for whatever reason, it seems like their side of the NBA plays a completely different style of basketball. They're way too slow and hardly put in enough points to compete with the West."
Yeah, yeah, they said that last year too...
7 - RJ
Pistons up 1-0... ;-P
8 - Temple Stark
Batard is just tryng too hard to be shocking now. A little bit of the spotlight and he's a complete tool.
Unless he's always been like this?
9 - RJ
2-2 now...
10 - Temple Stark
Good. I want Miami to win but I want it to go to 7 so when they face the Spurs they are tired.
The (obvious) headline tomorrow: The Suns go down
11 - RJ
The Suns have a chance still...don't rule them out...
If Detroit loses, I hope the Spurs or Suns utterly CRUSH Miami in four...
12 - Temple Stark
I'm ruling them out. See ya.
106-91 Spurs.
13 - RJ
The game starts in 15 mins!
14 - Temple Stark
Whew. They're trying to rewrite history here in Phoenix. "Every game was close" says columnist Paola Boivin
Noooo. The last two were. Tough - watching it it was hard to believe the season was over for these guys.
I thought it might have been extended by the refs who at one point called four offensive fouls on the Spurs in under three minutes. The Refs couldn't decided whether they were letting a lot go or calling it close.
15 - RJ
Detroit-Miami tied up at 3-3...
I'll be watching Monday night...will you? ;-)
16 - rj
PISTONS WIN IN SEVEN!
Just like I predicted... ;-)
17 - Tan Hoang
Well, the great thing about the Pistons is the team's committment to defense. Playing solid defense will ALWAYS keep you in the game, and it's a reason why the Pistons will continue to be a contender. Hopefully more teams realize that defense is a good thing to have. Having a few 30 ppg players is good, but having players who can successfully guard a goliath like Shaq is even better.