Reply With Quote
Spurs in 5
Assuming they meet in the finals (which they may not, but assuming they do), here is my breakdown of the two teams and what I figure will happen in the series.
Let's start off with our 2005 NBA Champion San Antonio Spurs.
Likely players on the playoff roster:
Tim Duncan
Tony Parker
Nazr Mohammed
Bruce Bowen
Manu Ginobili
Michael Finley
Nick Van Exel
Robert Horry
Brent Barry
Beno Udrih
Rasho Nesterovic
Fabricio Oberto
Player Analysis:
1. Tim Duncan: Two-time MVP, Three-time Finals MVP, Three-time NBA Champion. Greatest Power Foward in NBA History, arguably one of the best players of all time and today. Averages over 20 and 10 for his career. All-Star every year of his career.
2. Tony Parker: Two-time NBA Champion. Lightning quick, can probably get from one end of the court to the other faster than any other player. Leads the league in Point Guards with points and the paint and is #3 in FG%.
3. Nazr Mohammed: One-time NBA Champion. Offense rebounding machine. Can put up decent numbers on the offensive end, plays physical, slow on defense, and is a terrific free-throw shooter.
4. Bruce Bowen: Two-time NBA Champion. Best one-on-one and perimeter defender in the NBA today. Frustrates most opponents, shoots amazingly well from three, particularly in the corner, and can put the ball on the floor. Has a decent mid-range game.
5. Manu Ginobili: Two-time NBA Champion, Gold Medalist with the Argentinian National Team. One of the most intense and tenacious players in the game. Players outstanding defense, creates on offense, shoots the three, does all the intangibles, and shoots well from the free-throw line. Plays astronomically when needed.
The rest of the guys...
6. Michael Finley: Great jump shooter.
7. Nick Van Exel: Not afraid of crunch time, can step up and hit big shots. Great three point shooter for his career.
8. Robert Horry: Mr. Clutch. Six-time NBA Champion. Hits the big shots when they're needed the most. Great defender.
9. Brent Barry: One-time NBA Champion. Excellent passer, excellent shooter, excellent free throw shooter, knows how to run the point, good ball handling, smart play making.
10. Beno Udrih: One-time NBA Champion. Knows how to to run the point. Can get to the rim and shoots very well, especially from three point land. Great passer.
11. Rasho Nesterovic: One-time NBA Champion. Excellent post defender. Plays outstanding defense in the low block.
12. Fabricio Oberto: Yet to be determined, but appears to be a good player and a good passer.
On to the 2005 Eastern Conference Champion Detroit Pistons.
Likely players on the playoff roster:
Ben Wallace
Chauncey Billups
Rip Hamilton
Rasheed Wallace
Tayshaun Prince
Tony Delk
Antonio McDyess
Maurice Evans
Carlos Delfino
Lindsey Hunter
Dale Davis
Kelvin Cato
Player Analysis:
1. Ben Wallace: One-time NBA Champion. Best defensive big man in the game. Great around the rim, amazing defender, smart player.
2. Chauncey Billups: One-time NBA Champion. Pistons' Mr. Clutch. Runs the offense brilliantly and can hit the three with ease. Makes smart plays, good passer, amazing free throw shooter, great player all around.
3. Rip Hamilton: One-time NBA Champion. Probably the best player in the NBA moving without the ball. Great shooter and great three point shooter.
4. Rasheed Wallace: One-time NBA Champion. Awesome defender, especially on Tim Duncan, can shoot the three, long so he can rise up over the top of players, very emotional, steps his game up when needed.
5. Tayshaun Prince: One-time NBA Champion. Good three point shooter, crafty with the ball, good defender, long and lanky and can really bother shots.
The rest of the guys...
6. Tony Delk: I myself don't know much about Delk, but it looks like he can put up points and can shoot the ball.
7. Antonio McDyess: Great shooting big man, plays well down low and can defend pretty well.
8. Maurice Evans: Not very sure about Mo. I hear he brings good energy but that he overall is not very good (according to some Piston fans on the forum, anyway).
9. Carlos Delfino: Excellent defender, I don't know much else about Delfino, except the he gets upset easily and is a little spoiled.
10. Lindsey Hunter: Great backup point guard. Good shooter, and overall good player.
11. Dale Davis: Physical big man.
12. Kelvin Cato: In the few games I've ever seen Cato in, he never showed me much. Piston cans can help me with their bench analysis.
Head to Head matchups:
Tim Duncan vs. Rasheed Wallace: Tim Duncan could probably win this battle if 100% healthy, but Tim is not, and Rasheed has always bothered Tim on defense. Tim will still score his points, but he will need more shots to do it. Tim and Rasheed will pretty much cancel each other out, in my opinion.
Winner: Tie
Tony Parker vs. Chauncey Billups: Although I don't think Tony will be on Chauncey that much (because I believe Bowen will guard Billups), I believe that Tony will average more points, but Chauncey will put up better games all around. I don't think there's a clear cut winner in this case, especially if Bowen is on Billups, so I think it's a wash.
Winner: Tie
Bruce Bowen vs. Rip Hamilton: Rip is obviously better offensively but I doubt Bowen will be on Rip. Tony will probably guard Rip, and I think Tony has the speed to stay ahead of him, but Hamilton will most likely average 17-21 points per game in the series.
Winner: Rip Hamilton
Nazr Mohammed vs. Ben Wallace: They both rebound well. Nazr can score better but Ben is a beast in the paint on defense. I think Ben's play will ignite the Pistons crowd and thus giving the edge to Wallace.
Winner: Ben Wallace
Manu Ginobili vs. Tayshaun Prince: As we saw in the Finals last year, I don't think Prince will be able to contain Ginobili at all. Manu will probably end up with Finals MVP if Tim is below 80%.
Winner: Manu Ginobili
Spurs bench vs. Pistons bench: Spurs get the edge here. The Spurs have proven veterans on their bench and while the Pistons do have a few good players, the Spurs have great shooters in Finley, Barry, Horry, Van Exel, and Udrih, as well as crunch time performers like Horry and Van Exel.
Winner: Spurs bench
Gregg Popovich vs. Flip Saunders: Pop gets this one easy. Until Flip can prove it in the playoffs, he won't get much credit. Pop has three rings and a coach of the year award under his belt and Saunders has only been out of the first round once.
Winner: Gregg Popovich
Overall: I see these two teams as equals almost, but I give the Spurs 9.8 and the Pistons a 9.75. It can go either way in this series, and Tim Duncan's play will be very key against Rasheed. Our bench MUST produce.
My prediction: Spurs over Pistons in 6 games.
Last edited by TexasBalla1001; 04-02-2006 at 06:56 PM.
Spurs in 5
I would prefer it, but I wanted to be realistic.
Something tells me that TP, Manu, and Tim are gonna go crazy.
When did Tony Parker get his third NBA championship?
Typo, sorry.
We've had so many Spurs vs. Pistons threads lately, it would be pretty funny if this match-up never happens.
I wanted to do a team match up analysis, which I have not seen yet, and get some opinions from other people.
If Duncan and Rasheed cancel each other out, Detroit will win, and in much fewer than 7, IMO.
You might as well pencil Horry into the starting lineup in that potential match-up...
There is no way he plays less minutes than Nazr...
"Both teams play hard, my man... Both team play hard."
My finals breakdown:
Tony Parker vs. Jason Williams. TP is easily better
Bruce Bowen vs. D Wade. D Wade will get his points, but will have to work hard for them. Hopefully that will have some effect at the end of games.
Manu vs. James Posey. Posey is a good defender but Manu should be able to win this matchup.
Duncan vs Haslem. Duncan easily dominates this matchup. Most likely Shaq will be forced to play more against Duncan. Mourning will also play against Duncan.
Nazr vs. Shaq. Shaq will dominate. Expect Rasho to get alot of PT in this years Finals.
Benches. Spurs bench > Heat bench
i agree with that post. and sadly, duncan and sheed DO cancel each other out. also fin fin lacks the consistency we need from him to help us get past the pistons and they know how to stop parker for the most part as he always gets off to a hot start against them but detroit then closes the lane. Detroit in 6, the championship is theirs to lose
Not to take anything away from Tony (he's having a great year) but Tony's game is in the paint and driving into the paint isn't a good place to be against the pistons if your a small guard. They're long and atheletic and tend to clog up the paint.Tony Parker vs. Chauncey Billups: Although I don't think Tony will be on Chauncey that much (because I believe Bowen will guard Billups), I believe that Tony will average more points, but Chauncey will put up better games all around. I don't think there's a clear cut winner in this case, especially if Bowen is on Billups, so I think it's a wash.
Winner: Tie
Chaucey's also picked up his game a couple notches with legitimate talk of him being MVP.
Noticeable edge to Billups IMO
If Bowen guards Billups that puts Parker on Hamilton (mismatch) and Manu on Tayshaun ? (another mismatch) so I'm not sure how that will work out either.
(looks like you put a lot into the post Balla, well done)
Is that you, rascal?
Manu needs to step it a couple of notches for this to happen.
I like how Tony is starting to hit shots in the clutch, although I'm still morecomfortable with Manu or TD handling the ball in the last minutes of the 4th Q.
The Pistons seem to have that "no one wants us to win" mentality that has generated a lot of anger and, dare I say, jealousy towards the Spurs. I think this may be their downfall.
The Pistons will come into the series with a chip on their shoulder, and when push comes to shove, anger gets in the way of intelligence and execution.
Spurs in 6.
i wana say first off we dont no 100 percent if these spurs will be in the finals though it pretty much looks like it. secondly the pistons have a tough time with the nets and the heat are still there as well. if they do how ever meet in the nba finals this is what i think.
parker vs rip- i think with billups improving alot pop will put bowen on billups so that leaves parker vs rip and i think parker is quick enough to stay with rip and i think parker wil create more for his team. though rips still going to get some shots i dont think he will have the ball in his hands as much. i like to look at the last play of game 5 of the nba finals.
advantage parker
manu vs prince-as we saw last yr manu out matched prince and since they are both the same player as last yr i say manu
advantage manu
bowen vs billups-billups is going to get some clutch shots and is going to get his points but bowen is going to make every point he gets hard.
advantage billups
duncan vs rasheed-duncan was worse off last yr then this yr and duncans only going to get better, duncan usally out plays rasheed and td is the best pf of all time so i would give it to duncan. even if they cancel each other out parker and manu are good enough to make up for it. duncans going to get 20pts 14 reb a game while wallace will be more like 11 pts 8 reb
advantage duncan
nazr vs ben-bens a beast on defense though nazr can score better i think ben will help his team more.
advantage ben
bench-not hard at all, horry and mcdyess are pretty similar but we also have barry(on fire unlike last year) finely, nve rasho beno ect
chemistry-pretty much equal
offense-spurs can put up points if they want to jsut look at the fg percentage but they choose more of a half court style. the pistons seem to do a little of both so ima say its even
defense-last yr i would say it was even but this yr it seems every game the pistons get a tad worse. so spurs win
clutch-we do have horry but billups to me is a tad better in the clutch as well with the rest of the pistons team overall
coach- i dont think in any bodys mind that you would say flip>pop. pop is a better coach and has been there before. he stresses on d more and d wins ships
hca in the finals is over rated. i think it might help us having the 2-3-2 layout
well i figure we will steal the 1st or 2nd game as imo we play better on the road than at home in the playoffs. then we have 3 games at home where we gotta win atleast 2. so say the series is now 3-2 in favor of us. we have two games to win the ship. there are no back to backs and these spurs just keep on improving. these pistons arent the same pistons we saw in december and these spurs arent the same spurs we saw in december.
that being said lets not forget that the pistons still have the nets and heat that stand in there way. i think that it might help us a tad more if we have this lay out, it puts pressure on them and wait we still are the nba champs!
No matter what GO SPURS GO!
i say spurs in 6 but a whole lot can change from april to june...alot
manu is averaging 15pts and 4 assits this season compared to last seasons 16pts and 4 assits per game. with all of his injurys this season i see no need to worry about manu come playoff time. he really takes his game to another level come post season
man how sweet would it be for the spurs to repeat for the first time ever
i could see pistons-spurs being a lakers-celtics series for the 2000's
ya this yr means so much, i just want to repeat so bad. this yr means more to the spurs and there fans then any other yr. it would put a staple on the spurs dynasty and duncans legacy. 4 les in 8 yrs... wow
Here's my analysis: the games will be decided on the floor. Any "paper analysis" isn't worth what it's written on. On paper, the Colts should have won the NFL championship last year, yet they didn't reach the Superbowl.
What you have is two teams that have deep playoff experience. Detroit has won once, lost in 7, and advanced to the ECF in '03.. SA's current core group has won twice and gone deep three other times.
The Spurs have three starters that have been together since Fall 2001: Tony, Bruce and Tim. Add Manu to the mix the next year, and you have a solid core of players together over 4 years. That kind of cohesion can't be bought, and gets you through deep playoff runs and road playoff games.
I like our chances, and I'm sure the Detroit fans like theirs, too. Let's get it on.
Well, Tony's midrange game is improving a lot, and so is his free throw shooting. I say tie because I'm fairly sure that Bowen will be on Billups. Bowen guarded Billups sometimes during the Finals with Tony on Rip. Manu played on Prince throughout the whole series.
spurs in four. wtf.
TexasBalla1001,
I agree with everything, except for 3 things ...........
Duncan vs. 'Sheed:
I don't care, Duncan is the greatest PF to play the game in the last 25 years. I know 'Sheed does a great job on him and all. And in fact, 'Sheed is my favorite player ............ but in crunch time, Duncan gets the calls ....... 'Sheed gets the techs. As well as my boy plays Duncan, I gotta give Tim the adavantage.
Advantage: Duncan, (however, ever so slight)
Parker vs. Billups:
In the matchup of Parker vs. Billups, its not about points ........... it's how and when you score .......... and, the way you control the game. Parker will not ever be as good a point guard as Chauncey Billups is now.
Advantage: Billups
Manu vs. Tayshaun "Stretch Armstrong" Prince
In a potential Spurs vs. Pistons rematch ....... I don't care about the Bench, Coaching, or the other matchups on the floor ......... how well Tayshaun Prince performs will determine if we win the le or not. Tay was an afterthought in the offense last year .............. this year under Flip, he's been more aggressive.........like a new player all-together. I'm tryin' not to sound like a HOMER here ........... But I really expect Tayshaun to match Manu's aggressiveness. That's why I think this match-up will be a tie.
Advantage: Tie
There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)
Posting Permissions
