Spurs and NBA Finals 101

Bleacher Talk
June 10, 2007

Spurs and NBA Finals 101

This is it. We’re down to two teams. Will the San Antonio Spurs come out on top as predicted by most (if not all) analysts and fans? Or will Cleveland Cavaliers score another major upset behind the leadership of a 22 year-old superstar? The irony about making a forecast for this year’s finals is that it’s going to "easier" than making one for what was supposed to be a Spurs-Pistons finals. I really wish I didn’t have to say that, but there really isn’t anything else to say, is there?

You can ask any basketball fan and nine out of ten will predict a Spurs championship. Everything is simply pointing to another Spurs championship and it doesn’t look like the Cavs will be able to pull off another surprise from Mike Brown’s bag of tricks.

A unique blend of over-all player superiority, experience and consistency will bring the Spurs another championship. They’re simply so much stronger in every department with the lone exception of Lebron James, but Lebron’s presence won’t be enough to overcome Tim Duncan’s Spurs.

It all starts with Duncan, San Antonio’s heart and soul. He literally towers over his counterpart in Cavs leader Lebron James in every facet: championship experience, leadership and respect. While Lebron is the star of the future, Duncan is very much in his prime and is in a better situation to lead his teammates. Lebron is good, but his time hasn’t come yet. And he’ll have a wealth of experience to learn from Duncan.

A crucial element that favors the Spurs is the level of consistency with which they’ve played in the playoffs. Duncan and his co-stars have been steady, precise and thorough in winning in the playoffs. Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili have elevated their games even better than before in providing the Spurs that 1-2-3 punch that has been simply awesome. The three have been on a perfect "peak" schedule since the All-Star break and we can expect even more in the finals.

Over at the Cleveland, Lebron will have to squeeze the most out of rookie surprise package Daniel Gibson, Drew Gooden and Zydrunas Ilgauskus. While the three have had their moments of glory in the playoffs, they’ve also been on and off as if programmed to click only on certain occasions versus the need to be consistently solid in every playoff game.

It’s crucial for both teams to have consistent performances from all players and this is where the Spurs have been able to add Michael Finley as a fourth crucial and steady complement to an already potent core. Bruce Bowen has been the team’s go-to guy for defense and you can expect him to be hounding James all series-long. The Spurs’ other role players in Fabricio Oberto, Robert Horry and even Francis Elson have also been consistent, making the team so deep and potent in talent. In Horry’s case, consistency could also mean being the x-factor in delivering the clutch baskets in crunchtime situations.

It’s been tough to monitor the other Cavs in this Lebron and teammates show, but many of them can step up when asked to do so. Among the lot include Donyell Marshall, Sasha Pavlovic and Anderson Varejao. The tough situation here is that this is the finals and you need your core group to be steady and consistent together. The big question here is who among the Cavs will become this consistent core group. Remember that Gibson erupted against Detroit but wasn’t really a major factor in their earlier playoff games. Marshall had some hot shooting moments, but these were too few. Larry Hughes is hurt and while Drew Gooden has better over-all numbers than Gibson in the playoffs and the regular season, he wasn’t exactly extraordinary against Detroit. I’m afraid the Cavs can’t choose to play as if they answering a multiple choice exam when choosing who ought to step up and support James in the finals.

We all saw these and more, including an unimpressive performance from Lebron in Game 1 which the Spurs easily won. The dangerous part was Cleveland’s allowing Duncan, Parker and Ginobili to score almost at will. When the Spurs took a 64-49 lead into the fourth quarter, I had a feeling it was already game over. And when Big Shot Rob Horry opened the fourth quarter with a trey, that was it.

The third period exposed the difference in consistency between the two teams. Duncan was his usual "boring and unflashy" self, quietly dominating the defense. By the end of the third period, he had 20 points while Parker had 18. Lebron had only eight points at this juncture. More bad news was that only Lebron and Gooden scored for the Cavs in the period. On the other hand, the Spurs also had Ginobili and Bowen doing their share.

While Game 1 may not be repeated to the letter later in the series, we can expect the NBA Finals to be a Spurs show all the way. It’s a case of a team with championship experience (three rings) being simply so much stronger than a rookie team making its Finals debut.
You can already hear Tim Duncan saying to Lebron James, "Welcome to NBA Finals 101."

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Time-out: Happy birthday to Cholo Verches and Dra. Rose San Juan! >> You can reach me at bleachertalk@yahoo.com.