Finals Talk

Alright, congratulations to the Spurs for getting the Game 7 victory over Detroit and winning the title. San Antonio was the consensus favorite at the beginning of the year (especially when they got Barry) and they rolled fairly easily through the playoffs until they hit the Pistons.



Last year, the Lakers were also the consensus favorite because they had that dynamite starting lineup although, in retrospect, people seemed to forget that Karl Malone and Gary Payton were each about 20 years past their respective primes. Plus, they're both jackasses. Anyway, when the Pistons actually showed up to play the 2004 Finals instead of being starstruck, the Lakers folded; all of the Pistons victories were blowouts and they wrapped it up in five games. Astonishing. That series, I believe, marked a shift in the NBA that closed the era of the superstar and began the era of the team.

It's not so much a charisma or marketing thing, but rather a coaching and system thing. This year, Phoenix ran a system where everyone was involved and was a potential scoring threat (everyone has to be dangerous when your team combines to score 110ppg). Detroit continued their defense-oriented style, but they spread it around also, resulting in their leading scorer averaging less than 20ppg. And the Spurs, of course, have a superstar, but his job isn't to proxy for the entire team. Last year, Kevin Garnett played the role of the Minnesota Timberwolves in the playoffs. When Troy Hudson and Sam Cassell got hurt it was the 7-footer playing point guard, firing clutch 3s and willing the team through the game. I'm not criticizing Garnett, who plays with more heart and hustle than anyone this side of Allen Iverson, but it is a clear contrast in styles. The old style is to rely on KG or Shaq or Jordan or Sir Charles...the new style is that everyone does a little something.

I think this is why it was so difficult to pick a Finals MVP last year. Chauncey Billups kinda won it by default. This year it is a bit easier because Tim Duncan was the decisionmaker (though not from the point guard position). He scored those 12 or 14 in the third quarter and he found Bowen and Ginobili for those gamebreaking threes in the fourth. Add to that the automatic double-double and not choking at the foul line and the choice becomes clear. I still can't stand the Spurs and I can't wait until the GS Ruff Ryderz meet the Knicks in the Finals, but one must appreciate how they gutted through the seven-gamer where the Lakers fell apart. Detroit was incredible, also. If they keep it up, maybe they can pull a Spurs East and win multiple titles, just not consecutively. Absolutely no shame in that.