NBA Conference Finals Preview

[sani]

EASTERN CONFERENCE FINALS *all stats in brackets are: (reg. season; postseason) (1) Miami Heat, Southeast division champs (59-23; 8-0) vs. (2) Detroit Pistons, Central division champs (54-28; 8-3) Regular season meetings (2-1 Detroit): Nov 26, 2004 @DET 78, MIA 77 Dec 30, 2004 MIA 89, @DET 78 Apr 10, 2005 DET 80, @MIA 72 How they got here: Miami: 1st round 4-0 over New Jersey, 2nd round 4-0 over Washington Detroit: 1st round 4-1 over Philadelphia, 2nd round 4-2 over Indiana Position by position analysis (PPG, RPG, APG): PG: Damon Jones (11.6, 2.6, 4.8; 15.6, 2.4, 3.6) vs. Chauncey Billups (16.5, 3.4, 5.8; 18.7, 4.2, 7.0) Yes, Damon is good and he can knock some big threes (atleast he was able to do so against Nets and Wizards), but this is Mr Clutch we're talking about. When it comes down to hitting threys when most guys wouldn't dare even taking the shots, Chauncey is the man. Life won't be as easy for Damon as it was in the first two rounds. SG: Dwayne Wade (24.1, 5.2, 6.8; 28.6, 6.6, 8.4) vs Richard Hamilton (18.7, 3.9, 4.9; 19.9, 3.9, 4.4) There's absolutely nothing bad one can say about Wade's play this season (and postseason as well), but just like Damon Jones, he had a lot of room to operate in Rounds 1 and 2. This series will be the real test for him though, if he can prove me wrong and play as good as he did past few weeks, Cleveland made a mistake by picking LeBron first in 2004 draft. However i doubt that will happen not just because of Rip Hamilton who will wear him down while running through numerous screens but mostly because of Detroit's inside-outside defense. I'm not saying Wade will be bad against Pistons, on the contrary, BUT it just won't be easy for him. On the other hand Rip can run through screens and get his shots no matter who's guarding him, so there's no reason for him not to do it once again. SF: Eddie Jones (12.7, 5.1, 2.7; 15.9, 5.1, 2.3) vs. Tayshaun Prince (14.7, 5.3, 3.0; 14.7, 7.8, 4.1) This matchup could prove to be the key to this series. Tayshaun's low-post play will be too much for Eddie to handle, and his 7"2' wingspan will definitely be more than Jones can take. If Eddie can't get his shot going it'll give Prince an opportunity to play some help 'D' as well and alter some of Miami's passes. There is absolutely no doubt who is the better player here and i don't think Eddie will have more than one big scoring game (20-25 points) throughout the series. Crown the Prince please. PF: Udonis Haslem (10.9, 9.1, 1.4; 9.6, 11.4, 1.4) vs. Rasheed Wallace (14.5, 8.2, 1.8; 14.9, 7.7, 1.3) Rasheed owns the bigger name in this matchup and he can definitely affect games more (especially with his emotions) but Haslem's no joke. His near double-double averages both in regular and postseason are hard to overlook. If he can repeat that kind of play against the Pistons (i firmly believe he's up to it) his countribution should be important. However i just can't remember seeing him hit a big shot, and that's something where Sheed excells. His emotions will win atleast one game of the series for the Pistons and Heat better not make him make another promise, so far Pistons are 2-0 in games Sheed guaranteed Detroit would win. C: Shaquille O'Neal (22.9, 10.4, 2.7; 18.0, 8.2, 2.2) vs Ben Wallace (9.7, 12.2, 1.7; 11.3, 12.6, 0.8) This is the big question mark of the series. Is Shaq healthy? Can he play at 100%? I doubt it, but i'm not sure that will damage the Heat as much as most people think. We all saw what happened against Washington when several guys stepped up bigtime. If Shaq is at his best, Pistons already know how to play against his team (Finals last year). And if Miami adjusts their gameplan, Detroit might have to make changes as well (not like they are unable to adjust). With Shaq at his best (?) this will be the matchup everyone will pay most attention to and rightfully so. I have a lot of respect for O'Neal, but Ben (with Sheed's help) Wallace is an enforcer. He is a true defensive stopper, the kind of guy that makes coaches drool and wish he was on their roster. Add Prince's enormous wingspan and his ability to deflect passes to the mix and you'll see why Shaq won't have fun in this series. BENCH: Mourning, Dooling, Butler, Laettner, Anderson, Doleac vs. McDyess, Hunter, Aroyo, Campbell, Ham, Dupree Everyone keeps saying how short and thin Detroit's bench is, but they are not really that bad. There are the 3 guys that can really contribute, McDyess with his all-around skills, Hunter with his tight 'D' and Aroyo with his creativity and passion. Then there are Campbell and Ham to foul Shaq and try to wear him down while Wallace's are getting their rest. Then there is that blond kid from Serbia .... just kidding of course. Stan Van Gundy has more bench players available, but he will definitely not use all of them. We all know what Zo can bring to the table (even at the age of 35), his energy, hustle plays, and emotions similar to the ones of Rasheed Wallace are just priceless. Dooling, Butler and Anderson can contribute as well, but Detroit's bench trio can affect games a lot more than Miami's reserves. COACH: I like what Stan Van Gundy is doing in Miami (not just because of his last name), he did a great work with all those puzzle-pieces he got from Riley last summer. BUT, no matter how good your coach is, he is not better than Hall of Famer Larry Brown. Pistons won their last 9 potential playoff series clinchers, 6 of those are Brown's credit. He can make them play their best whenever it's necessary and it will be against the Heat, so get ready, the best is yet to come from Motown squad. Miami's offense (101.6; 106.5) vs. Detroit's defense (89.5; 84.4): If this matchup was a movie it would be a blockbuster. This is where the money is in this series. To make it all even better, both Miami's offense and Detroit's defense have improved this spring. Shaq makes the world go round when it comes to Miami's X's and O's, and everybody knows that, it's just that there are not many teams that can stop it (or even slow it down). Pistons defense can do it, just like they can do anything else if they bring their 'A' game. If Heat choose to pound the ball to Shaq, Pistons can: a)try to deflect the pass (Prince), b)double team Shaq and make him kick it out which is another opportunity for Prince or c)let Big Ben play him one-on-one (he can do that). If Miami chooses to let Dwayne Wade penetrate Pistons can either make him go to the Wallace Boys (and he won't have fun there) or try to block his lanes; with their quick defensive rotations they can do it much better than Nets and/or Wizards. Detroit's offense (93.3; 91.8) vs. Miami's defense (95.0, 95.6): If THIS matchup was a movie it would be a cheap independent flick, but those who'd like it would fall in love with it. Pistons' offense might not be as fluent as the ones of Phoenix, Dallas, even Miami, but few (NBA-related) things get me more excited than seeing Billups or Sheed hit that game-changing, momentum-building three. There's no 'me-first' attitude on Pistons offense and that is a great thing because you just don't know who it will be in the next game, but you're always sure someone will explode. Miami's defense, well, it all begins with Shaq-Daddy and it ends with Zo (if Shaq gets fouled out). You can add Wade to that mix, but still, it's not as good as Detroit's 'D'. After all, Detroit starts with a 'D'. And it's not just the letters that i'm talking about. Key Factors: 1) Shaq's thigh. Nobody knows how or whether that will affect the series but it is a huge factor, injured or healthy. 2) Wade's ability to play against the best defense in the league. He was limited to 5 points once this year by Pistons. 3) NO TEAM can defeat Pistons if they play their best. It's a best-of-7 series, so they'll have 7 chances to bring their 'A' game 4 times. 4) Pistons have shown us last year they can win when it matters most. Miami, even with East's best record still has a lot to prove. 5) Larry Brown. He never lost a potential series-clincher with Detroit (6-0)!!! 6) DEEEEETROOOOOOOIIIIT BAAAAAAAASKEEEEEETBAAAAAAAALL !!!!! Key Player: Tayshaun Prince (DET). Any team that has Shaq on it's roster relies on inside-outside passing. That's when Prince comes to play. He can deflect those passes, disrupt Heat's offensive flow and create some turnovers leading to easy fastbreak points. Those are just some of the things you can do when you have a 7"2' wingspan and play at SF spot. THE PICKS: Detroit to advance to NBA Finals @ 2.25, 5/10 units Detroit to win 4-1 @ 13.00, 1/10 unit Detroit to win 4-2 @ 5.00, 2/10 units Detroit to win 4-3 @ 8.00, 1/10 unit Detroit to win Game 1 @ 2.75, 3/10 units *all prices from Ladbrokes

[_Arsenal_]

Re: NBA Conference Finals Preview there's just 1 small problem , sani ....Miami played 8 , won 8 .:tongue2 and Detroit lost 3 times already.