Hello to all VI readers. I am not usually a pat myself on the back type of guy, but before the season started, this is what I had to say about the two teams that have punched their ticket to the NBA Finals:
San Antonio:
San Antonio Spurs Although the projection has the Spurs finishing second in the division, I actually see them representing the Western Conference in this years¹ Finals and thus washing away the memory of last season's rough ending, on their home floor no less. Last year the Spurs had the NBA¹s best record going 63-19, but that did not lead to a title, and as such there has been a slight change of plans this year. Father Time is checking his watch, and eight of the Spurs will be in their thirties this year. What this means is that Gregg Popovich will have to limit everyone¹s minutes during the regular season, which will likely cost them the top spot in the division.
However, that plan will have them fresher when the real season starts. San Antonio is pretty much unchanged except at center where they replaced Mohammed and Nesterovic with Jackie Butler and Francisco Elson which has them breaking even offensively with a bit of an upgrade athletically and defensively. I consider Popovich to be one of if not the best head coach in the NBA as he has proven to be highly adaptable to any situation, is a solid X¹s and O¹s guy and he keeps the team on an even keel game in and game out which gives the Spurs a solid advantage. Basically, this is a veteran experienced championship team that is realizing this may be their best last chance to reach the summit.
Cleveland:
Cleveland Cavaliers The Cavaliers have improved their win total in each of the past three seasons, going from 17 to 35 to 42 to 50 last season. That was with a young team learning a new system under 1st year head coach Mike Brown. In the off-season GM Danny Ferry had one primary job, and that was getting LeBron James to sign a contract extension. That got done, but not for the amount of years the team wanted, but all that did was heighten the urgency for this team as "King James" is only guaranteed of being in wine and gold for another three years. Once Ferry knew his star was committed, he added some free agent talent and some decent draft picks as well. They health, or lack thereof, of Larry Hughes is key to the Cavs being outstanding instead of "only" very good. He is recovered from the injury that kept him out for half of the 2005-06 regular season, but his history indicates a new ailment is likely. If he can stay in the lineup for at least 70 games he has the talent to be the "glue" type player that Scottie Pippen was to another #23, Michael Jordan. Speaking of MJ, last season LBJ became only the 4th player in NBA history to average 31 points, seven rebounds and six assists per game. That put him in the company of Oscar Robertson, Jerry West and Jordan. Many may doubt this call to win it all considering the NBA is a league to walking the ladder towards a title.
However, consider that Cleveland was just one carom (fans are already calling it "The Rebound" in a morbid Cleveland fascination with naming their misery) away from being in the Eastern Finals last season. Had they gotten there, most agree they were a better matchup against the Heat than Detroit was, so in that respect the Cavs really were not that far away. After last season's playoff loss, others now know they have to step up to give James some help. In that light I expect Donyell Marshall (who will go to the basket more rather than camping out at the trey line), Zydrunas Ilgauskas, Damon Jones, and rookie Daniel Gibson to have more productive seasons and provide the help James and Hughes need. If all this comes to fruition James will be the second member of his draft class to the NBA title in the last two years, joining Dwayne Wade.
Not going to change my opinion now. If this was a 2-2-1-1-1 series I would say Cavs in six, but with the 2-3-2 format I like this one to go all the way, and for LeBron to outduel Duncan in Game Seven.
