detroit pistons at san antonio spurs, nba finals opener (feeling nba writer)
the opening game at the sbc center was what
most people who knew the spurs and pistons
would have expected, a low-scoring, defensive
game all the way, at least, for the first three
quarters. after blowing a 13 point point first quarter
lead, the pistons seemed to wither away against
the rested spurs. rasheed wallace started out
strong for the pistons scoring six points in the first
quarter, but detroit made the mistake of taking
away attention from probably, their key player to
beating the spurs, focused more on their guards
and it showed in the next three quarters. sheed
missed the only three shots he took after the
opening quarter. in what looked like a close game,
the fourth quarter made all the difference. in an
exciting playoff performance, the argentenian
dynamo scored fifteen of his 26 points in the fourth
quarter using an array of impossible jumpers,
dunks and lay-ups that seemed to sap the very life
from the pistons. duncan's 24 points and
seventeen rebounds were nothing to sneeze at as
well. though the spurs bench combined for only a
total of nine points, bowen's defense overwhelmed
hamilton reducing his scoring output to 14 points
from his 21 point per game playoff average and
horry had two three pointers to help the spurs
widen their lead. in a losing cause however, last
year's finals MVP, chauncey billups shined for the
pistons scoring 25 points and stifling parker and
ginobili in the first three quarters. undoubtedly, in
game 1, the spurs were the superior team, expect
major changes in game 2 for detroit.
for the pistons to win:
rasheed wallace has to be a factor on both offense
and defense, six blocks in game 1 prove his
defensive intensity and the pistons have not lost a
playoff game where sheed scores 20 or more
points. ben wallace may seem to be the best choice
to match up against duncan, but sheed's length will
be more of a bother for the two time MVP.
chauncey billups has to not only play well himself,
but get the entire team to do the same. the pistons
have no superstars and moving away from the tried
and tested team game will result in nothing but
disaster.
hamilton has to move more. perhaps the best-
conditioned player in the NBA, hamilton can easily
run circles around bowen off the ball, he can use it
to create open shots and frustrate the defensive
specialist.
team analysis:
back court: even
billups and hamilton can easily keep up with
parker and ginobili offensively and defensively.
frontcourt: spurs
tim duncan's one in a generation greatness and
atheticism can't be guarded by a single player,
and though detriot has four different people to throw
at him, expect detroit to double team him often and
leave a spurs player or two to create opportunities.
also, bowen's hard nosed defense will all but shut out
anyone he's matched up against. carmelo anthony, ray
allen and shawn marion have all had their offensive
output reduced thanks to bowen.
bench: even
robert horry leads a mighty spurs bench, but the
pistons have their own answer in hunter and
mcdyess.
coaching: even
pop and brown's similar styles and pop's tutelage
under brown prove that sometimes, the apprentice
can be as good as the master.
intangibles: spurs
both teams may have championship experience
and play similarly, but the spurs have homecourt
advantage. the best home team have lost at the
sbc center only 3 times this season. and only twice
in the playoffs.
unless brown and his team can find an effective
way to counter the greatest player in the nba,
manu's heroics and one of the greatest clutch
shooters of all time in big shot robert horry,
bottomline is, spurs in six or seven games.
most people who knew the spurs and pistons
would have expected, a low-scoring, defensive
game all the way, at least, for the first three
quarters. after blowing a 13 point point first quarter
lead, the pistons seemed to wither away against
the rested spurs. rasheed wallace started out
strong for the pistons scoring six points in the first
quarter, but detroit made the mistake of taking
away attention from probably, their key player to
beating the spurs, focused more on their guards
and it showed in the next three quarters. sheed
missed the only three shots he took after the
opening quarter. in what looked like a close game,
the fourth quarter made all the difference. in an
exciting playoff performance, the argentenian
dynamo scored fifteen of his 26 points in the fourth
quarter using an array of impossible jumpers,
dunks and lay-ups that seemed to sap the very life
from the pistons. duncan's 24 points and
seventeen rebounds were nothing to sneeze at as
well. though the spurs bench combined for only a
total of nine points, bowen's defense overwhelmed
hamilton reducing his scoring output to 14 points
from his 21 point per game playoff average and
horry had two three pointers to help the spurs
widen their lead. in a losing cause however, last
year's finals MVP, chauncey billups shined for the
pistons scoring 25 points and stifling parker and
ginobili in the first three quarters. undoubtedly, in
game 1, the spurs were the superior team, expect
major changes in game 2 for detroit.
for the pistons to win:
rasheed wallace has to be a factor on both offense
and defense, six blocks in game 1 prove his
defensive intensity and the pistons have not lost a
playoff game where sheed scores 20 or more
points. ben wallace may seem to be the best choice
to match up against duncan, but sheed's length will
be more of a bother for the two time MVP.
chauncey billups has to not only play well himself,
but get the entire team to do the same. the pistons
have no superstars and moving away from the tried
and tested team game will result in nothing but
disaster.
hamilton has to move more. perhaps the best-
conditioned player in the NBA, hamilton can easily
run circles around bowen off the ball, he can use it
to create open shots and frustrate the defensive
specialist.
team analysis:
back court: even
billups and hamilton can easily keep up with
parker and ginobili offensively and defensively.
frontcourt: spurs
tim duncan's one in a generation greatness and
atheticism can't be guarded by a single player,
and though detriot has four different people to throw
at him, expect detroit to double team him often and
leave a spurs player or two to create opportunities.
also, bowen's hard nosed defense will all but shut out
anyone he's matched up against. carmelo anthony, ray
allen and shawn marion have all had their offensive
output reduced thanks to bowen.
bench: even
robert horry leads a mighty spurs bench, but the
pistons have their own answer in hunter and
mcdyess.
coaching: even
pop and brown's similar styles and pop's tutelage
under brown prove that sometimes, the apprentice
can be as good as the master.
intangibles: spurs
both teams may have championship experience
and play similarly, but the spurs have homecourt
advantage. the best home team have lost at the
sbc center only 3 times this season. and only twice
in the playoffs.
unless brown and his team can find an effective
way to counter the greatest player in the nba,
manu's heroics and one of the greatest clutch
shooters of all time in big shot robert horry,
bottomline is, spurs in six or seven games.