Why? All-Star point guard Chauncey Billups has opted out of his contract, leaving the Pistons with no starting fury from its back court. Billups catapulted Detroit to success in this decade. He was the Finals MVP in 2004 against a mighty Los Angeles Lakers team which featured future Hall of Famers Shaquille O’Neal, Gary Payton, Karl Malone and Kobe Bryant.

For now, Lindsey Hunter would have to replace Billups. And that is not a good omen of things to come. Hunter is a good defender and a veteran, but he lacks the savvy, guts and size (which created mismatches) that Chauncey had. There will be struggles from the Piston camp this season unless they find an All-Star point guard within Billups caliber.

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I hate to discount the fact that the San Antonio Spurs are far a very better team than the Cleveland Cavaliers. Many experts claim that the Larry O’Brien is already in the Spurs bag. But I want to give Cleveland a chance.

I just want to mention this. The best thing that has ever happened to the NBA this postseason is the Cavaliers has finally advanced to the NBA Finals for the first time in franchise history. And I am so happy that it was not Detroit who would go back to the Finals. Such series is ugly, and NBA ratings would have plunged down to the abyss. Thank God, LeBron James was so determined to stop the Pistons, and his teammates did step up. Not many adorned them to beat Detroit beforehand. They were cancelled out of the Finals picture right before the Pistons-Cavaliers series even started.

Now, I should say that the Spurs and the Pistons play the same way. Almost! They play good defense, are loaded with veterans who’s got smarts, and have experience. They have been to the Conference Finals a number of times before. But San Antonio is better! Detroit does not have a Tim Duncan. And the Spurs have the deeper bench. The Pistons were short of a Finley, Oberto, Horry and a Barry who can contribute from time to time.

But I still could say that Cleveland can play the same way as they did the Pistons, and they have an outside chance of winning this whole thing. That is: believe in LeBron and in themselves. James will create the plays, he will hold the ball 99% of the time. His decision making is critical in this series. He should know when to shoot and when to pass that ball. It won’t matter to whom, but what will matter is where that teammate is when he receives the ball. Damon Jones, Daniel Gibson and Donyelle Marshall can receive the ball from beyond the arc, because they can shoot that three. Larry Hughes, Zydrunas Ilgauskas and Anderson Varejao may best receive that leather when they’re underneath or cutting towards the basket. Drew Gooden can collect the ball at mid-range. And these guys should shoot the ball as soon as they obtain it, and without hesitation.

It is also a must for Cleveland to control the boards. They have enough big men to do it, but Coach Mike Brown should implement “gang rebounding.” They have to work as a team. They cannot allow the Spurs to get a lot of second chances. They should win the battle of the boards, both in the defensive and offensive ends.

Varejao will also play a crucial role in defending Duncan. Duncan is stoppable. And Varejao is the right man for the job to pest him all the time. Straight post-up defense won’t do the trick, but harassing him all the way will. Also, they should attack him. Cleveland cannot settle for outside shots. They should attack the rim. Put Duncan in foul trouble!

Their transition defense should also be in high gear. Hughes and Eric Snow might wanna put a clamp on Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker especially in transition. These two are notorious for sneaking in, and gearing up their speed at times. One to two Cavs should establish the defense in transition.
If the Cavaliers can accomplish those tasks mentioned above, they will win this series in six. I hope..

Everyone knew the ball would go to LeBron James 90% of the time. Everyone also knew that the Detroit Pistons would clamp on James, not allowing him to get easy baskets. But no one knew that a second-round draft pick Texas rookie would outshine everyone and make big shots.

Exactly just that transpired when the Cleveland Cavaliers trounced the Detroit Pistons, 98-82. Rookie Daniel Gibson scored 19 of his career-high 31 points in the fourth quarter as the Cavs pulled away from just a six-point lead at the start of the fourth. Gibson had three trifectas in the quarter, went 7-of-9 from the field in the game, made all five of his three-point attempts and went 12-of-15 from the free throw line. He further added six rebounds, two assists and only had two turnovers in just 29 minutes. Such a big game for a very young lad.

The game plan was simple for the Pistons: Stop LeBron at all cost and let someone else beat them. They did limit LeBron’s production to just 20 points, a far cry from his game-five-48-point performance. But they didn’t count on the rookie Gibson making big shots, and scoring big for Cleveland. It was just unfortunate for Detroit that the kid stepped up.

With the win, the Cavaliers advance to the NBA Finals for the first time in franchise history and will face the San Antonio Spurs in a best-of-seven duel. (photo courtesy of yahoonba)

James scored 29 points of Cleveland’s last 30 points in their 109-107, Game Five win. He also had nine rebounds, seven assists and two steals. He is averaging over 27 points in this series against a tough defensive Detroit team. He also scored all of the Cavaliers 18 points in two overtimes. He just wouldn’t budge, and remained focus in keeping what he promised at the start of the season, that they will reach the NBA Finals and perhaps win the Larry O”Brien trophy in the end.

But the Pistons have been here before. This series is very much similar to last year’s when Detroit lost all three middle games, before finishing the Cavaliers in Game Seven. They have the swagger, the discipline, the defense and the experience to do so. Again! If there is any other team that can easily come back from being down 2-3, it’s the Pistons!

They have done so, so many times. I can still remember that Tayshaun Prince swat on Reggie Miller that sealed the deal for the Pacers. It was a go-ahead lay-up and was supposed to put an end to the Pistons playoff ascension. But Prince ran the whole court and made that huge block.

These guys have played together for years. Though Ben Wallace is gone, there is another able man in Chris Webber to compliment their formidable four of Chauncey Billups, Richard Hamilton, Prince and Rasheed Wallace. They have reached the Eastern Finals for the fifth straight year, a feat in NBA record books. And anything short of an NBA Finals will be an utter disappointment. They won’t allow that. They are poised to bounce back.

But they have to stop King James. They can’t let him produce near triple-doubles every game. They should stop him as a team like they planned. And I believe they will. LeBron’s superhuman efforts can only go so far. And there will be an end to it. Remember that even Michael Jordan’s 63-point effort failed to defeat a tough collective team in Larry Bird’s Boston Celtics in the 80’s.

I can’t wait for Game Six. I still stay it will be Detroit. Not in six though, but in seven.

The fact is the NBA is getting boring and predictable. Right now, the Detroit Pistons and San Antonio Spurs are definitely going to meet in the NBA Finals. The Spurs are also destined to win the whole thing. And these two – they are the most boring basketball teams I have ever seen.

Why don’t we watch? The East is always a boring conference, save for Michael Jordan and his Chicago Bulls Dynasty in the 90’s and last year’s titlist Miami Heat and its star Dwyane Wade. Why should we watch LeBron James and his Cavs teammates? LBJ holds the ball 90% of Cleveland’s possession. His teammates can’t seem to find the hoop. Detroit is so methodical, that their game has become similar as life’s home-work-home routine. Well, for most people.

Then there’s the Utah Jazz and San Antonio in the West. These two don’t belong in the “Wild Wild West” actually. For neophyte NBA observers, they may mistake these two as Eastern teams, since they play the really lackluster type of play. “Alright guys, let’s hold the ball, play the full 24 seconds, get the ball to the post, screen a little, dish out if the shot isn’t there, or back on your man Tim, Carlos.” They run this play all the time. Not to mention, the Spurs cheated their way here. How much are they paying you Stu (Jackson)?

Last year, I sided with the Miami Heat and witnessed one of the more exciting Finals in recent years. Not to mention, NBA had the best playoffs in recent memory last postseason. This season is far from it. No wonder the NBA’s ratings have plummeted down to the grave. Even San Antonio natives failed to appear in Game One of the Western Conference Finals. They are smart enough to realize that their team is boring and dirty. Not worth the ticket and the time!

It’s a good thing the Detroit Pistons are up 2-0 against the Cleveland Cavaliers. But how they won those two games at their home floor is a different story.

The Pistons had to rely on their experience and Cleveland’s lack there of to scrape two close wins. Two amazingly similar three-point wins. Detroit should feel lucky that LeBron James passed off a potential game-winner to wide-open Donyelle Marshall in Game One, and Rip Hamilton was not called for a possible foul on James in the dying seconds of Game Two.

I should say Cleveland has done a hell of a job in stopping the Pistons supposedly balanced attack. Tayshaun Prince has been expending so much effort in guarding LeBron, that he has an empty tack in the offensive end. Chauncey Billups and Chris Webber have been struggling as well.

On the other hand, the Cavaliers rely too much on James to make the plays. All the plays emanate from him all game long, that’s why he’s tiring out in the end game. That spells the big difference in this series. Those two close games going the Pistons way will spell doom on Cleveland. It ain’t there time just yet.

Danny Ferry needs to add an All-Star playmaker before the Cavs franchise will be able to go the NBA Finals. This year though, they are just happy where they are now.

San Antonio waltzed their way to a 2-0 lead in the Western Conference Finals. As long as Utah cannot stop San Antonio’s three-headed monster, they will continue to loss. After all, they never expected to be here. Everyone was expecting Dallas to be in the conference finals, not the Jazz.

In the Spurs’ 108-100 triumph in Game One, Tim Duncan had 27 points and 10 rebounds, Manu Ginobili added 23 points and 10 assists, while Tony Parker contributed 21 points and six dimes. Jazz forward Carlos Boozer was just 7-for-17 from the field, good enough for 20 points and 12 rebounds. But he had only three field goals in Utah’s disastrous first half.

The Spurs had a 19-point lead at halftime, and were up 18 early in the fourth. The only bright spot for the Jazz was Deron Williams’ 18-point performance in the fourth which deceivingly reduced the lead to eight by the end of the game.

Game Two was no different from Game One. The Spurs had this game from start to finish. Duncan had 26 points and 14 caroms, while Ginobili added 17 points. Parker may have only scored 17, but he had 14 assists, setting-up devastating threes from Bruce Bowen, Ginobili, Michael Finley and Brent Barry. All four guys had three three’s apiece. Everytime Utah made a run, San Antonio answered with three-pointers.

Although, Boozer bounced back with a 33-point-15-rebound performance, the Jazz never led in this one. San Antonio easily won 105-96.

Now the series shifts to Utah. The Jazz were down 0-2 before, in the first round against the Houston Rockets. But the Spurs are far a better team than Houston. They’ve got the rings to show for it. The Jazz may have won two games at Salt Lake City during the regular season, but this is the play-offs. The Spurs are the superior team, and Utah does not offer much resistance.

I expect the Jazz may win one at home, but just one. I say Spurs in five, and let the Detroit-San Antonio showdown begin anew. That’ll be a more interesting series.

All the advantages go to the Pistons, as they will be in their fifth consecutive Conference Finals trip. Experience is on their side plus they won the season series against Cleveland, 3-1. LeBron James had to explode for 41 points for that lone win.

There is no secret recipe to Detroit’s success in the East. They play great defense, and they attack with balanced scoring. Chauncey Billups, Richard Hamilton and Tayshaun Prince have been to all of the team’s five conference finals appearance. Rasheed Wallace helped them win a title in 2004, and Chris Webber has been a perfect fit following Ben Wallace’s departure in the off-season. They all average in double figures.

As I see it, the Cavaliers have no chance in this series. They may put up a decent fight, but I don’t see them extending this match to seven games this time. Detroit had to pull-off two successive victories in last year’s second round match-up with Cleveland. They hacked out a 79-61 Game Seven win while limiting James to just a field goal in the second half.

The difference though is James had to make all the shots last season, but the Cavs bench has tremendously improved this year. Veteran Donyelle Marshall fired 18 points in Game Six against the Nets. Others like Drew Gooden, Zydrunas Ilgauskas, rookie Daniel Gibson, Damon Jones, Eric Snow and Larry Hughes may step-up, but Detroit is too good defensively to let that happen. The Pistons are a complete team, and Cleveland is on unfamiliar ground.

I say the Pistons will win this one in six.

I thought that the Detroit Pistons and the Cleveland Cavaliers would have arranged their Eastern Finals showdown a little earlier. Instead, we see the Chicago Bulls and the New Jersey Nets rising from a seemingly-deep grave in brilliant fashion, challenging their respective nemesis.

The Pistons were an impressive 7-0 to start the postseason. They won it all, the first three against the young hapless Bulls. They won by an average of 18 points. Whoa! Those five veterans were impressive, playing like the champions they deserve to be. But for the past two games, they seemed to lose interest. Their average losing margin is 15.5. The Bulls were firing from all cylinders, winning by as much as 16 at Detroit!

Now, everyone is talking about the Chicago, and how this post-Jordan team will become the first in history to come back from a 0-3 deficit. For me though, it ain’t gonna happen. I believe Detroit will wake up from its slumber and finish this thing off in six. They are just too smart to realize that they should stop fooling around. They will wrap-up the series at the Windy City tomorrow.

As for the other series, the Nets have a chance to become the ninth team in NBA history to win a series being down 1-3. I have faith in New Jersey. Before the season began, the Nets were on top of my list. They have a big chance to advance to the Eastern Conference Finals, after a three-year absence. Those first three quarters of Game Five proved that they can indeed dominate! The Cavs just don’t have the balls to finish a series. Not yet!

Yes, Fred Donahue, why now? How much are the Spurs paying you? Attention Commissioner David Stern!!! Aren’t the calls supposed to go either way?!? That game was full of bull. Hand checks are supposed to be whistled, let alone obvious bumps, scratches and cheap shots from a “supposedly” defensive player in Bowen. He does not deserve to be in the All Defensive team. He ain’t a defensive player! No way!

That cheap shot to Nash’s groin was utterly…! Don’t want to let out those frustrating words. Defense should be played with your feet, not with your hands. But Bowen’s got plenty of hands when he plays defense. Amare Stoudemire is right. He just wants to hurt people.

If the calls keep going San Antonio’s way, then the series is already over, and the NBA will crown the dirtiest team ever!!! Yes, I believe this is the championship series. Whoever wins will win the crown. Detroit has a shot, but they are too slow and old for the Suns and Spurs. What a boring conference finals and NBA Finals it will be. Utah vs San Antonio, then San Antonio and Detroit. Whew!