NBA Finals Player Position, Head to Head Match-ups

Journeyman said:

PG: Tony Parker (SA) vs. Chauncey Billups (Det) (Billups has stepped up in games 3 & 4)
Parker has been averaging 18.7 for the Spurs, and now in his fourth season has developed into a solid floor leader. He’ll be looking to push the tempo against Billups, who has been logging heavy minutes in the playoffs. Despite his production, Parker is better going to the rim and has really struggled with his outside shot the last two series.

Billups is the Money Man for Detroit. He takes and makes most of the Pistons’ big shots, and will have to be ON this entire series for his team to beat the Spurs. He is averaging 18.0, and is automatic at the line, shooting 89%. That’s a huge advantage when trying to protect a lead in the last two minutes of a game.

SG: Bruce Bowen (SA) vs. Richard Hamilton (Det) (Hamilton making Bowen work a little bit harder, getting some fouls called and shots off against him)
I know that Manu Ginobli is technically the Spurs off-guard, but once Ron Artest was suspended Bowen became the league’s top one-on-one defender. He will harass Hamilton mentally and physically, much like he did against Ray Allen, and make him work for his points. You can’t leave him on offense because he’s lethal as a spot-up shooter.

Hamilton is the smooth scoring leader for the Pistons, notching 21.3 points per game. He dominated for stretches in Games 6 and 7 against the Heat, and is the guy that Detroit looks to when their offense gets stagnant. Instead of chasing around Ginobli, Hamilton will probably guard Bowen so he can rest a bit on defense.

SF: Manu Ginobli (SA) vs. Tayshaun Prince (Det) (Tayshaun has had a little bit of help in slowing Ginobili in games 3 & 4, which has helped)
Besides Wade, Ginobli has been the NBA’s breakout player this postseason. The deft lefty is averaging 21.8 and has been nearly unguardable since April. He is always a step ahead of the defense, whether it’s finding the trailer cutting to the hole or taking those large strides to the hole and flipping in some contorted shot. Plus the foul.

The Pistons’ beat writers voted Prince as the MVP of this team. He’s going to need to be for Detroit to repeat. His length and athleticism make him the perfect counter to Manu. On offense, look for Prince to post up the smaller Argentinean for a few lefty hooks or turnaround jumpers. Prince should meet or exceed his 14.7 playoff average.

PF: Tim Duncan (SA) vs. Ben Wallace (Det) (Big Ben playing with great energy has helped inspire the rest of the Piston team)
Again, let’s not get caught up with the position labels here. When all is said and done, Duncan will eventually pass Karl Malone as the Greatest Power Forward of All Time. Duncan (24.9 pts., 11.7 reb.) is cool and calm, but also focused and intense and sets the tone for this cold-blooded San Antonio crew. He knows when to dominate and when to defer, but will need to prove that he can make his free throws (73 percent in the playoffs) in order to remain The Man in crunch time.

Wallace is the reigning Defensive Player of the Year in the NBA. He will have to stay out of foul trouble and, most importantly, keep Duncan off the offensive glass. Wallace has had more than 10 rebounds in 58 of his 68 playoff games, and is averaging 11.7 in the playoffs.

C: Nazr Mohammed (SA) vs. Rasheed Wallace (Det) (Unlike games 1 & 2 when Wallace was trying to play the post up game, Rasheed has helped the Pistons by taking Mahammed out of the key with his shot, forcing Mahammed to come out and cover him, which in turn has helped Detroit on the boards as Nazr was a force early on in the series)
Mohammed has been getting a lot of love for his play for the Spurs in their march to the Finals. He’s averaging eight points and eight rebounds and been a solid second option for San Antonio. However, he’s not facing Steven Hunter or Reggie Evans anymore. He’ll have his hands full with ‘Sheed.

Rasheed has put his money where his mouth is. After his meltdown in Game 5 of the East Finals, he came back and was an absolute animal in Games 6 and 7. Wallace is the wild card for Detroit. If he channels his energy into his play, he’s a matchup nightmare and a clutch performer. If he loses his cool, that may mean more minutes for Elden Campbell. No one wants that.

Bench (The play of Lindsey Hunter and Antonion McDyess has helped even this out a bit)
For San Antonio, it’s all about Big Shot Bob Horry. Horry has truly proven himself to be one of the All-Time Clutch performers, and is good for at least two back-breaking 3-pointers a series. However, where he also does a ton of damage is on the offensive glass. Besides Horry, the Spurs will go to Brent Barry, another long, tall, athletic perimeter shooter, and Glenn Robinson to provide some outside touch and offensive pop off the pine.

For Detroit, they don’t rely on their bench for anything other than to rest the starters. Antonio McDyess has been a nice find, and can offer some O, and Lindsey Hunter is always ready to pump up some threes. I’m very intrigued by Carlos Arroyo, and can’t figure out why he hasn’t played more for this team. He is an outstanding passer and offensive facilitator, and can handle the ball well enough to allow Billups to move to the 2, but Brown hasn’t gone to him.

Coaches: Gregg Popovich (SA) vs. Larry Brown (Det) (Larry Brown had finally figured some things out to benefit his team, but can he convince his team to play with the same pashin when they return to San Antonio as they have in Detroit?
This is a push. Popovich is underrated, and has shown creativity (see: bringing Ginobli off the bench against the Sonics) throughout the playoffs. He is a steady influence, and has a great understanding of the pulse of this team. It’s not an accident that his teams are 16-4 in closeout games in his career.

Brown has forgotten more basketball than I know. However, he can’t be excused for the distraction he rained down on his team with all the talk of him going to the Cavaliers. Also, he gets too comfortable with his regular rotation at times and, as an underdog in this series, needs to be willing to make some moves to put his team over the top.

Some random stats to leave you with:
- This is only the fifth time ever that the top two defensive teams have met in the finals. The Spurs were No. 1, and Pistons were No. 2 this season. The top ranked team has won three of the last four times that’s happened.
- San Antonio was a ridiculous 38-3 at home during the regular season.
- Detroit was 19-11 vs. the West this year; San Antonio was 23-7 vs. the East.
- Detroit’s five starters played 1,397 minutes together this year – by far the most in the NBA.
- Detroit has held six opponents to 66 points or fewer over the last five years. All other teams combined have done so three times.
- With their 111-108 win at Phoenix in Game 2 of the West Finals, San Antonio became only the third team in NBA history to win the first two games of a playoff series on the road after having trailed entering the fourth quarter in each game.

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