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chris paul

Bron’s Age

The King used the 2006 NBA Playoffs as his personal showcase. In the first round, he hit a couple of game winners, famously rattled Gilbert Arenas, and almost single-handedly destroyed the Wizards. Against the mighty Pistons, LeBron nearly pulled off the impossible as he pushed the Bad Boys all the way to a Game Seven. It was the kind of riveting individual brilliance that had fans, casual observers, and media thinking that The Takeover had officially begun. And then the 2007 Playoffs rolled around.

Not that they presented a great challenge, but LeBron pretty much sleep-walked through the first round against the Wizards this season. And now, he did the exact same thing against the Nets. Now against the Pistons he’s averaging 25 points and 8.6 assists, but more importantly he’s broken a sweat.

Game 6 should be a better viewing experience than the previous 5, only because nothing could possibly be worse this series. All you need to know about the last fews game is that Detroit survived a game but only making one field goal in the fourth quarter. The game tape should be burned. I have no idea how the Pistons are going to do in tonight’s game, but Lebron will be incredible. And with Billups struggling I don’t think they have the punch to knock The King out.

Game 6

While everyone has become obsessed with fawning over the greatness of LeBron James, there’s one tiny thing nobody’s talking about: is this the end of an era in Detroit? Some may say it ended last year, when Ben Wallace, the team’s best defender, left via free agency for the Chicago Bulls. Which begs the question: when LeBron was going on his tremendous scoring binge to end Game Five, would Wallace have stepped in to take a charge, swat a shot, or commit a hard foul?

Fantasy is fun, but the reality is ugly – Flip Saunders needs to decide how’s he’s going to stop a player who is bigger, faster, and stronger than Michael Jordan, and in Game 5, displayed a Jordan-like jumper, too. It seems like Flip has three options if the fourth quarter rolls around and the game is close: 1) run a second defender at LeBron as soon as he gets the ball, which will force him to give it up; 2) attempt hack-a-LeBron (only 10-for-14 on FTs in Game Five; he’s shooting 77 percent in the playoffs), 3) try a 2-3 zone and pray his jumper is off. Perhaps as important is that Detroit’s on-court squabbling must stop.

For the first time in awhile, oddsmakers have made the Cavaliers favorites. The line is only -1, though. My question for the Cavs is asked in the photo above: who is going to help pick LeBron up in Game Six? Fortunately, the game is at home, where jump shooters like Sasha Pavlovic, Daniel Gibson, and Donyell Marshall will be less reluctant to take jumpers. But this is a close-out game, so those shots won’t just be open jumpers … they’ll be open shots with the NBA Finals hanging in the balance. I believe Pavlovic will benefit from doubling on LeBron and have a strong game.

I’m thinking the Pistons come out like the veterans they are, and run out to a single-digit halftime lead. LeBron will look to get all of his teammates involved in the first 24 minutes, and probably only have 10 at the break. For the first time all series, the Cavs will win the third quarter, and then take over the game in the fourth, and win by 4-5 points. The guess here is 87-81. Feel free to leave your predictions in the comments.

Odd numbered year + Dead Shaq= Spurs2themax

The Spurs aren’t flashy and don’t brag. They just win, especially in odd-numbered years, and the display they put on at the start of their 109-84 victory over the Utah Jazz on Wednesday night should serve as a warning to Detroit and Cleveland what one of them will be facing when the championship round begins next week. Duncan and Tony Parker led a 14-0 surge over a 2:13 span late in the first quarter, and San Antonio had a 23-point lead early in the second quarter. Although Utah got an emotional lift at halftime when Derek Fisher arrived from New York, where his infant daughter was getting medical care for a rare eye condition, the only thing in doubt by then was whether the Pistons or Cavaliers would be the Spurs’ next foe in their bid for a third title in five years.

The first quarter was unbelievable.  Parker, who scored nine points during the game-breaking flurry and threw a lob that Duncan slammed about as hard as he ever does.  The Finals begin a week from Thursday in San Antonio, regardless of who comes out of the East. The Pistons-Cavaliers series is tied 2-2, with Game 5 on Thursday night in Detroit.Dallas and Phoenix had more wins in the regular season, but it shouldn’t be surprising that San Antonio wound up being the best in the West. After all, this is 2007, and the Spurs have dominated in odd-numbered years since Duncan arrived for the 1997-98 season. San Antonio won it all in 1999, 2003 and ‘05, and even came close in the lone exception, losing the 2001 conference finals to the eventual champs, the Los Angeles Lakers.