Tuesday, June 07, 2005

Pistons Win Clash of the Titans, I go 12-2 on Play-Off Picks

The NBA Finals are finally set! Despite a heroic effort on behalf of Dwayne Wade the Pistons ended the season for the Miami Heat in game 7 last night. It was a great game to end a great series. I stated before the series even started that this would be an instant classic, and I believe that it has.

One of the things that added to the series was the drama. You had the defending World Champs on the verge of elimination, you had Shaq vs. the Pistons defense again, but more than anything you had Dwayne Wade. After suffering a rib muscle injury in game 5, Wade sat out game 6, and then returned to the line-up last night to score 20 points.
I can’t see any way that the Finals will be as exciting as this series was. The NBA play-offs have reached their peak!

As for the Finals, there is no one in the NBA that plays a team game better than the Pistons. The San Antonio Spurs have made a great run through the play-offs and have established themselves as the best team in the West. The Spurs play a great team game as well, and could possibly be better than the Pistons on offense. It’s the Pistons defense and their match up advantages that will allow them to win their second World Championship in two years.

In my opinion the Finals will end in six games or less. I believe the Pistons will win game 1 or 2 in San Antonio, defend their home floor in games 3 and 4, and then wrap it up in game 5 or 6. I really don’t think they will clinch in San Antonio even though that is will be a possibility, so I’m going to say game 6 in Detroit is when it will finish.

So far I have been 12-2 in my play-off series picks. I have picked against the Spurs twice and they have won. I’m going to say the third time is a charm. The Detroit Pistons will be the 2005 World Champions.