NBA Finals Preview

By Dalton Del Don – Senior Writer

Cleveland Cavaliers vs. San Antonio Spurs

Comments: In 16 playoff games, LeBron James has averaged 25.8 points, 8.3 rebounds, and 8.3 dimes, with an assist to turnover ratio of 132/43. While the Pistons may have made the NBA Finals more competitive, at least there’s some star power, and James makes the series eminently more watchable. The Spurs are the NBA’s best team, and the only real debate here is whether the series lasts four, five or six games. But the fact that it took James just four seasons to take a moribund franchise into the finals should not be underestimated. Sure, it’s a terrible conference, but James is still just 22 years old. Bruce Bowen is a dirty great defensive player, but James cannot be guarded by one man right now. While San Antonio has tough interior defenders, James is a physical presence that the Spurs have yet to encounter during this postseason. The Cavs have won three straight contests against the Spurs, including 2-0 this season.

Cleveland also employs a pretty big interior, something underrated about their run during the playoffs. The Spurs are ultimately too sound in all aspects of the game, and the coaching matchup is one of the biggest mismatches in NBA Finals history. Manu Ginobili has rediscovered his game, and Tony Parker is a nightmare matchup for Cleveland’s backcourt. San Antonio also has homecourt, and a superstar in his own right in Tim Duncan. Duncan is trying to win his fourth NBA title already and has averaged 23.2 points, 11.4 rebounds, 3.3 blocks, 3.1 assists and is shooting 53.9 percent from the field in the playoffs. (Do you realize that in the 2003 NBA Finals, Duncan averaged 24.2 points, 17.0 rebounds, 5.3 assists and 5.3 blocks?!).

Ultimately, this series probably won’t be as boring as a Detroit/San Antonio matchup would have been, and the fact James is involved makes it somewhat intriguing, but the outcome appears inevitable. The Spurs win it in a sweep.