...while wondering what ever happened to Orlando Woolridge

The NBA Finals are upon us and to all who disparage my beloved Association, I dare you to cast aspersions at this match up. No crybaby millionaires. No prima donnas. Classy coaches who preach fundamentally sound basketball. Two strong defenses. The last two champions squaring off against each other.

Detroit took out the Miami Heat in seven games, but were aided by the early health issues of Shaquille O'Neal and the late issues of Dwayne Wade. An additional factor was Miami's inexperience. Championship teams do not blow seven-point fourth quarter leads. The Heat did, and they are on vacation because of it. The Pistons, to paraphrase Rip Hamilton, "did what they do": they put on their hardhats and went to work.

Out West, San Antonio basically coasted to the Finals. They played an inexperienced Denver Nuggets team in the first round, a team that had no business in the playoffs at all, let alone in the second round in the Seattle SuperSonics and a Phoenix Suns team that was nowhere near as ready for prime time as the Dallas Mavericks made them look. As a result, San Antonio has not been tested this postseason. Still, they did what they were supposed to do.

We had Miami in seven over Detroit and San Antonio in five over Phoenix, so we were close. Let's see how our breakdown of the Finals goes:
*All stats are postseason.

Point Guard - Chauncy Billups (18.0/4.1/6.6) vs. Tony Parker (18.7/3.1/4.8)

Billups is the reigning Finals MVP but that was last year. Both he and Parker had solid seasons this year and have continued that into the playoffs. Statistically, these two are close, but where the separation starts to come in when you look a little further down the stat line. Parker is turning the ball over at a 3:1 (turnovers to steals) clip and shooting a horrific 67% from the line. In a close series, those things will kill a team.

Edge: Billups
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Off Guard - Richard Hamilton (21.3/3.9/4.9) vs. Manu Ginobili (21.8/5.8/4.3)

Again, you have two guys that are statistically close. Rip's coughing it up 3.5:1 but Manu's shooting free throws in the 70's, compared to Hamilton's 81%. This is evened out point-wise by Ginobili getting to the line about 50% more. Still, the turnovers versus the benefits of a slasher against Detroit's perimeter defense swing this one Argentina's way.

Edge: Ginobili
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Small Forward - Tayshaun Prince (14.7/6.9/3.6) vs. Bruce Bowen (4.8/2.9/1.4)

Stats don't lie. Bowen is heralded as one of the game's best defenders. Prince is averaging .89 steals per game to Bowen's .44. Neither turns the ball over much. At the free throw line it's not even close (78%-63%, Prince).

Edge: Prince
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Power Forward - Rasheed Wallace (14.7/7.0/1.1) vs. Tim Duncan (24.9/11.7/3.0)

Stats don't lie, though Duncan is turning the ball over an incredible ten times more than he is stealing it, while 'Sheed's numbers are basically even. Wallace has the mean factor, which goes a long way with me and Duncan is just too soft for my taste. Still, you take Duncan away from the Spurs and it's over. The same cannot be said for Rasheed.

Edge: Duncan
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Center: - Ben Wallace (9.8/11.7/1.0) vs. Nazr Mohammed (8.1/7.0/0.5)

Big Ben is out-blocking and out-stealing Mohammed 2:1 but is shooting a horrific 61% from the line. Fortunately for Detroit, he only gets to the line about twice a game.

Edge: Wallace
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Bench - McDyess, Hunter, Arroyo vs. Horry, Barry, Udrih

Very similar benches here. Both have scoring, both have specialists, and both have secret weapons (Darko v. Big Dog, anyone?). San Antonio is a little deeper, but Horry and Barry are also streaky. McDyess could start in a lot of cities.

Edge: San Antonio
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Coaching - Larry Brown (1393-909 [.605]; 1 ring, 2 Finals) vs. Gregg Popovic (396-210 [.653]; 2 rings, 2 Finals)

When Gregg Popovic was a member of the ABA Denver Nuggets, he was cut -- by Larry Brown. Many years later, he served as the best man at Brown's wedding. This is the quintessential student/teacher situation. Popovic was one of Brown's most loyal disciples and employs a coaching philosophy very similar to that of his mentor. Out on his own, he has won two rings and now seeks to prove that it is he who is now the master. The in-series adjustments are going to be fun to watch for those who are interested in the machinations of these two men. These are two brilliant coaches who are on even ground. The only thing that separates them is that only one of them is The Greatest Basketball Mind of Our Time.

Edge: Brown
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When looking at the players involved, each team wins two categories, with the deficiencies that cost one team a category being compensated for at another position. These are two sets of old-school roundballers. What we should see over the course of the next two weeks or so is a basketball clinic. Most of what people see as negatives in today's NBA should be vacant from this series and all that we love about this game will be on nightly display. This one will go the distance.

Prediction: Detroit in seven


And in a completely unrelated matter, while researching photos for this posting, I came across this, proving that Tariq Abdul-Wahad was not only once alive, but apparently had some hops, as witnessed by Horrace Grant and Derek Harper.

Until next time,
Paz

...while wondering what ever happened to Mike Krukow

We're so concerned with the separation of church and state in all things government that a judge can be removed for simply displaying the Ten Commandments in his courthouse, yet all hell (no pun intended) breaks loose at the alleged desecration of the Koran. Korans in the possession of prisoners, mind you. Now, I respect the beliefs of others, no matter how divergent from my own and I try to see and appreciate the Christian aspects within all faiths, but I can't help but wonder if there would be nearly this much fuss if the book burned, torn and urinated on were the Bible...You go Shaq. The Big Benevolent offered to pay for the funeral expenses of the recently-departed George Mikan. ESPN and other outlets had recently featured Mikan's fight with kidney failure and other ailments arising from his diabetes, struggles made worse by the NBA's failure to provide pension benefits for players who retired prior to 1965 -- in short, the sickest, poorest least-paid in their time. It's good to see one of the benefactors of those pioneers pay back...Isn't it just amazing how many people "knew all along" who Deep Throat was?. They also know where Jimmy Hoffa is, who took the Lindberg kid and where all the Iraqi weapons of mass destruction are...Speaking of Iraq, if Saddam Hussein was an absolute dictator during his reign over the country -- his word was literally the law, how can he be tried by that country for his actions while in power? Aren't all of his actions, by definition, legal, regardless of how horrific?...The city of Dallas missed out on a great opportunity in defeating its Strong Mayor proposition last month. Now the city will once again be relegated to spinning its wheels while holding no single individual accountable. Where the proposition failed is in its marriage of message to messenger. Had the legislation been worded so as to take effect at the end of the current mayor's administration, it very well may have passed...If you dug Yoda's smackdown in the last Star Wars movie, you'll love Revenge of the Sith. I never knew R2 had it in him...Oddball stat of the week: the nation's highest state sales tax is 10%. In Arkansas. So why is it in the condition it is in?...Is anyone shocked that the Expos are in first place? There was no way this wasn't going to happen. Then again, my Rangers are in first place too, so it's not like it has to last...Former Scattershot target Gene Garber spotted in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, where he serves as Chairman of the Lancaster County Agricultural Preserve Board (thanks to new but loyal reader Jim)...Idiot of the week goes to David Matthew-Anthony Demeres (why do these guys always have so many names), who called in a bomb threat to The Palace at Auburn Hills about four hours before tipoff of Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Finals -- from his home phone. He was in jail by halftime...Of course a case could be made for Cleveland Cavs owner Dan Gilbert who, when asked about the wisdom of his hiring a rookie head coach, replied, "I think potential, passion and talent are more important than experience". Yeah, who wants Phil Jackson, Flip Saunders or Larry Brown. Oh, that's right: he does have Larry Brown...So nobody saw the potential problems of giving convicted sex offenders Viagra, on the taxpayers' dime?...Speaking of taxpayers, why do my married siblings, when filing jointly with their spouses, pay less in taxes than me? Maybe I should sue the IRS for discriminating against me based upon my unsuitability for marriage!...Until next time, paz.