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Thursday, Nov 26, 2009
Why the Spurs will beat the Pistons in the NBA Flyover Finals, and why you shouldn't miss it.
Jun 9, 2005 | San Antonio over Detroit in seven.
San Antonio. Detroit. I've lost most of you already, haven't I? Welcome to the Flyover Finals. Do me a favor, would you? Don't miss them. Game 1 is Thursday night in San Antonio. The Finals are on ABC, so you'll only be able to see snippets between the crazy camera angles and the crowd shots, but do your best.
The Spurs vs. the Pistons is only the fourth time in NBA history that neither team in the Finals plays in a coastal state. All of the other three, Chicago Bulls vs. Phoenix Suns in 1993 and vs. Utah Jazz in '97 and '98 -- included Michael Jordan.
Only fools dismiss championship matchups that don't involve teams from the Northeast, Chicago or Los Angeles. They're the people who missed out on a great World Series in 2002 -- Anaheim doesn't count as L.A. in this discussion -- and a great Stanley Cup Finals in 2004.
To be fair, they also missed the unwatchable 2003 NBA Finals -- New Jersey doesn't count as the Northeast in this discussion. There are no guarantees.
But it would be a mistake to give this series a pass even though it involves the same Spurs who beat the Nets in that brickfest two years ago. That's because they're not the same Spurs, and the Pistons are not the Nets.
If you're a casual fan you're probably hearing the talk about the Pistons and Spurs being the two best defensive teams in the league and you're thinking, "Oh, no, here we go again. Hello, 68-63."
Then you're looking down the rosters and seeing only one real marquee name, Tim Duncan, and he's the unflashiest superstar since Willis Reed. And really he makes Reed look like Dr. J.
Don't be fooled. TiVo "The O.C." Watch this series.
The scores will be low, but there's a difference between low scores because of good defenses and hideous offenses -- Spurs-Nets in '03 -- and low scores because of good defenses stopping good offenses. The Pistons and Spurs can both score. San Antonio ran with the high-flying Suns and beat them in five games. The Pistons have plenty of weapons in transition and the half-court.
