I said Spurs. I will be SHOCKED if the Pistons win it but I think its going to 7 games. I think Rip, Chauncey, Price and Rasheed can win 3 games.

Silver, prepare to be shocked.

I'm going with Pistons.

Spurs are a good team and Horry and Barry can certainly step up to complement their big 3.

But - the Pistons are too damn versatile for this team. Billups can bruise Parker and then Hunter and Arroyo can come in to harrass him with speed.

Ginobili and Hamilton will be a classic matchup. I think chasing Rip around will cost Ginobili some of his whirlwind energuy on the offensive end.

i'm hoping Prince runs Bowen back and forth into Ben Wallace screens and they just rough him up. I'm sick of that guy's chippiness.

Duncan's great but it's him, Nazr, Rasho and Horry agasint Big Ben, Rasheed, Dice and Campbell. i think Detroit's lumber wins.

Will we see Darko? Will his snazzy Euro-style inspire Isiah to draft Andreezy???

the Detroit Pistons will win their second straight NBA championship. 4 games to 2.

Richard Hamilton will be the MVP

I actually like this matchup better then Heat-Spurs. It is going to be a tough series, both teams have a lot of experience etc. I will go with the Spurs though - they have won it twice in the past few years and they always have a strong playoff tested team.

Parker isnt being given a chance according to the critics and I think he will surprise a lot of people.

Rip Vs Bowen, Rip wins hands down.

Manu Vs Prince, gotta go with Manu - he is awesome but Prince can be clutch too.

Duncan Vs Sheed - I think this is really where it will make or break the Pistons. Sheed has to put up numbers or else they wont win any games - but what else is new. I give it to Duncan but you gotta love Sheed, he has really come together as a great player on Detroit (although I always loved him, technicals and all).

Then we have Nazr vs Wallace or whomever they throw against him. Big Ben wins this one.

I think the surprise of the series will be Parkers play, Duncan will get his, and Manu will be explosive.

Its a win win for me though, I wouldnt mind seing either team cement their status as all time great teams.


Also gotta throw in the tired factor....the Pistons had 2 7 game series in a row, while the Spurs dismantled two of the best teams of the regular season pretty handily. That gives another edge to the Spurs.

[Edited by - OasisBU on 06/08/2005 15:15:52]

Posted by OasisBU:

I actually like this matchup better then Heat-Spurs. It is going to be a tough series, both teams have a lot of experience etc. I will go with the Spurs though - they have won it twice in the past few years and they always have a strong playoff tested team.

Parker isnt being given a chance according to the critics and I think he will surprise a lot of people.

Rip Vs Bowen, Rip wins hands down.

Manu Vs Prince, gotta go with Manu - he is awesome but Prince can be clutch too.

Duncan Vs Sheed - I think this is really where it will make or break the Pistons. Sheed has to put up numbers or else they wont win any games - but what else is new. I give it to Duncan but you gotta love Sheed, he has really come together as a great player on Detroit (although I always loved him, technicals and all).

Then we have Nazr vs Wallace or whomever they throw against him. Big Ben wins this one.

I think the surprise of the series will be Parkers play, Duncan will get his, and Manu will be explosive.

Its a win win for me though, I wouldnt mind seing either team cement their status as all time great teams.


Also gotta throw in the tired factor....the Pistons had 2 7 game series in a row, while the Spurs dismantled two of the best teams of the regular season pretty handily. That gives another edge to the Spurs.

[Edited by - OasisBU on 06/08/2005 15:15:52]

Yeah, you have made apretty good case for the Spurs, I just think so much hinges in Rashweed. If he plays big and is hitting 3's and stuff, he can cause major problems for Tim Duncan.

Wow this is close!

ONly 20 votes! Is that how many are active on this site?

The Spurs DO NOT have a far better offense than the Pistons, and I'm not basing this on stats. Yes, Duncan is the best player in the series, but Kobe and Shaq and an unhealthy Wade and Shaq were also far better than what the Pistons have. They win by defense and clutch baskets. Matchup wise, Billups is better than Parker, Rip is better than Bowen, it's tied between Tay and Manu, Duncan has the edge over Rasheed, and the Wallace has the edge over both Rasho and Nazr. Matchups wise, the Pistons have quite an edge and may even win the battle of the benches with Hunter and McDyess coming off. If the Pistons can do a good job holding down Parker and Manu (While making Duncan do most of the work, therefore, tiring him out and keeping his guys out) then the Pistons have a shot. I think the keys of this series are Billups and Tay, mainly on defense. Rip will have a tough time, but he'll get his points. Ben Wallace will abuse the centers of the Spurs. Weed needs to hold his own and needs to hit those 3s to keep Duncan out of the paint on defense. Don't worry about him getting in foul trouble.

Pistons in 6

duncan-rasheed is a heck of a matchup!

Pistons in 7.

Rasheed Wallace.

Posted by tomverve:

I'm surprised the voting is this close. Detroit's tough, but they're not in San Antonio's class. As Bonn mentioned, the defenses are about even but SA is far superior on offense. SA also has the two best players in the series. I'm calling Spurs in 6-- Detroit wins 2 of 3 at home but doesn't beat the Spurs on the road.

I can't agree with allanfan's assessment of the teams' offense. On offense, Parker and Ginobili are probably comparable in overall effectiveness to Billups and Rip. They all have different strengths and weaknesses but any net differences in their effectiveness are probably very tiny. Then, Prince is a better scorer than Bowen. Prince will give you about 6 more PPG. But Duncan is a much better scorer than Rasheed. He'll give you about 10 more PPG and more assists and he'll draw more double teams, which will help everyone else. I definitely can't call Ben a better offensive player than Nazy. I think it's the reverse with Nazy having the better touch around the basket and giving at least 2 or 3 more PPG and better free throw shooting.