Race to the Title

Just four teams left, all fighting for the right to be called champions of their conference, to represent their half in a battle that will separate disappointment from triumph. In the east, three dominant forces lead the season’s best squad as they fight to stay alive against a familiar team, filled with experience. In the west, a high flying team from L.A., looking nearly flawless at times, battling head to head with the millenniums wisest and most fundamentally sound squad.

The Los Angeles Lakers have penetrated their way into the heads of the San Antonio Spurs players. The Spurs, arguably the most experienced team in the league at this time, find themselves down 3-1 after a 93-91 loss to the Lakers last night in San Antonio. Now down two games and facing elimination, the Spurs will have to do what no team has done yet in the playoffs, beat the Lakers at home. Don’t get me wrong. It is possible. Prior to yesterday’s loss, the Spurs had won 16 of 17 home playoff games.

In order to remain alive following the next game, the Spurs are going to have to do whatever it takes to shut down Kobe. The Lakers go-to-guy, and regular season MVP, is averaging 31.4 points per game so far in the playoffs. You have to appreciate what this guy has done, especially in crunch time. Take a look at game one when the Lakers trailed by as much as twenty until the L.A. rallied behind Bryant’s 25-second half points to come back for the victory.

With the exception of the game three rout in San Antonio, the Lakers have dominated the field goal percentage category. The Spurs need to find ways to get the ball in the bucket. Ginobli has struggled to find his stroke with the exception of game three, and the Spurs need his offensive explosiveness to be there game in and game out. Pop has done a great job getting other players in there, using Michael Finley for his experience and using Brent Barry for his successful history in three point shooting, but the fact of the matter is if Ginobli doesn’t play well, it’s difficult to win. Parker and Duncan can’t do it themselves.

I expect the Lakers to move on to the Finals to represent the West. And for whoever makes it in the east, the Lakers are going to be a tough team to stop.

In the east, we have a gruling battle between another experienced, veteran squad in the Pistons, fighting to knock off arguably the most dominant team in the game.

To clarify one thing, there is such thing as buying a championship. If the Boston organization isn’t attempting just that, I don’t know what there plans are. Any team who goes out and empties nearly half of their roster to lure the NBA’s most loyal team player and most dominant inside force, and then dips into the bank account more to lure another loyal player and prolific career shooter in Ray Allen, isn’t planning for the far future, but rather is seeking a championship right away.

It has been an exciting year, and watching this team, with Garnett, Allen, and long-time Celtic Paul Pierce has been a great experience.

Though seemingly unstoppable in the season, why can’t the Celtics finish teams off in the playoffs?

Nobody expected the Hawks to take them to seven games, and they did just that. Granted, in the Hawks four losses away from Boston, they were beat by totals of 19, 23, 25 and 34 points.

Putting up a much stronger fight, the Cavaliers then took the regular season champs to seven games, falling by just five points in game seven in a game where LeBron did just about everything he could in his power to get his team to the next level.

Now, Boston faces their toughest challenge, a challenge against a team that is attempting to reach the NBA Finals for the third time in five years. They are a team full of experience, full of talent.

This series is simply mind boggling at this point. It’s hard to tell where this series is going to go, after Detroit handed Boston their first loss at home in the playoffs, and then Boston in turn, beat Detroit to give the Pistons their first loss in the playoffs since game one of the first series, when Philadelphia shocked them in the opening round.

Now at 2-2, who has the strength to take the next step?

On one side, you have three players that likely want an NBA Championship more than anyone who is left fighting at this point, against a team that has been there, and has even won it all just four years ago.

Lucky for the Celtics, home court advantage is in their favor, but if Detroit can manage to pull off a big win in the Boston Garden tonight, it could be an early exit for Boston. I call a loss in the Eastern Conference Finals an early exit for the Celtics because with a team like that, you can’t expect anything less than to at least make it to the finals, especially in the east.

The Spurs are struggling to stay on board, so expecting a finals comprised of the wise Pistons along with the Spurs is now merely a long shot. And it is very possible to see an epic battle between the Lakers and Celtics, showcasing the two teams in the championship for the first time since the Bird – Magic era. Not if Detroit has anything to say about that. We’ll see how bad the Celtics, the beasts from the east, want it after tonight.