Daniel Gibson has a stupid nick name - boobie, and today, the pistons got boobie-trapped. Pistons did to LeBron what they should have done all of game 5, trap him and get the ball out of his hands. They focussed on him so much that he had just 3 field goals all game. But the Cavs were very much in the game for 3 quarters because it was a home game and as expected the role players stepped up. Hughes hit some big 3's in the first quarter and guys just made shots. There was a huge break between the first and second quarter due to shot-clock difficulties and the Cavs were really concerned that the crowd was taken out of the game by this extended break. Pistons got back and tied the game up in the second. The game stayed close through three quarters.
Then Boobie took over. His performance in the fourth was almost as good as The King's in game 5. He went on a personal run and made a lot of 3's. The only difference was, it was not in end-of-game situations and it was all off of LeBron getting trapped and double-teamed. Gibson ended with 31 points in 5/5 3's. LeBron had a 20-14-8 game on just 3 field goals. He did drive to the hole several times and get to the line 19 times. For Detroit, Rip had a great game with 29 on 10/20 shots. The rest of the Pistons were not really there except for C-Webb's 13-6. There's some talk that Billups has actually cost himself a lot of money with his poor performance in this series. Sheed had a horrible 5/14 shooting night for 11 points and just 2 boards. He also lost it completely late in the fourth and got ejected on back-to-back technicals. The Pistons as a team unravelled in the fourth as the Cavs kept pulling away.
Great times for The King. I did not expect him to break-through the Pistons and get to the Finals this soon. Looks like he is on a faster track than MJ. I don't think he beats the Spurs, but he should get back to the Finals several times if the Cavs build the team right. As for the Pistons, it might be an end of an era. Flip Saunders might get fired. The poor guy never got any credit. All losses were his faults and all the credit for the wins were shared by the veteran players and their chemistry and Joe Dumars for putting them together. It was always Larry Brown's team and Flip never got any ownership of this team despite all his changes to the offense and defense, though some of his defensive strategies in this series were real bad. Now with the impending free agency of Billups, C-Webb and Dice, it may be time to change both the team and the coach. But I think Dumars will sign Billups and keep the starting 5 intact.
Now on to the Finals. NBA is probably happy that the King made it from the East and gave us all a reason to watch these finals. Nothing captures the attention of NBA fans like a transcendent star like LeBron. It would be interesting to see how much better the ratings are compared to the Pistons-Spurs series 2 years back. Of course, much will depend on how the King plays in the earlier games in the series. I can't see the Cavs beating the Spurs though. The Spurs are so professional and business-like, they could play these games in a suit if the NBA allows them! Also their talent is no joke either. I can't see any great defensive antidote in the Cavs roster for Timmy, Tony or Manu and thats scary. But nobody gave the Cavs a shot against the Pistons either. It's 1-VS-5 again and this time, The King has to go against even superior talent, plus a defensive stopper in Bruce Bowen. Spurs in 6.
Cleveland @ Detroit - 98-82
Finals schedule for 06/07/2007
Cleveland @ Sn Antonio - The Spurs should win this series 4-2. They may be vulnerable in game 1 though.
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