Detroit is a very gutty, mentally tough team who play very well together. They show up every night and play very hard. It should be a battle.
Out West, we get to see a lot of the Spurs. Someone who has played very well for San Antonio in the playoffs is Nazr Mohammed. He is 6'10" and plays bigger than his size - lots of blocked shots, rebounds and put-backs. There isn't anyone on the Pistons who can hadle Duncan.
The battle of backcourts should be key. The Pistons have a dynamite backcourt and have proven their mettle in the playoffs, but the Parker and Ginobli have all kinds of skills. If the Pistons can keep Parker out of the paint, that will really help. Ginobli has now become the kind of player who can score 30 pts on any given night. He, too, gets to the paint and goes to the line a lot.
Bruce Bowen completely shut-down Shawn Marion and did a very good job on Ray Allen. He was named to the NBA 1st team All-Defensive Team and is a great defender. My guess is that he will be on Hamilton.
Contrary to popular belief, I don't think San Antonio is a great defensive team. Duncan and Bowen are excellent, but most everyone else is mediocre. The area they have really improved is scoring points.
I posted elsewhere that San Antonio can fall asleep at times. As good as they are, they are prone to throwing away a game or two. They were very focused against Phoenix, but they damn near went to a 7th game against Seattle.
Seattle played them very physical, so that might be a good sign for Detroit.
Congratulations on the Pistons on their big win last night.
