PLAYOFFS PREDICTIONS TAKE 3

 

OK...I messed up on my last two occassions. The Spurs are not going to win the NBA title.

They're not even going to make the Finals

 

They are toast, they are gone, Tim Duncan won't lift the O'Brien Trophy this year except in rerun footage, they are ex-champions.

So who do we have left?

IN THE EAST

Pistons vs Heat: Well this is a rerun of last year's Eastern Conference finals and back then the Pistons won game 1, the Heat games 2 and 3, the Pistons 4, the Heat 5 and the Pistons 6 and 7. 4-3 Pistons and that was when the Heat had home court advantage. One things Pistons fans need to be reminded of though is that both Shaq and Wade were either unfit or injured throught that series.

So now it's Detroit that have homecourt advantage but now Shaq and Wade are both fit. Furthermore the Heat are fresher while the Pistons come into this series straight off a seven gamer against the Cavs. Oh Flip Saunders's crew will try to slow things down again but the Heat were watching games 6 and 7 of Pistons vs Cavs with their feet up and will be ready. Heat in 6.

IN THE WEST

Suns vs Mavs: OK...well the Suns were here last year and Steve Nash and crew came up against the Spurs. And lost that series 4-1. Rewind to '03 and Nash played alongside Dirk Nowitski against a Spurs side that included two generation's worth of franchise players in Tim Duncan and David Robinson. The Spurs were also the winners on that occassion, 4-2.

As mentioned though the Spurs are no longer an issue and Nash and Nowitski have to shoot it out for a shot at the title. Well despite the Spurs having a higher seeding, it's the Mavs that have home court advantage due to their regular season win-loss record. And last time I checked, the Mavs have the better defence of the two sides. I see the series going to seven games but the Mavs will win it.

So what would happen then...

IN THE FINALS?

Heat vs Mavs: OK...stop the presses. What can be said about the history of both sides? Well they started up in the 1980s, and if you'd told any basketball fan in the early 90s that this could be how the Finals of 2006 could look then he'd order you up another beer. And it would be for good reason...both sides were cack in the early 90s and neither has ever made the Finals before, let alone won the title.

So with that out of the way...what have we got? Well Dwayne Wade's a solid three pointer but he'd easily get outgunned by an on form Nowitski. Problem for the Mavs is...how would they deal with Shaq? The beat the Heat 112-78 in the regular season by concentrating on silencing the supporting cast but that won't work for an entire series, not if Udonis Haslam hits form along with the big two. Heat to take an overdue title in 6.

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