Who will represent the Eastern Conference in the NBA Finals?
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In my mind, I think the Boston Three-Party of Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, and Ray Allen are going to bring another championship appearance to the Massachusetts area. The Celtics hold the best record in the NBA, and despite not keeping up with their phenomenal pace in the first part of the season they are still the most consistent and dominant team in the Eastern Conference. Garnett and Pierce hit down-low for 38 points a game between the two, and Ray Allen hits fade-away jumpers to add in his 17.8 points per game. They are 4-3 against Detroit and Cleveland, and will probably face a team like Philadelphia or Atlanta in the first round, who they are 6-1 against.
And the other thing that Boston will take advantage of is that they will probably have home-field advantage for the majority of their games, and they are a whopping 33-6 in Boston. Even when Kevin Garnett was out earlier in the year with his abdominal injury, the Celtics were still able to hang in there. Oh, and when they do face those Western Conference teams in the Finals, take this into account: they are 21-5 against the Western Conference-including 2-0 against the Lakers and the Spurs, and 1-1 against the Suns and New Orleans. Should be a good Finals with the Celtics back in the picture.
Guru:
This season has been very close in the Eastern Conference, and looking at the playoffs the favorite is close between Cleveland and Detroit. On one side you have a Pistons team that has more of the seasoned veterans, especially in the playoffs that can carry them into the finals. With the guard work of Billups and Hamilton, averaging 17.2 and 17.7 ppg respectively, it’s hard to look anywhere else. Inside you have Wallace and McDyess, who will make the Cleveland look like middle-school kids. Wallace is leading the team in blocks, and McDyess is good for about ten rebounds a game, which will help not only with second chance points and put-backs, but also stopping the chance of Cleveland keeping the ball offensively. Cleveland is LeBron, and that’s evident by the 30.2 ppg he averages a game. There is Ilgauskas inside, who is good for 10.4 ppg and ten rebounds, but he really is a weak player inside; he’s just huge. Even though they went deep into the playoffs last season, they still have questions with these players. Look for Detroit in the Finals.