NBA Finals

"Cavs win series 4-2!! Bron wins MVP!! San Antonio Slurs!"

"Sweep them Cavaqueers! 4-0..."

Multiple opinions before the games have even started. Who will win these matches? People everywhere are picking their teams to win. At least this is all I hear about at my shop on base from the people around me. The big West vs. East game is coming up, starting on Jun 7, 2007, at 9PM Eastern time, on ABC.

First let's look at the schedule:

Game 2- 10 Jun 2007 @ 9PM ET

Game 3- 12 Jun 2007 @ 9PM ET

Game 4- 14 Jun 2007 @ 9PM ET

Game 5-17 Jun 2007 @ 9PMET

Game 6- 19 Jun 2007 @ 9PM ET

Game 7- 21 Jun 2007 @ 9PM ET

Next thing is to look at the records for both teams. First, start with the offensive stats from NBA.com. Then go to the defensive stats provided by NBA.com.
Now compare the infractions statistics provided by NBA.com. Finally, visit the "when scoring 100+" stats also provided by NBA.com. These stats can be seen on http://www.nba.com/statistics/sortable_team_statistics/sortable1.html. Visiting the team stat charts to see who has what abilities is self explanatory, so you can see what they are walking into the game with. However, the coaches, although, not as important as the players have their part in leading the team to victory.

Let's look at both of the coaches. The Cleveland Cavalier's head coach, Mike Brown, is in his first season as the Cav's head coach. He is their 17^th coach in all of Cav history. He was the associate head coach for the Indiana Pacers, and a 13 year veteran of the NBA. According to www.nba.com, "Brown is widely regarded as a defensive specialist. He helped lead Indiana to consecutive playoff appearances including a trip to the Eastern Conference Finals in 2004.

Prior to his time with the Pacers, Brown was an assistant coach for the San Antonio Spurs for three seasons, including the 2003 World Championship season. While with the Spurs, Brown's teams won at least 58 games each season. He also was the head coach for the Spurs' summer league teams in Boston and Salt Lake City.

Brown spent three years with the Washington Wizards' staff beginning in 1997, spending the first two years as an assistant under Bernie Bickerstaff, and his final year as the team's professional scout.

The 35-year-old (3/5/70) Brown began his NBA career with the Denver Nuggets in 1992, where he spent five seasons, first as the team's video coordinator and then as a scout. As an assistant coach in the NBA, Brown's teams have compiled an overall record of 341-201 (.629).

Brown is a 1992 graduate of the University of San Diego with a degree in business. He played basketball two seasons at USD after spending two years at Mesa Community College. He and his wife, Carolyn, have two sons, Elijah and Cameron." (http://www.nba.com/coachfile/mike_brown/) Point being, he is a defensive specialist. Mike Brown has been riding the coat tails of the Indiana Pacers' head coach for so long that he is probably thirsty for his own victories and making his mark as a new head coach in the NBA. Will this coach effectively use his team? San Antonio Spurs also happens to be one of the teams in the Western Conference that plays on hard defense too.

In the other corner is Gregg Popovich. Here is his record as recorded by NBA.com "College - AirForceAcademy... Has led the Spurs to three NBA Championships since he took over in 1995 as the team's head coach (1999, 2003 and 2005) ... one of two active coaches with multiple NBA Championships (Phil Jackson has nine) ... named the 2003 NBA Coach of the Year ... three times has led San Antonio to the NBA's best regular season record (1998-99, 2000-01 and 2002-03) ... enters the 2005-06 season with a career mark of 455-233 ... his career winning percentage of .661 ties him for fifth in NBA history with Pat Riley, and is the second among active coaches to Phil Jackson ... has served as an assistant coach for USA Basketball's Men's Senior Team from 2002-2004 (at the 2002 World Basketball Championship, the 2003 FIBA America Men's Olympic Qualifying Tournament and the 2004 Olympic Games)... posted his 300th career win in Los Angeles on January 5, 2003 as the Spurs beat the Clippers 94-86 ... did so in his 476th career game, making him the ninth fastest coach in NBA history to reach the 300 win mark ... has been named the NBA Coach of the Month six times in his career (4/99, 3/01, 3/02, 1/03, 3/03 and 12/03) ... playoff career winning percentage of .627 (53-34) is the fifth best in NBA history ... the Spurs all-time leader in both regular season and playoff wins ... a 1970 graduate of the United States Air Force Academy with a degree in Soviet Studies ... played four seasons at the Air Force Academy ... as a senior was the team's captain and leading scorer ... following his graduation in 1970 served his five-year military commitment ... during that time toured Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union as a member of the U.S. Armed Forces Team ... selected to represent the U.S. on the national A.A.U. Team touring the Soviet Union ... in 1972 was the captain of the Armed Forces team, which won the A.A.U. Championship ... earned an invitation to the 1972 U.S. Olympic Team Training Camp ... in 1973 returned to the Air Force Academy as an assistant coach ... spent six years at Air Force during which time he obtained his master's degree in Physical Education and Sports Sciences from the University of Denver ... in 1979, he was named the head coach at Pomona-Pitzer in Claremont, California ... spent the next eight seasons at Pomona ... during the 1985-86 season led the team to its first conference championship in 68 years and to a berth in the NCAA Division III Tournament ... while at Pomona was an active member of the school's academic community, working as an associate professor, chairing the college's Student Life committee, serving on the Women's Commission and even-for one year-living in a dorm with his family ... moved to the NBA in July of 1988, joining the Spurs as an assistant coach as a member of Larry Brown's staff ... spent the next four seasons in San Antonio for a Spurs team that won a pair of Midwest Division titles ... in the summer of 1992 was named an assistant coach on Don Nelson's staff with Golden State ... spent the next two seasons with the Warriors ... named the Spurs executive vice president of basketball operations/general manager on May 31, 1994 ... served as GM for eight full seasons before turning the job over to R.C. Buford on July 1, 2002 ... named the Spurs head coach in December of 1996 ... a very active member of the San Antonio community ... in 1991 teamed with Frank Martin to create the Spurs/Pizza Hut Drug-Free Youth Basketball League ... today the league plays at 75 locations in and around San Antonio ... over 20,000 boys and girls-ages 7 to 16-played in the league in 2003-04 (Spurs guard Devin Brown and Silver Stars guard Tai Dillard both played in the Spurs Drug-Free League while growing up in San Antonio) ... prior to each game, each participant takes the Drug-Free League pledge, promising to remain drug and alcohol free while showing good sportsmanship and fair play ... in February of 1992, President Bush awarded a Daily Point of Light Award to the Spurs Drug-Free League ... in addition is involved in several other charities including Roy Maas' Youth Alternatives, the Kids Sports Network and the San Antonio Food Bank ... he and his wife of 29 years, Erin, have been blessed with two children, Micky and Jill." (http://www.nba.com/coachfile/gregg_popovich/) This coach has an impressive record for the big leagues. He seems to be well rounded. However, some of his decisions are controversial and not always understood right away. Both coaches seem to be upper echelon. One is hungry to break ice while the other is seasoned and ready to bring down the ice wall. Now that you have met the coaches, we must meet the backbone of the teams. Below are first team rosters from two different websites related to NBA.com.

Cleveland Cavaliers Roster (http://www.nba.com/cavaliers/roster/)

6

Shannon Brown

G

6-4

205

11/29/1985

MichiganStateR

1

Daniel Gibson

G

6-2

190

02/27/1986

TexasR

90

Drew Gooden

F-C

6-10

250

09/24/1981

Kansas4

32

Larry Hughes

G

6-5

184

01/23/1979

St. Louis8

11

Zydrunas Ilgauskas

C

7-3

260

06/05/1975

Lithuania8

23

LeBron James - C

F

6-8

240

12/30/1984

St. Vincent-St. Mary HS (OH)3

19

Damon Jones

G

6-3

190

08/25/1976

Houston8

27

Dwayne Jones

F-C

6-11

251

06/09/1983

Saint Joseph's1

24

Donyell Marshall

F

6-9

230

05/18/1973

Connecticut12

14

Ira Newble

F-G

6-7

220

01/20/1975

Miami (Ohio)6

3

Aleksandar Pavlovic

F

6-7

210

11/15/1983

Serbia & Montenegro3

31

Scot Pollard

C-F

6-11

265

02/12/1975

Kansas9

20

Eric Snow - C

G

6-3

205

04/24/1973

MichiganState11

17

Anderson Varejao

C-F

6-10

240

09/28/1982

Brazil2

4

David Wesley

G

6-1

203

11/14/1970

Baylor13

San Antonio Spurs Roster (http://www.nba.com/spurs/roster/)

NUM

PLAYER

POS

HT

WT

DOB

FROM

YRS

17

Brent Barry

G

6-7

210

12/31/1971

Oregon State11

15

Matt Bonner

F

6-10

240

04/05/1980

Florida2

12

Bruce Bowen

F

6-7

200

06/14/1971

Cal State Fullerton10

45

Jackie Butler

C

6-10

260

03/10/1985

Coastal Christian Academy (VA)2

21

Tim Duncan

F-C

6-11

260

04/25/1976

Wake Forest9

16

Francisco Elson

C

7-0

235

02/28/1976

California3

2

Melvin Ely

F-C

6-10

261

05/02/1978

Fresno State4

4

Michael Finley

G-F

6-7

225

03/06/1973

Wisconsin11

20

Manu Ginobili

G

6-6

205

07/28/1977

Argentina4

5

Robert Horry

F-C

6-10

240

08/25/1970

Alabama14

7

Fabricio Oberto

C

6-10

245

03/21/1975

Argentina1

9

Tony Parker

G

6-2

180

05/17/1982

France5

14

Beno Udrih

G

6-3

200

07/05/1982

Slovenia2

11

Jacque Vaughn

G

6-1

190

02/11/1975

Kansas9

33

James White

G-F

6-7

200

10/21/1982

CincinnatiR

These roster sheets are the work of the above mentioned websites.

First of all, it could appear that Lebron James and Eric Snow will be the players to watch during the games to see the game tide turn in favor of the Cavs. Then again, the majority of the Spurs seems to be a large group of heavy hitters, hard packers, great shooting, and excellent coverage/handle. These teams would be the equivalent of a sniper versus a massive land assault. If the sniper (Cavs) is well placed then that one sniper can kill the land assault, but if the massive land assault is studious, then they will overwhelm the sniper and capture the land. In any case, the people to watch on the Spurs would be Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, James White, Ginobili, and Jacgue Vaughn.

I am neutral however... I want the Spurs to beat the Cavs, but it may be able to go either way. The entire game depends on whether the Spurs can overwhelm the Cavs or if the Cavs can breakthrough the Spurs. The Cavs need to play with technique and good team play. The Spurs need to try to off balance and overwhelm the Cavs by storm and power. By all right, the Spurs should have it, but the Cavs do have a shot at winning depending on how well they work together. Who do you think will win?