NBA Playoff Conference Finals
We're down to the Final Four in the NBA Playoffs (Pistons, Cavs, Jazz and Spurs), and what an exciting two-year postseason it has been. 2006 saw more games decided by one point in NBA playoff history. This postseason we've seen the biggest upset in a 7-game series, as the No. 8 seeded Warriors shocked the 67-win and No. 1 seeded Mavericks in six games.
This has been a fascinating postseason, with several unusual "clash of styles." The run-and-gun Denver Nuggets, with the offensive duo of Carmelo Anthony and Allen Iverson, ran smack into Tim Duncan and the defensive-Spurs in the first round. As is often the case this time of the season, defense prevailed as San Antonio smoked the Nuggets in five games. In fact, all five games went under the total.
The Warriors/Mavericks series was expected to be uptempo because of Don Nelson's breakneck pace and style. Yet, there was a lot more defense than fans (and oddsmakers) might have anticipated as 4 of the 6 games went under the total. Game 2 jumped over the total by only one point, while Games 1, 3, 4 and 6 went under the total by 32, 11, 8 and 12 points.
There's been a mixture of uptempo teams and slow-down defensive ones facing each other. The Bulls, Heat, Cavaliers, Rockets and Spurs certainly qualify as defensive-oriented, while the old-school, fast-break style teams provided a refreshing change of pace with the Warriors, Mavs, Lakers, and Suns. You'll notice those uptempo teams are all in the West, too. When is the East going to catch up with the trend and start running more? After all, the West has won 6 of the last 8 NBA titles.
Remember that defense is often the common ingredient in all sports when it comes to advancing in the postseason and winning a championship. There was no better example of this than the last three years. In 2004, the flashy, high profile Lakers opened as a 5-to-1 favorite over the blue-collar Pistons. The early money came in on LA as the public was enamored with the flashy team (as usual), and the Pistons were eventually +700 to win the title. It was the blue-collar team, with its unselfish play and slam-dunk defense that won the title with ease, as the Pistons whipped the Lakers in five games. Two years ago, two unselfish, blue-collar teams met for the title as the Spurs topped the Pistons in seven games. Last year, Pat Riley's Heat used defense and Dwyane Wade to come back from 2-0 in the NBA Finals.
Utah just used its superior defense and inside play to put an end to the Warriors' Cinderella season. The Denver Nuggets had averaged 104 points per game during the regular season, and got 95 in Game 1 against San Antonio in an upset. However, the Spurs then turned on their defensive jets and held Allen Iverson and Carmelo Anthony to 88, 91, 89 and 78 points the last four games, all wins by San Antonio.
Naturally, coaches know the value of defense this time of year and you often find the better defensive teams advancing and facing each other. When the Pistons won the title three years ago they were 14-8-1 "under" the total in the postseason. When the Spurs won the title in 2005, 6 of their first 8 playoff games sailed under the total. Last year, the Miami Heat went 10-2 under the total their final 12 playoff games.
This is not uncommon, either, when two proud defensive teams are trying to flex their muscles in a showcase of superiority. As we enter the final stretch of this NBA season, keep in mind that the last four seasons, the "under" is 42-27-1 combined in the Eastern/Western Conference Finals and the NBA Finals. Defense doesn't disappear this time of year, it often gets more intense.
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