<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post"><font color="Red">AN EVEN MATCH</font> June 9 -- Last year, even though the Pistons were making their first trip to the finals in 14 years, I picked them to beat the Lakers because they were much more mobile and played a smarter, more aggressive, more varied brand of basketball. This year the choice is not as clear-cut. San Antonio is much more evenly matched with Detroit. I?m particularly pleased to see two teams in The Finals that play good, solid fundamental basketball. Both emphasize rebounding ? the Pistons are especially effective on the offensive boards ? and play serious defense. The Pistons are the champs until they lose, but the Spurs have also been to The Finals three times recently and should rise to the occasion. The Spurs are a solid ball club and do not beat themselves. The two teams are about equal in athleticism. Both have good speed and move well at both ends of the court. The Pistons beat Miami by putting single coverage on Shaq and letting him have his points inside while putting a lot of pressure on the other players. Tim Duncan presents much more of a challenge because he moves well and can score from both inside and outside. The bigger question will be what he does on defense. Will he guard Rasheed Wallace, who will take him outside, or will he play Ben Wallace. Whoever guards Rasheed, you know Rasheed will pull them away from the basket and open things up for Detroit?s guards. Tempo is a key factor. The team that is able to get into a groove and stay there should prevail. Neither team needs to do anything fancy, just stay with what got them there. You may see a back door play added here and there, but that?s about it.</div> NBA.com
