This isn’t the prettiest match-up but it will be one of two rugged teams going at it for a chance to win the NBA title. It will be one of toughness, team concept, fundamentals, you know everything that is good with the game of basketball but the fans and media will not see it as such.
Here is Projectspurs “Quick 3″ Key Match-Ups:
Power Forward —
Tim Duncan vs. Carlos Boozer will be a great match-up to watch. Tim Duncan, the greatest power forward in NBA history will bring a toughness, championship pedigree to Boozer. Duncan can score, is bigger than Boozer, and can basically do it all on both ends of the court. Though Boozer will have his hands full, so will Duncan. Boozer is 6’8” but do not let that fool you. He is tough, quick around the basket, can rebound like a machine, defend and score. Edge Spurs.
Point Guard —
Deron Williams vs. Tony Parker is interesting. Parker has done so much in his time with the Spurs from winning titles to being in high pressure playoff series, which give him a huge advantage over Williams. Though Parker is much smaller than the rugged Williams, Parker’s quickness will be key. However knowing Coach Pop, he will stick Bruce Bowen on Williams, from time to time, as he has done with AI and Steve Nash in the past two Spurs playoff series should Parker just be simply out-muscled. Williams on the other hand is a strong, young, up and comming point guard. He can shoot the lights out and has emerged at the floor general for the Jazz. But with Parker’s quickness and championship pedigree, Parker gets the upper-hand. Edge Spurs.
“X-Factor” Match-Up —
Michael Finley vs Matt Harpring. These two players are key for their respective teams. Both can hit the outside shot and are aggressive to the basket. However, Harpring is a bit tougher than Finley and isn’t afraid to take the punishment. He is physically stronger than Finley and can cause havoc for the Spurs should he get it going for the Jazz. Finley has a deadly shot, especially from the 3-point arch. He is also reliable from the free-throw line should the game be close in crunch-time. Edge Jazz.
Overall, the Spurs may have a emotional let-down after the hard fought series with the Suns while the Jazz have been resting and waiting. The Spurs cannot afford to have the emotional let-down because the Jazz will smell blood and attempt to break the will of the Spurs early. In the end, I say Spurs in 5.
So there you go, a quick review of the Spurs-Jazz Western Conference Finals from Projectspurs. You got a take on this series email us at projectspurs@gmail.com.
–Jeff
Projectspurs
