JAYVEE

2007 NBA Finals Schedule (all times and dates are Manila Time)

Game 1: CAVALIERS @ SPURS
Fri, 6/8
Fri, 9:00 AM Manila Time
ABC | To be broacasted on RPN-9 and BTV live

Game 2: CAVALIERS @ SPURS
Mon, 6/11
9:00 AM Manila Time
ABC | To be broacasted on RPN-9 and BTV live

Game 3: SPURS @ CAVALIERS
Wed, 6/13
9:00 AM Manila Time
ABC | To be broacasted on RPN-9 and BTV live

Game 4: SPURS @ CAVALIERS
Fri, 6/15
9:00 AM Manila Time
ABC | To be broacasted on RPN-9 and BTV live

Game 5: SPURS @ CAVALIERS (If necessary)
Mon, 6/18
9:00 AM Manila Time
ABC | To be broacasted on RPN-9 and BTV live

Game 6: CAVALIERS @ SPURS (If necessary)
Wed, 6/20
9:00 AM Manila Time
ABC | To be broacasted on RPN-9 and BTV live

Game 7: CAVALIERS @ SPURS (If necessary)
Fri, 6/22
9:00 AM Manila Time
ABC | To be broacasted on RPN-9 and BTV live

June has come. Classes and school are opening this time. Everyone is in a frenzy to go to school. And for the basketball world, NBA Finals is here again. For the two remaining standing teams in the league, the NBA Finals is the opportunity of a lifetime to shine and show how great they are. The prize? The Larry O’ Brien trophy - the all-gold trophy that rightfully belongs to the NBA champions. This year’s finals features a n00b and a battle-tested team going all-out against each other for this years crown. It’s the first time finalists Cleveland Cavaliers against the battle-tested San Antonio Spurs.

Lets talk about Lebron and the Cavs. After earning another 50-win season, disposing off Washington (in convincing fashion), New Jersey (quite easily), and the mighty Detroit Piss-tons, they have earned the right to enter the biggest stage in NBA basketball. They have been led by a strong and mighty Lebron James, who is taking his superstardom to another level. And the role players have been stepping up, especially the new and emerging rookie for Cleveland, Daniel “Boobie” Gibson. He has been spectacular in the Eastern Conference Finals, defending Chauncey Billups and helping open up the Cleveland offense and the Detroit defense. His emergence came into full throttle in the second half of Game 6 of the Conference Finals. He hit 5/5 three pointers in the second half, paving way for a 31 point effort in the most important game of the Cavaliers’ season.

What do the Cavs have? Lebron James. Cleveland’s own version of #23 is the man to watch out for the Cavs. Sure he can score, dunk, drive, dribble, dish, and defend, but does he have the much needed energy to lead the Cavs against this uphill climb against the favored Spurs? We’ll see. Another thing that the Cavs have is defense. They have shown in the season and in the entire series that they can lock down any team on any given night. They really showed it in the Eastern Conference Finals. They defended well against Detroit’s guards, especially on Chauncey Billups. Detroit’s offense was quite out of sync after Games 1 and 2 and they never regained that touch again, thanks to Cleveland’s defense. They are also starting to build out on consistency, but they are just not yet at par with the consistency levels of the greater and more elite teams in the NBA. They also have Boobie. This guy is raw, young, energetic, and fearless. And he’s become an offensive weapon for the Cavs. Leave him open, he drills the three. Close out on him, and either he takes it on you or passes to the open man. He’s the one that Lebron needs now to share the offensive load. And Boobie defends well, too. Z Ilgauskas must be very very happy because he has reached the Finals even before his retirement time comes. Now it’s up to him, Lebron, and the rest of the crew to do something about the Spurs and try to win the title. They also have Mike Brown, and Danny Ferry, two former members of the Spurs organization. They can bring much leadership and tips on how to improve the Cavs’ chances of cracking the Spurs.

What do they don’t have? First and foremost, they don’t have a deep bench. It’s decent enough to do good, but it’s not that deep. And how good will the contributions be? Now, the Cleveland bench did well in the Eastern Conference Playoffs but come on, this is the Finals. And they are facing a tough-faced, battle-tested San Antonio Spurs team. They could just make Ginobili start from the bench and what? He scores 25-30 on another team. In connection to the first point, they also don’t have much shooters to help spreading the defense. They may have Boobie Gibson right now, but what if the Cavs take away his options? Where is Lebron gonna turn to? Varejao? Forget about it. He’s just good as a hustle player. Ilgauskas? Nevermind. He’s just good on the inside. And he’s quite soft. Hughes might be the next option, but he has to stop playing like shit and play his game. The Cavs also lack experience. This is their first Finals trip as a franchise. They are facing a team that is in the cusp of building a new dynasty after the Lakers’ dynasty of Shaq and Kobe. But hey, they are a young bunch and it just keeps better and better for them.

Moving on, we take the spotlight to the San Antonio Spurs. They are winners of the NBA title twice over the last five NBA seasons, and they’re gunning for a third in six years in this Finals series, bringing them into the cusp of a black and white dynasty. This is a team that thrives on suffocating defense and limiting the opponents and the halfcourt offense. But the Spurs have shown that they can run too. Although many are saying that they are a fucking boring team, they are not minding it because their offense and defense has been effective all those years, and only a few were lucky enough to decode or survive the Spurs’ juggernaut in the Playoffs. They have not yet been beaten in the Finals and they are damn intent to keeping their clean slate against King James.

What do the Spurs bring to the table? Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, and Manu Ginobil. This international three-some combination of the San Antonio Spurs has brought many good things for the Spurs. Parker sets the offense up for the Spurs. He can also take charge if needed. Duncan is the post guy, both offensively and defensively. He can take anyone on the post and either score or defend on his man. Ginobli is the spot-up shooter slash the slasher. His daredevil moves, his amazing spin moves and dribbling skills and his body that seems to always break apart in mid-air confuses the opponents and dazes them. They also have the most suffocating defenses in the NBA. Tim Duncan and Bruce Bowen do the dirty work for the Spurs. Not to mention that Bowen is a great three-point shooter. Duncan defends the best post and inside players while Bowen locks down the best perimeter players/best players of a certain team, and more or less it can hound or cripple the offensive gameplan of a team. It’s all certain that Bowen will be on Lebron James in the Finals. Go figure out if you still don’t know why. They also have deeper bench than the Cavs. Michael Finley, Fabricio Oberto, Robert Horry and the rest of the guys in the bench are all ready to give goods for the Spurs when their number is called.

What do they don’t have? SRSLY. Do the Spurs lack anything that is needed to win a title? Holy fuck I don’t think so. The only problem that I see is lying upon themselves. Overconfidence, negliegence, being lax and letting up will only seem to be the pending problems for the Spurs. Or if they let Cleveland go up 2-0 on them and the series shifting to Cleveland. But honestly, I don’t think that’s gonna happen. No seen weakness for me. I think that San Antonio is invincible come playoff time, although they are fucking boring.

Prediction: Now we’ve come to the prediction. It seems from a purist’s point of view that the Spurs have all the advantages and they are gonna beat the Cavs black and blue. They think it’s a walk in the park for Spurs. But I think not. The Cavs have been through a lot in this season and they are on an emotional high right now. Lebron’s gonna take the fight to the Spurs. And I want to see an encore of that. Like the pic above. Me mind says Spurs in 7, but me heart says Cavaliers in 7. I hope the Cavs win, really, so that the King’s coronation will be complete.