NBA PLAYOFFS PREVIEW

NBA PLAYOFFS PREVIEW
Conference finals
EASTERN CONFERENCENo. 1 MIAMI HEAT (59-23, 8-0) vs. No. 2 DETROIT PISTONS (54-28, 8-3)
Season series: Pistons won 2-1, taking the deciding game in mid-April as Shaquille O'Neal sat out with a stomach virus and Dwyane Wade played his worst game of the season (five points on 1-of-6 shooting, six fouls). Wade had his first career triple-double in Miami's lone win, but he missed 11 of 17 shots in the first meeting between the teams.Storyline: These teams showed they were the class of the East throughout the regular season, and they've kept it up in the postseason. Miami hasn't lost since April 15 and is unbeaten in the postseason, while Detroit had the tougher first- and second-round matchups but advanced without much trouble. Shaq's season ended in Detroit a year ago. Will the Pistons knock him out again and move on for a shot at consecutive titles?Key matchup I: Wade vs. Tayshaun Prince. It's not often that a small forward winds up defending a point guard, but look for it to happen quite a bit here as the Pistons put their best one-on-one defender up against the Heat's emerging superstar. If Wade wins this matchup, his legitimacy as a big-time player grows; if Prince wins it, he graduates to the upper echelon of the league's best defenders.Key matchup II: O'Neal vs. Ben Wallace. The league's defensive player of the year is as capable as anyone in the league at defending O'Neal, as he showed in last year's NBA Finals. But as O'Neal would be quick to point out, it was Kobe Bryant's refusal to pass him the ball that had as much to do with the Lakers' failure as Wallace's defense. If O'Neal's bruised thigh continues to be a major factor, the Pistons have to be considered the favorite in this series.X-factor: Alonzo Mourning. The 35-year-old with the transplanted kidney filled in admirably for O'Neal in Game 3 of the second round against Washington, and his workload will stay hefty as long as O'Neal's injury continues to hamper him. The Mourning of five years ago would have had no problem matching up with either of the Wallaces, Ben or Rasheed. The Mourning of today is not as durable and nowhere near as dominant.
WESTERN CONFERENCENo. 1 PHOENIX SUNS (62-20, 8-2) vs. No. 2 SAN ANTONIO SPURS (59-23, 8-3)
Season series: Spurs won 2-1, with Phoenix winning the final matchup to snap an eight-game losing streak to San Antonio as Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili sat out with injuries. Ginobili scored a career-high 48 points in the teams' second meeting.Storyline: A matchup of the players who have won three of the last four MVP awards features a clash of styles, with the Suns trying to impose their fast-paced, frantic run-and-style against one of the league's stingiest defenses and best halfcourt offenses.Key matchup I: Steve Nash vs. Tony Parker. The MVP is too unpredictable with the ball for anyone to shut down, but he'll have his work cut out for him on defense trying to contain one of the speediest, most underrated playmakers in the game. Last time Parker had a marquee matchup like this, be outplayed Jason Kidd in the 2003 NBA Finals.Key matchup II: Amare Stoudemire/Shawn Marion vs. Tim Duncan. The big question for Phoenix is how will it defend The Big Fundamental. Does Stoudemire slide over from center and risk getting into foul trouble? Or does Marion, despite a big height disadvantage, guard San Antonio's power forward while letting Stoudemire worry about centers Rasho Nesterovic and Nazr Mohammed?X-factor: Ginobili. There are five active players in this series who have competed in the Olympics, and Ginobili is the only one with a gold medal. Spurs coach Gregg Popovich is extremely comfortable putting the ball in Ginobili's hands at the end of close games, and Phoenix doesn't have a defender with the perimeter quickness to contain him.
Associated Press