First, see the comment I made on the last post to get my last take (for now) on Bustomania 2007: The Detroit Pistons. I'ma try to move on now.

The finals. So I picked Cleveland to win, because I think they match up well with the Spurs, as long as they aren't too happy just to be in the finals. So what happens? They go and get intimidated by the bright lights and lose in a game that wasn't really ever competitive.

I could go on about Mike Brown's strategic ineptitude for a while (So it was a good idea to have Bron bring the ball up, even though you won in Detroit by playing him off the ball? What about leaving the only guy shooting the ball well on the bench for most of the game?),  but fear of the moment was what made the Cavs miss open looks and get outrebounded more than anything the Spurs were doing. And then there was King James. 14 points and 6 turnovers won't get it done.

The good news for Cavs fans is that the team probably won't play as bad in game 2. And the Spurs? They did what they were supposed to do. Timmy played well, but wasn't as dominant offensively as he'll need to be when (if?) Cleveland shows up for this series. That's to be expected though, when Parker can get 20+ on mostly layups. Maybe the Cavs will make him shoot a jumper next time around. Or something. Just an idea.

The Cavs played badly, but this was the one game they could afford to use to get their finals sea legs. Game 2, though, now becomes a must-win for Cleveland, thanks to the 2-3-2 format that stacks the odds so strongly against the underdog. If the Cavs lose game 2, they would have to sweep their three home games to win the series. Last time that happened? Oh yeah, Pistons '04. So much for moving on.

The Western conference, graveyard of predictions. We'll see how the Guru can keep pace this round.

Jazz-Warriors

Man, this is a tough series to predict. On the one side, my brain tells me that Utah is going to be chowing on glass for breakfast, lunch and dinner, and Carlos Boozer will punish the Warriors for going small, either with his own scoring or by kicking it out for open shots (Utah moves the ball much better than Dallas, who relied heavily on isolation plays and screen/rolls for their offense). And with their disciplined halfcourt game, they should keep the turnovers down, and limit Golden State's transition game.

But my gut disagrees. The gut says that Baron will outplay Deron Williams at both ends (though this didn't happen in game 1; Baron's trick hammy limited him badly on D, and he got torched to the tune of 30 and 8). The gut also says that Monta Ellis and Al Harrington can't play as badly as they did in round one, and Monta in particular should cause matchup problems. Finally, the gut says the Warriors will shred Utah's porous D (do any of Utah's starters play D besides Kirilenko?), which comes into the series overhyped because of Houston's one-dimentional offense, and get into the paint even more easily than they did against Dallas.

So what's the call? I give this round to the gut. Warriors in six. But Golden State cannot give 30 to Deron Williams for this to happen, the defense has to pick back up. Hopefully, starting tonight Nellie will give Monta Ellis some more burn. The kid's looked mostly lost in the playoffs, but he can at least be used on D to slow down DWilliams because none of Utah's guards can take advantage of Baron's gimpiness.  Boozer is a big man's big man, and other than a total lack of defense, and the fact that he has a problem scoring on defenders with length (and any semblance of mobility, sorry Yao), he has few weaknesses. But if Biedrins can stay out of foul trouble, he could help slow down the Booz cruise. I'd be surprised to see that in Salt Lake City, but in the comfy confines of Oracle Arena, AB should make a difference.

And now for game 2 predictions. Utah made a mistake in game 1 by trying to play the Warrior's pace. That's not their game, and it led to 20 turnovers. The question is, are the Jazz disciplined enough to slow the pace down? I don't think so, but if any coach can do it, Jerry Sloan can. By my own prediction, I said the Warriors are either taking game 2 or game 5, and I think tonight's game will be the one. Either way, expect one hell o####ame and a "barn-burner" of a series (I see you Chuck!).