There has been a lot made of the Spurs, and the entire NBA playoffs for that matter, have been "boring." The fact of the matter is that when the playoffs come around in basketball, and baseball and footblall for that matter, team defense, team offense and disciplined play are what brings championships. In a sense, the Spurs have the "triple crown" of those three categories. They do lack the traditional, do it all superstar that fills it up on Sportscenter's highlight reels, but they still get the job done. Coach Pops has instilled the team concept into his players and they have embraced it. Tony Parker has become one of the most exciting players in the league. Nobody can stick with the guy. His quickness and ability to finish from either side of the bucket are remarkable. His shot is quickly becoming a strength more than a liability and in the coming years when Tim Duncan starts to show his age Tony will shine even brighter than he has already.

Most of the critics that tab the Spurs as "boring" seem to think that exciting play is associated with highlight reel shots and Lebron-style dunks. To actaully sit down and pay attention to the nuances of the Spurs' offensive plays and their perfect rotations on defense is really one of the greatest things to see in sports. Before the Spurs briefly fell apart at the end of the game Tony Parker slammed the ball down in disgust after the Cavs nailed a meaningless three ball which dwindled the lead down to a meaningless twenty-something advantage. Every player out there knows his assignment as well as the others' assignment and get upset after a mere failed play in the middle of an absolute butt-kicking. That is all Pops.

Undeniably, the bulk of the scoring is going to come from the big three, but the way that the Spurs brass has brought in the pieces to complement Manu, Tony and Timmy reminds of me of the Bulls teams of the nineties. Aside from the main players, the team has the perfect pieces to comlete the puzzle of getting an NBA championship. Each team has great scorers(Jordan/Pippen-Manu/Timmy/Parker), a lock down defender or two(Jordan/Pippen/Rodman- Bowen/Duncan/ maybe Manu) and shooters that help prevent an overfocusing on their star players(Kerr/Armstrong/Paxson- Bowen/Barry/Horry). The main difference is that the Spurs have a stud at the PF position, although Horace Grant and Bill Cartright were very good in their own right.

THe point is tha even though the games thus far in the finals have not been competitive and nail biting, there have been reasons to watch the finals. Whether it is "witnessing" the emergence of Tony Parker, the clutchness of Manu, the easiness at which Duncan gets his points or just closely watching the well oiled machine that is the San Antonio Spurs, the real basketball fan should and most likely will enjoy wathing this years remaining finals games.

There is one particular thing that bothers me in the argument of Lebron over Kobe. When the Cavs players, other than Lebron, speak of what he has done for their confidence it says two things about the team. It tells me that Lebron has gone above what is required of him to instille confidence in his teammates. The other thing it tells me is that Lebron James is running a day-care center raher than a team over there in Cleveland. Just because Kobe isnt playing the father figure to Daniel Gibson(who should man up and not need Lebron's constant reinforcements) doesnt mean that Kobe doesnt attempt to raise the level of his teammate's play. I have read excerpts from books where old teammates of Michael Jordan admit that they were terrified of him and played their best because they knew Jordan would get in their faces and rip into them for missing big shots. Jordan has been known to be upset with players due to a simple lackluster performance. He didnt call out his teammates in the manner that Kobe did but thats because he didnt recieve the horrible supporting cast that Kobe currently has. Also, Kobe going out on the air and voicing his diespleasure in the Laker organization shows that at least he isnt a player that plays for a paycheck and goes home. He is a competitor and demands that his organization and teammates put as much into winning as he does.

Again, Lebron is in a unique situation where it seems his teammates need to be coddled more than what is the norm. The point is that every situation is unique and Kobe's "non coddling" is being mistaken fr poor team play. That is simply unfair.

Lebron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers have beat the Pistons and advanced the NBA Finals. I got news for all of you who are saying Lebron should be teaching KObe a thing or two, or a "chapter" as somene previously blogged.(BY the way, if you are gonna blog about KObe learning from Lebron, write a blog that backs up your statement, not one freakin sentence.) If Kobe and his Lakers were in the East, he would be doing exactly what the Cavs and Lebron did, just probably in less games. And for those that really want to compare the situations that Lebron and Kobe are in, why dont we take a look at their respective teams.

Kobe is definitely surrounded by lesser talent, and in a big way might i add. His point guard is Smush Parker, who universally is known as a nothing that doesnt deserve to be on an NBA roster. He can dunk a bit and pass a bit, but cant shoot and make good decisions. Luke Walton, for all his heralded ability to lpay in the triangle, is not that good of a player. He played poorly in the postseason and never got into a groove after coming back from his injury. The same can be said for Lamar Odom. The guy simply looked lost and didnt have his mind on the game. Who can really blame his? He had an injury and lost a child pretty recently. He is a good lpayer but just wasnt into the game. Kwame Brown is a lost soul. He doesnt know what the hell he is doing on offense and defense and aside from the rare easy dunk he cant but the ball in the basket. Andrew Bynum is a long way away from being a good player. He is young and has optential, but at this point is not much more than an all-right backup who is in the game strictly to get experince, not for his current ability. Jordon Farmar has some talent but showed that he really isnt ready for the NBA game yet. His hustle and effort is there very night though. Aside from Kobe it looks like he is the only one with his head in the game.

Now take a look at what Lebron has. It isnt all that much either but it definitely beats what Kobe has. The guards are Larry Hughes, Daniel Gibson and Eric Snow. I really dont like Larry Hughes too much. His shot is suspect and he needs to be a third option to perfor well offensively, like he was in Washington. He is good for a few steals a game and plays some defense, but he is definitely better than Smush Parker. Eric Snow has almost no offenive ability and is strictly in the game for his defensive spurts and his ability to run the offense. Teams always give him ample space to get shots off but he understands that he is not a shooter and plays within his very limited abities. Daniel Gibson is a defensive liabilty but has shown that he can fill it up from long range from time to time. But anybody that thinks that Lebron has found a reliable second scorer is in for a big surprise. Detroit played with no interest on Defense and seemed to lack the motivation they had against the Bulls. Detroit responds to trash talk and the Bulls' big talking via Nocioni lit a fire under the Pistons. SanAntonio will most likely elimnate the drive and kick that got Gibson open looks versus the Pistons. Clevelands guards arent that good either, but the defense of Hughes and Snow plus Gibson's shooting places them above the Lakers' guards, sans Kobe.

The bigs are where the Cavs really trump the Lakers. Bynum, Brown, Mihm and Turiaf really have nothing on Ilgauskas, Gooden and Varajao. I personally think that Big Z could toughen up a bit and play more in the post, but he has a nice outside shot and is a dependable 12-18 point per game scorer, something Kwame Brown can only achieve in his dreams. Varajao is an all energy guy who can really frustrate the opposition with his help on the offensive glass. He also gets a few put backs and easy dunks through the course o####ame. Gooden is really an X-factor. Sometimes he shows up big and other times he just dissappears offensively. However inconsistent his scoring is he still is huge on the boards for Cleveland and gets tons of offensive rebounds and tip outs.

Another clear advantage is where they play. Cleveland, residing in the East, which is improving but at this point is still very underwhelming, had to go through Washington, New Jersey and detroit. Only Detroit would have proved as a competitive challenge for any of the 8 playoff teams in the West.

The point is that Kobe is clearly in more difficult situation than Lebron, whether it be where they play or who they play with.

Lebron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers have beat the Pistons and advanced the NBA Finals. I got news for all of you who are saying Lebron should be teaching KObe a thing or two, or a "chapter" as somene previously blogged.(BY the way, if you are gonna blog about KObe learning from Lebron, write a blog that backs up your statement, not one freakin sentence.) If Kobe and his Lakers were in the East, he would be doing exactly what the Cavs and Lebron did, just probably in less games. And for those that really want to compare the situations that Lebron and Kobe are in, why dont we take a look at their respective teams.

Kobe is definitely surrounded by lesser talent, and in a big way might i add. His point guard is Smush Parker, who universally is known as a nothing that doesnt deserve to be on an NBA roster. He can dunk a bit and pass a bit, but cant shoot and make good decisions. Luke Walton, for all his heralded ability to lpay in the triangle, is not that good of a player. He played poorly in the postseason and never got into a groove after coming back from his injury. The same can be said for Lamar Odom. The guy simply looked lost and didnt have his mind on the game. Who can really blame his? He had an injury and lost a child pretty recently. He is a good lpayer but just wasnt into the game. Kwame Brown is a lost soul. He doesnt know what the hell he is doing on offense and defense and aside from the rare easy dunk he cant but the ball in the basket. Andrew Bynum is a long way away from being a good player. He is young and has optential, but at this point is not much more than an all-right backup who is in the game strictly to get experince, not for his current ability. Jordon Farmar has some talent but showed that he really isnt ready for the NBA game yet. His hustle and effort is there very night though. Aside from Kobe it looks like he is the only one with his head in the game.

Now take a look at what Lebron has. It isnt all that much either but it definitely beats what Kobe has. The guards are Larry Hughes, Daniel Gibson and Eric Snow. I really dont like Larry Hughes too much. His shot is suspect and he needs to be a third option to perfor well offensively, like he was in Washington. He is good for a few steals a game and plays some defense, but he is definitely better than Smush Parker. Eric Snow has almost no offenive ability and is strictly in the game for his defensive spurts and his ability to run the offense. Teams always give him ample space to get shots off but he understands that he is not a shooter and plays within his very limited abities. Daniel Gibson is a defensive liabilty but has shown that he can fill it up from long range from time to time. But anybody that thinks that Lebron has found a reliable second scorer is in for a big surprise. Detroit played with no interest on Defense and seemed to lack the motivation they had against the Bulls. Detroit responds to trash talk and the Bulls' big talking via Nocioni lit a fire under the Pistons. SanAntonio will most likely elimnate the drive and kick that got Gibson open looks versus the Pistons. Clevelands guards arent that good either, but the defense of Hughes and Snow plus Gibson's shooting places them above the Lakers' guards, sans Kobe.

The bigs are where the Cavs really trump the Lakers. Bynum, Brown, Mihm and Turiaf really have nothing on Ilgauskas, Gooden and Varajao. I personally think that Big Z could toughen up a bit and play more in the post, but he has a nice outside shot and is a dependable 12-18 point per game scorer, something Kwame Brown can only achieve in his dreams. Varajao is an all energy guy who can really frustrate the opposition with his help on the offensive glass. He also gets a few put backs and easy dunks through the course o####ame. Gooden is really an X-factor. Sometimes he shows up big and other times he just dissappears offensively. However inconsistent his scoring is he still is huge on the boards for Cleveland and gets tons of offensive rebounds and tip outs.

Another clear advantage is where they play. Cleveland, residing in the East, which is improving but at this point is still very underwhelming, had to go through Washington, New Jersey and detroit. Only Detroit would have proved as a competitive challenge for any of the 8 playoff teams in the West.

The point is that Kobe is clearly in more difficult situation than Lebron, whether it be where they play or who they play with.

While all of the elite teams in the league reside in the Western Conference the East will still send a team to the championship. Again, the best teams may be in the West but the conference with the closest races towards the end of the season will be the East. WIth that said, there are some interesting numbers when discussing the better teams in the East.

In my opinion, the top teams in the East right now in no particular order are the Pistons, Cavaliers, Wizards, Bulls, Raptors, and Pacers. Miami will be a favorite if they make the playoffs and Wade comes back, but until then they are not a team that can seriously threaten in the East.

To me, overall records are decieving. When looking to judge these team's performance so far in the regular season, i look at how well they perform against the good teams in their conference. How the teams play against the better teams in the West can be an indicator to how they can play in the Championship, but right now i am just focused on getting to the Finals.

So to see how these teams will fare in the playoffs, i looked to how they performed against eachother so far in the regular season, and the numbers were a little surprising.

The Bulls- Against the other five teams in the list, they have a five hundred record or better against each of them, with an overall record of 12-5.

The Pistons- The Pistons were next with an overall record of 8-5. 4 of their five losses came against the Raptors and Wizards, suggesting that maybe the Pistons dont play their best when facing high scoring and fast paced offenses.

The Cavaliers- The Cavs have performed very poorly when playing against the better teams in the East, carrying a 6-9 record so far this year. The Bulls already beat them twice, as well as the Heat and Detroit. Their loss today was particularly bad as well. Lebron seems to be their entire team.

The Wizards- They also performed rather poorly against the top Eastern Conference teams with a record of 6-7. The Bulls, Pistons and Raptors each gave them two losses apiece. A bright spot for the defensively challenged Wiz is that they have already beat Detroit twice.

The Pacers- While they can beat the good teams when playing well, they arent really a threat in the East. Against the good teams they fared 6-8. They hade two promising wins versus Detroit but really struggled with evryone else.

The Raptors- Again, like Indianapolis they are a solid up and coming team that can really put up some points but cant really contend in the East. They can score in bunches and shoot lights out, but they cant play a lick of D and that will probably result in a first round exit for the young but talented Raptors.

While the numbers favor the Bulls, there is no question that Detroit is the favorite to take the East. Although they say it isnt a problem anymore, they still dont show up for a lot of regular season games. They will turn it on when the playoffs come around, but if they are smart they wont wait that long. Either way, the East will probably come down to Chicago, Detroit, maybe Clevand and possibly a rejuvenated Miami Heat if Wade returns. 

As is in the NFL, the NBA contains two very different conferences, one which seemingly is all powerful and one which doesnt seem to measure up. The Eastern conference may have won it all last year, but overall the West is just so much stronger than the East. But if you look closely at the East, the teams with a chance to represent their conference for the title is limited to the Pistons, Heat, Cavs, Wizards, and the Bulls. People may not consider the Bulls or the Wizards as potential conference champions, but they better start thinking about those two teams.

When you look at the Heat, there is no guarantee that Shaq will be healthy for the Playoffs, Wade has been getting dinged up as of late, and Zo and the Glove have to start looking into retiring soon.  

The Cavaliers have Lebron James, but aside from him and Larry Hughes, who has vastly underperformed since coming to Cleveland, they arent that balanced, and they dont seem to enjoy playing much defense either. Illgauskas is a decent big man, but he is as soft as a marshmallow and shoul do a much better jopb on the boards and D if the Cavs want to go far.

The Pistons are still the Pistons, albeit minus Ben Wallace, who is not as big of a loss as people may think. He Chauncey, RIp, Tayshaun, and Sheed are all very solid players, and pose a legitimate threat to any team in the East. But they are getting a little older and if they follow up last year with similar playoff fatigue this year they will not be their at the end.

The Wizards are a type of dark horse team. If when the playoffs roll around Gilbert and company are on a roll, they can be tough to stop. But mainly, for the Wiz to do damage they must have very strong play from Arenas night in and night out. If he doesnt play well, it will be hard for Jamison and Butler to pick up the slack. But their biggest issue is defense, very much like the Mavericks of a few years ago. If they dont play very well offensively, their defense will more often than not give away the game.

This leaves me with a team that I believe is the strongest all around team in the East. The not so baby bulls. Now a may be from Chicago and have a bias, but this opinion is not influenced by my bias. The Bulls are a team that at almost every position offer legitimate scoring threats, as well as above average defensive players, and also posess more than a few key players off the bench, some which can score and defend and some which offer a veteran presence for a pretty young team. Ben Gordon has seeminglt turned a corner and is not a feast or famine player. He now is consistly scoring in the twenties. Kirk Hinrich is a very scrappy player, much in the mold of a John Paxson or Scott Skiles, both of whom influence his game directly. On offense he will give you 15-20 per and on defense he can stick with the best of them. They also have very underreated players in Andres Nocioni and Luol ####, and either can light up for 25-30 points on any given night, and are both above average defense. And playing aside Hinrich is Chris Duhon, who doesnt get enough credit for doing all the little things and playing within his limitations, but when he needs to, can get into the lane and create for himself or others. Of course the Bulls have Ben Wallace, but everybody alreafy knows what he offers. But where the Bulls are stronger than many others is their bench. Their bench consists of Adrian Griffin(who started last year for the Western Champs Mavericks), Ben Gordon, PJ Brown, Tyrus Thomas, Michael sweetney, Malik Allen, and Thabo Sefolosha. 

Another thing to point out is that in the past few years the Bulls improve as the year goes on, a result of the great job done by Scott Skiles with a lot of these young players. The Bulls are not yet at the top of their game, but yet they find themselves a game out of the top of the East. They have a rare blend of young athletic players, good shooters, and veteran big men who offer insight to the younger players, all of which have not reached their potential. All of this adds up to a team that will be contending this year and for many years to come.   

(I realize i didnt discuss the other teams in depth, but the oint of this article was just the bulls.)