It’s Pistons vs. Spurs for NBA pinnacle

By: Larry Fitzgerald
Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder
Originally posted 06/08/2005

 

Never underestimate the heart of a champion — the pain, the setbacks, the injury, the commitment. It’s been said that the will to win is important, but the will to prevail is vital.

 

The Detroit Pistons did it again: They found a way to contain Miami’s Shaquille O’Neal, who scored a game-high 27 points, in a seven game series. Because of it, they will play for the NBA championship starting Thursday, June 9, in San Antonio.

 

The Pistons won for the tenth straight time when needing one win to clinch a series, becoming the first team to win an Eastern Conference finals game seven on the road in 23 years. In NBA history there have been 91 game sevens, and the home team has won 74 of them. The Pistons rallied down the stretch and leaned heavily on their vast experience and poise to win 88-82 over the Heat.

 

Former Timberwolves star Chauncey Billips, last year’s MVP of the NBA Finals, was again rock solid, scoring 18 points, including clutch free throws in the final minutes. Dwyane Wade played in game seven after missing all of game six with a painful rib muscle injury. He scored 20 points, but did not score at all over the last 15 minutes.

 

Pistons Coach Larry Brown, the fourth winningest coach in NBA playoff history with 97 wins, will visit the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, soon after the finals to deal with complications that have developed from hip surgery. Rumors are circulating that after the finals he will leave the Pistons to become president of the Cleveland Cavaliers.

 

The Spurs and Pistons are the last two NBA Champions; they split two games during the regular season. Brown will be matched up against his good friend Spurs Head Coach Greg Popovich. The two coaches, you might recall, coached last year’s Olympic basketball team of NBA stars, which failed to win the Gold Medal.

 

The Spurs won 59 games during the regular season and beat Denver, Seattle and Phoenix to reach the finals, while Detroit won 54, eliminating Philadelphia, Indiana and Miami. These are the best defensive teams in basketball.

 

Both have great transition games fueled by their defenses. The Spurs were number two in the NBA in point differential, 7.1; this should be a great series. The Spurs were 38-3 at home during the regular season and have the home court advantage in the finals. I like the Spurs in six games.

Fitz Notes & Quotes

The Twins continue to chase the Chicago White Sox in the American League Central. The Twins lead the league with the lowest ERA (3.36) in baseball. In fact the Twins have two pitchers who have more wins than walks allowed. Brad Radke is 5-4 and has allowed only three walks in 82 innings, while Carlos Silva is 4-3 and has walked only three batters in 67 innings.

Last Friday, when the Twins played the Yankees at the Dome, legendary boxing champion Roberto Duran was at the game. Duran is the only fighter to have fought in five different decades.

The Vikings had their first development camp last week since NFL owners, by a vote of 32-0, unanimously approved the sale of the team to New Jersey real estate developer Zygmunt Wilf. Vikings Pro Bowl Quarterback Daunte Culpepper talked with us on the many changes going on around him, including new Offensive Coordinator Steve Loney, who replaces Scott Linehan, and new Wide Receiver Coach Wes Chandler, who replaced Charlie Baggett. Both Linehan and Baggett are now with the Miami Dolphins.

“Things won’t change a lot,” said Culpepper. “We’ve been good the last four or five years, so if it isn’t broke, I don’t think we need to fix anything. I’m old school and I go by that. I learned that from Coach [Dennis] Green.

“We just have to keep plugging away at it. We have our same system in. We have new coaches, but the new coaches are the ones that have to adjust and learn. We, the players, don’t have to adjust and learn. All we have to do is keep working and honing our skills.” Culpepper is featured on the cover of two national magazines this month: Street & Smith and Eastbay.

It’s football camp time

Vikings Coordinator of Pro Personnel Jeff Robinson, a graduate of North High School and Northwestern University, will host his popular football camp at North High School football field June 20-23 from 10 am to 3 pm for youths ages nine to 14; call 952-828-6522 for more details.

It’s not how you start!

For the third straight year, the team that won the most games during the NBA regular season failed to reach the finals. Dallas won 60 games in 2003; in 2004, Indiana won 61 games; and this year, Phoenix won 62.