Final Four!

"As long as we keep winning, I'm fine."
Manu Ginobli

Not a bad statement. We have the Conference finals ahead of us with the combatants now decided. So here you go, the Captain's preview for the final four at the grown ups table.

Detroit vs. Boston

Well, I think it will be interesting to see if Doc Rivers can confuse his players even further with irregular rotations, and just going with what works from game to game, rather than coming up with a strategy to win games that is specific to the circumstances they face. That was a Moby Dick style run on sentence there. Melville would be proud. It should be interesting to see if KG shows any extra motivation to show up his old skip on the other sideline, but my guess is that KG has less against Flip than he has against the guy with the largest collection of Cosby sweaters in the world. I would give you a player against player break down for this one, but we never know who Doc will play off the bench from game to game so I can't do that. I can give you a starting five comparison and go from there.

Chauncey vs. Rajon: Billups has the Mr. Clutch label. Billups is getting old though. I am wondering if Rajon Rondo doesn't just put his mind to running by Billups every time he gets the opportunity. Billups is a big though, it will be interesting to see what happens when they body up against one another. Billups could post up Rondo regularly and if the help isn't there he should be able to score at will. This is a youth vs. experience battle. Billups gets the edge, only because I don't think the Celtics have any plays drawn up for Rajon other than just letting him run into the middle. Chauncey will muscle Rajon around the court when he feels like it.

Rip Hamilton vs. Ray Allen: Which Ray Allen is showing up? The fans in Boston have been searching for this man like he's Bobby Fisher. He couldn't make a shot against a Cavs team that gave him opportunities. Rip is the best player of his generation offensively without the ball in his hands. Ray Allen is not up to chasing this guy all over the floor.

Tayshaun vs. The Truth: This could determine the series right here. This is the key match up because Pierce is the only person who has scored at will for the Celts, and he will be defended by Kentucky's version of Stretch Armstrong. Prince is one of the best defenders in the league. I would flip a coin to decide whether I would want Tayshaun or Shane Battier defending a swing man for all the marbles.

KG vs. Sheed: The next most interesting match up in the series. Sheed can score on KG. He is one of the few power forwards in the league that can match up with KG. Will he want to? I don't know. Can you predict the winning lottery numbers? Sheed can dominate, but KG is fierce. I expect a record to be set for stink eye exchanges with these two guys in a series. Sheed is the one guy in the league that I can picture hitting KG for mouthing off or posturing too aggressively. Sheed is the Martin Riggs of the NBA.

McDyess vs. Perkins: Antonio McDyess has the experience. Perkins has the youth. It's a wash

Benches: Boston's bench doesn't know who is going to play. Detroit wins.

A kicker here, Boston has to win a road game at the Palace if they are going to win because Detroit will take a game in Boston.

San Antonio vs. LA

This is the real series...

I have been hoping for this series because it will showcase a rivalry that could peak during this series. That's saying something because this ranges from .4 seconds to Kobe crying on camera. This should be a dogfight. Both teams are playing really well. San Antonio methodically made the game their own for game 7. LA destroyed the Jazz. In fact I need to take a little longer to figure this one out. More on the match up before the game on Wednesday.

The Captain signing off for now...