By DavidKaye
The red hot Utah Jazz square off against the veteran lead San Antonio Spurs tomorrow in game one of their best of seven series to decide who will represent the Western Conference in the NBA finals.
Both teams are very similar in their style of play, each trying to play aggressive defense and make timely baskets on offense. Neither wants to run the score into triple digits like their semifinal opponents Golden State and Phoenix did, with Utah holding the Spurs to 85.5 points per game in their two victories during the regular season.
It's important to note that Utah is winless in their last 16 games at San Antonio and for the Jazz to return to the finals for the first time since 1998 they will have to take at least one-game in front of a hostile Spurs' crowd. Conversely, Gregg Popovich and his club are looking to advance to their third NBA finals in the last five seasons.
There are several key matchups that could decide the outcome of this series. The battle up front between all-star forwards Carlos Boozer and Tim Duncan will determine who has the advantage in the rebounding department and ultimately what team wins the series. While Duncan is one of the best power forwards of all-time, Boozer is making a strong case that he is the MVP of the playoffs. Through the first two rounds he's averaging 24 points and 12 rebounds, but more importantly he has served as that dominating force down low that the Jazz were looking for.
The second critical matchup in this series involves point guards Deron Williams and Tony Parker. Williams, 22, is playing in his first postseason, while Parker is looking to win his third championship in the past five years. Williams had a magnificent regular season and followed it up by averaging 16.8 points and 9.6 assists in the second round against the Warriors.
He is the table setter for Utah, the leader on offense and the one player in this series for the Jazz that can guard and contain the offensive prowess of Tony Parker. If his team is to have any chance against the Spurs he must do a superb job defensively against Parker. Consequently, the native of France must be able to contain the quickness and shot making ability of Utah's point guard.
Even though my heart says to go with the Jazz, my mind says to stick with the experience of the Spurs. San Antonio will prevail in a grueling six game series.
