Pistons, Spurs set for NBA Finals

SAN ANTONIO -- Your old high school basketball coach was right all along. Shooting, slamming and scoring are fine, but this game is about fundamentals and defense -- even in the NBA.\nFew teams in the last two decades have been more fundamentally sound or defensively superb than the San Antonio Spurs and the Detroit Pistons, who have won the league's last two titles between them. They're back in the NBA Finals again, starting with Game 1 on Thursday night, both looking to establish a burgeoning dynasty while their flashier rivals watch from their couches.\nThe matchup might not exactly be riveting to the average fan, but downtown San Antonio is abuzz with excitement, and the players are anticipating a fitting end to two successful seasons built on hard work, resilience and experience.\n"It's going to take a ... concentrated defensive effort to compete against them," San Antonio's Bruce Bowen said Tuesday. "You have to respect them. They've just come through a tremendous series, they're defending champions and they deserve all the credit they're receiving right now."\nThe Pistons were to practice in San Antonio on Wednesday, less than 48 hours after outlasting the Miami Heat in the seventh game of the Eastern Conference finals. The Spurs, who steamrolled the Phoenix Suns and their up-tempo approach in the West finals, spent the weekend waiting for an opponent.\nThe star-powered Heat and the high-flying Suns represented two alternatives to the approach taken by Pistons coach Larry Brown and San Antonio's Gregg Popovich, two close friends who worked together with the Spurs. Both coaches based their teams on the mix of defense and teamwork that continually trumps offense-first strategies in this league.\nThey were the league's two best defensive clubs during the regular season, both holding opponents under 90 points per game. Bowen and Detroit's Ben Wallace are widely considered the two best defensive stoppers in the league, and five players from the two clubs made the NBA's top two All-Defensive teams.\n"It's going to be very tough to score, we all know that," said San Antonio's Manu Ginobili, who's enjoying a breakout postseason. "It's not going to be 110- (or) 115-point games."\nAnd the clubs' veteran playoff experience is just as important. More than in other sports, teams usually need several years of seasoning and togetherness before they're ready to win an NBA title, and both of the finalists have credentials in the form of bejeweled championship rings.\nPhoenix and Seattle dazzled fans during the regular season with frenetic offense and matador defense, but the Spurs sent them both home from the playoffs with barely a fight. The Pistons faced a series of dynamic big-game scorers: Allen Iverson, Chris Webber, Reggie Miller, Dwyane Wade and Shaquille O'Neal. Nobody could counter Detroit's championship savvy.\nBoth clubs got here with defense, but that doesn't mean the finals will be short on entertainment value. Both teams have players who could steal the spotlight, and with two teams so determined to stop the other from scoring, close games are almost certain.\nTim Duncan, going for his first championship without David Robinson by his side, might do something incredible enough to add popular acclaim to his otherwise flawless resume. Ginobili's inventive game will draw attention, and playoff superhero Robert Horry will be lurking, always keeping Detroit fans wondering if "Big Shot Rob" will strike again.\nThe Pistons have Rasheed Wallace's tempestuous talent and Richard Hamilton's tireless athleticism. There's also the drama of Brown's possible departure or retirement after the season, which could inspire or distract Detroit.\nBut if both coaches are successful, the series will be a fascinating battle of small things -- rebounding, defensive rotations, mid-range jumpers and the occasional spectacular shot -- and not the superstar showcases of past NBA Finals.\n"It'll be a tremendous challenge for us," Popovich said. "They're the champs, and they're the champs for a reason, so we've got our work cut out for us, that's for sure"