Time for a ring?

Man, how long has it been since we had some basketball to watch? Overheard in the office this week: “I feel like an addict. I need my fix.” Tonight is Game 1 of the NBA Finals, with the Spurs hosting the Cavs. We went around the Dime office to get everyone’s predictions for the series. Check them out and let us know who you think will take the whole thing…

JOSH: Cavs in 7. LeBron can handle Bowen. He can get by him, he’s strong enough to finish and he’s athletic enough to elevate and get his shot off. And he’s too strong for Bowen to be able to deny him the ball. But between double-teams and LeBron’s bad habit of holding onto the ball too long and letting defenses collapse on him, the Cavs will still need other guys to hit shots. A lot of shots. Gibson, Marshall, D-Jones and Big Z will all have to hit open looks when they get them. On the other side, Mike Brown is a great defensive coach. If the Cavs can keep the scores in the 70s and low-80s, anything can happen. Parker will get to the hole –- nobody on the Cavs can stop that –- and Duncan will get his in the post. What the Cavs can’t do is double and leave Manu and Bowen alone for jump shots. In the end, Cleveland’s D will decide this series. Low-scoring games means the 4th quarter will come down to the best player on the floor … LeBron.

KYLE: Cavs in 6. Why? I hate the Spurs. Pair that with the fact that I think it’s just LeBron’s time, and if he has any help whatsoever from his team, they will win. Plus, David Stern wants the NBA’s new poster boy to bring home the hardware.
(Editor’s Note: Kyle is one of our new interns for the summer. Everyone say “hi” to Kyle…)

JED: San Antonio in 6. Don’t get me wrong, I’m hoping the Cavs go off, hoping that Larry Hughes plays like 2-years-ago Larry Hughes, hoping that Eric Snow can D up Tony Parker and hit a jumper or two to keep ‘em honest, hoping Daniel Gibson (REFUSE to call him “Boobie”) keeps shooting the lights out, hoping that LeBron is Game-Five LeBron for Games 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7, hoping that Big Z can turn back the clock a few years, hoping that Anderson Varejao drives Tim Duncan insane, hoping that Manu doesn’t get any BS flopping calls, hoping that Drew Gooden plays with the energy he’s capable of night in and night out, hoping Donyell Marshall hits that corner three, hoping that Bruce Bowen continues to struggle guarding LeBron (more on this in a second), hoping that the Cavs don’t sleep on Michael Finley, and hoping the Cavs continue to play the best team D in the NBA. That’s a lot of hopes. One thing, though. The Cavs won both regular season games against the Spurs this season. Check out LeBron vs. Bowen in those two games combined:
LeBron – 82 minutes, 21-43 from the field, 54 points
Bowen – 71 minutes, 1-11 from the field, 2 points.
That 52-point difference may be reason to have some hope.

PR: Spurs in 6. While the Spurs have no answer for LeBron (you can’t stop him, you can only hope to contain him), the Cavs have no answer for Duncan, Parker or Manu.

PAT: Spurs in 5. Over the past few weeks, I have definitely sounded like a Cleveland hater. I didn’t give them any real props after they dispatched a Gilbert-less Wizards team. Actually, I think I called it “the least impressive sweep in playoffs history.” I wasn’t exactly impressed by the Cavs after they slogged through their series against a painfully average Nets squad. And then I didn’t give them a shot in hell of beating the Detroit Pistons. Just wasn’t gonna happen. But that was before I knew that Detroit was going to show up and forget how to play help D, before I knew that Flip was going repeatedly go away from things that work (Really, is there any good reason that they stopped denying LeBron the ball and/or trapping him as soon as he dribbled across half court?) and before the Pistons all decided to start yelling at each other and the coaching staff during games. Good job, fellas.
So now here we are, with another series that I don’t think the Cavs can possibly win. San Antonio’s front line, with Duncan alone, is significantly better than Cleveland’s. San Antonio’s perimeter crew of Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili, Finley and Bowen is collectively better than LeBron, half of Larry Hughes and Daniel Gibson. The Spurs won’t really have to change up anything that they normally do. That’s one of the reasons why they’re so good; they make everybody adjust to them.
Also, a major part of what San Antonio does is shut people down. They’re by far the best-equipped team in this year’s playoffs for shutting down LeBron. Bowen will almost definitely start on him. He’ll try to make James a jump shooter, and when ‘Bron beats Bowen off the drive, the Spurs will do what Detroit could not — they’ll rotate to clog him in the lane and they’ll most likely do a great job of rotating on the perimeter to limit wide open Daniel Gibson H-O-R-S-E jumpers. Plus, they’ll be flopping left and right and will pick up cheap fouls on #23 in every game.
It’s not yet time for The King.

JON: With the least amount of NBA knowledge in the office*, I’m going to go out on a limb and pick the Spurs in 5. I like the fact that I don’t think I’ve ever heard Tim Duncan say two words in my life, he just humbly gets it done. I’ve seen some LeBron highlights that left my jaw on the floor, but I still haven’t seen enough of him to say he can carry the Cavs in a series against the battle-tested Spurs. I’ve seen Duncan in the Finals enough over the years that the Spurs seem like a safe pick, like taking the old dependable pickup truck over a new souped-up sports car. The sports car will win a race, but you don’t know when or if you’re going to blow a head gasket the first time you open it up on the freeway. LeBron will get his “Sportscenter” Top Plays, but Duncan ends up with the hardware.

AUSTIN: Spurs in 5. There isn’t one area of the floor where San Antonio doesn’t have the advantage, except one — Cleveland has the best overall player in LeBron. But then again, you can always argue that Duncan is better. The Spurs have a better backcourt, a better frontcourt, they’re better defensively, they execute their offense better, they rebound better, they have a better coach, a better bench and they have the edge in experience AND they have home court advantage. LeBron is The Man and he’s hot right now — what he’s doing this year reminds me a lot of what Dwyane Wade did last year — but LeBron alone is not enough to topple the best team in the League.

CHRISTIAN: Spurs sweep. There’s no need to even watch.

NAOMI:
My “just believe” answer … I want the Cavs to win and if they do, I think it would happen in 7. (Besides, who wants it to happen in fewer than 7 games? I prefer to prolong closure with the season as much as possible.) Each game will be close with the home court advantage serving as the tipping point. If the Cavs can make it to Game 7 they have too much heart to let the title slip away in the final hour.
However, rationale says Spurs in 6. LeBron is phenomenal and, despite his age, a proven leader. But when it comes to the ‘chip, one man can’t do it by himself, and his supporting cast is not consistently dependable. The Spurs are undoubtedly a stronger team. With a 2-3-2 series, I think it will be hard for Cleveland to win 3 straight at home without ‘Bron getting tired and surrendering at least one of the three home games to the Spurs. Then to have to go to San Antonio and get a Game 6 and 7 win … well, that’s just too tough given the Spurs’ talent.