The San Antonio Spurs versus the New York Knicks. Who would have picked that at the beginning of the playoffs? The Knicks were two bounces and a carom from spending the rest of the off-season at home. But Allan Houston's shot at the buzzer to beat the Heat was just the beginning. They killed the undermanned Hawks and then beat the veteran Pacers with, can you believe this, speed. The Knicks were forced to play a more up tempo style because their leader Patrick Ewing had become progressively more immobile, to the point where he is now out for the rest of the season. Jeff Van Gundy was sticking with Ewing and their slow, plodding offense because he believed their best chance of winning was with Ewing. In fact, after these past few weeks, it seems apparent that Van Gundy was wrong all along. In fact, if the Knicks didn't sneak into the playoffs and run off some wins, Van Gundy would be looking for a new job. Call it luck and skill. The luck they got it. The luck of Houston's shot. The luck that Ew ing went down. The skill that Van Gundy redesigned an offense to capitalize on the Knicks newfound speed and quickness. The skill that got the whole team on the same page so quickly. The skill to manage these huge New York egos. So now that New York Knicks have made their way into the finals, as an eight seed, do the Knicks have a chance? Patrick Ewing is out. So no center to match up against David Robinson. Larry Johnson is day-to-day. So he'll probably play, but he won't be at 100%. He's no match for Tim Duncan anyway. But I'll get to that later.

The San Antonio spurs travails have been well documented. The first ABA team to get the NBA finals. 6-8 at the beginning of the season. People calling for coach Gregg Popovich's head. But after their slow start, something happened. No team meetings, no confrontations, no miracles. Because of the lockout, there was very little time for the team to practice, by the third week of the season, everyone was on the same page. David Robinson had slipped into a supporting role, playing the role of Bill Russell. The Admiral was responsible for defensive rebounding, defense and blocking shots. He was mixing it up with the big boys, so Tim Duncan could have it easily with the smaller power forwards. Robinson gave up his shots, so Duncan could have his. This was a totally selfless move by one of the 50 greatest players. Tim Duncan stepped into the role of star. Although not the team leader, Robinson still is, Duncan leads by example. He is a double-double waiting to happen, 20 and 10 every night. These t wo men make the team go. No flash. No pizzazz. Just quality basketball. By the end of the season, the team had lost only 5 times after their slow start. Everyone had taken to their role. They were hitting on all cylinders. An excellent example of team basketball.

The Matchups:

Center: For New York, the loss of Ewing is huge. Although he wasn't the focal point of their offense anymore, he still brought a lot to the table. But since he's gone, there isn't someone of his caliber waiting in the wings. The Knicks will go with Chris Dudley. He's a strong guy, a good rebounder and a decent enough defender. He's going to have to play above his head when matching up against David Robinson. Dudley can rebound well enough, but he's foul prone and can't guard players outside, where Robinson does a lot of his damage. When Dudley goes out, Van Gundy will attempt to fill some time with aged Herb Williams, who is so old, he played against some ABA players. He's got nothing left in the tank. Marcus Camby will get some time here as well. He's playing exceptionally well. In fact, he's playing as well, as I thought he could. He's losing his dog label, because he's playing hard in every game. The Spurs can move Duncan over to center and have Will Purdue as a backup. Purdue is like Dud ley. A willing banger. A good rebounder. A decent defender. He's got fouls to give and does not hesitate to use them. Advantage: Spurs

Power Forward: Tim Duncan. Is there anything else to add? No. Tim Duncan is the best player in the NBA. He's got it all. The low post moves. The 15 foot jumper. The ball handling. The drives. The defense. The shot blocking. He's the best. No on the Knicks can stop him. Kurt Thomas will try to stop him, but he'll be in foul trouble by the end of the first quarter. Marcus Camby will give is a try. He's got the height and the quickness, but he's too light. Duncan goes around 240, and he's solid. Look for Duncan to post up Camby and push him off the block when he gets the ball down low. If Larry Johnson is healthy, he'll be playing a lot of power forward as well. I think he could give Duncan fits when LJ is on offense. LJ doesn't post up too much anymore, but he's a good outside shooter. By drawing Duncan outside, and making him chase him around, he'll tire Duncan out, take away a shot blocker from the lane, and should be able to drive around Duncan when given the opportunity. If LJ tri es to post Duncan, he'll get the ball swatted back into his face with authority. The Spurs have Malik Rose and Jerome Kersey as backups here. Kersey can give some points at the four spot and still can run. Rose is a willing and able banger. He'll lay some wood on anyone who needs it. Look for him to smack around Camby like the Davis boys on Indiana couldn't do. Advantage: Spurs

Small forward: All things being equal, it looks like Latrell Sprewell will start here. He's playing great. He's a decent post player, but he's awesome in the open court. He's a great driver and a pretty good defender. At the three spot, he doesn't rebound as well as you'd like, but he's a good player. His outside shot is average, but it opens up his driving. He can drive around anyone. If he's on, the Knicks are in good hands. The Spurs will counter with Sean Elliot. Elliot is playing great. He's shooting well, and is a strong defender. He should be able to slow down Sprewell, but not stop him. Look for Elliot to get some help when needed if Spree is lighting him up. Spree will have to stick to Elliot on the defensive end, because Elliot is killing teams with his outside shot. Larry Johnson will get some time at small forward when the Knicks go big. The Spurs have Jerome Kersey backing up Sean Elliot and occasionally play sharp shooting Jaren Jackson here. Advantage: Knicks

Shooting Guard: Allan Houston is playing exceptionally well. There really isn't a backup for Houston, if Sprewell is playing small forward, but Spree will get some time here as will Chris Childs. Houston can do it all and has been showing the NBA that he's got star talent. Mario Elie will have his hands full. Elie is a good defender, strong and tough, but Houston's quickness will be too much for Elie to handle. Elie has Jaren Jackson as a backup. Jackson isn't a good defender, but he can shoot. He's been shooting the lights out during these playoffs. If left alone, he'll drain it. Advantage: New York

Point Guard: Avery Johnson is hitting hit open shots. He's creating open shots for others. He's playing like the veteran leader that he is. He's playing better than he's ever played before. New York has the two headed beast of Charlie Ward and Chris Childs. Ward was supposed to be the better defender and a good shooter. He's been neither. Chris Childs was the one who was harassing Mark Jackson. Look for Childs to have trouble against the lightning quick Johnson. Ward better be ready, because he's faster than Childs and Van Gundy will have to put in the quicker Ward when Childs get beat often. The Spurs have Steve Kerr and Antonio Daniels as backups. Kerr is still a dangerous shooter and has been the finals for the past 4 years. Daniels is a young, energetic big point guard who can play well in limited time. Advantage: Spurs

The benches are virtually even when healthy, but since Larry Johnson is day-to-day, Patrick Ewing is out and David Wingate is out, the bench for the Knicks gets much shorter. I'd say the Spurs have the advantage. The coaches are both doing a great job. People would say that Van Gundy is a better coach because he got more out of his team. I say, why couldn't he get his team to play this way at the beginning of the season? Simple, he was blinded by loyalty to Charles Oakley and Patrick Ewing. Popovich started slowly, but his team is rolling. He's got his players into roles and a deep bench who can carry the team when the starters are faltering. While pundits say Jeff Van Gundy is the better coach, I'm going with Popovich. His team is playing flawlessly and have been for a more sustained length.

So who do I think will win? The Spurs that's who. The San Antonio Spurs are well rested. Have a full 12 men bench. Have the best player in the NBA. A super-star center who is taking a back seat to his star protégé, because he wants to. A point guard who is playing better than he ever has before. While I smell a sweep, I'm saying, San Antonio is 5.

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