OUTLOOK:

This is IT! The moment to crown a NEW NSL Champion has come and it is filled with electric energy for what is looks to be a historic battle.

Without further ado, let�s get to the East and West Champions!



San Antonio comes to this game holding the 2nd spot in the West with an impressive 71-11 record. They have just gotten out of a gentleman�s sweep (4-1) of the Portland Trail Blazers to take the title of NSL Western Conference Champion!

The Spurs have been one of the staples of this 20-21 season and have had many different facets, with many of them being successful, while playing stout defense on everybody after some big off-season and in-season moves to the roster, as always.  

3 big eventful trades guided the team where it is now, in my opinion, those would be trading mainly Kemba for Jrue Holiday, Andre Drummond for basically nothing (Fournier and Ball), and KAT for future NSL Hall of famer and #2 most dangerous player in the entire engine, Damian Lillard straight up! That�s some GMOTY stuff right there if I�ve ever seen it.
 
Then, in Butler-Holiday-RoCo was formed one of the best defensive trios in the league, like, ever, and Lillard was already looking like an MVP candidate at the combo guard spot shooting a million three balls a game and making them. Now add a top 5 big man to the squad and you�ve got yourself dream team! The engine certainly agrees with them, seeing as they never go on cold streaks and they are so talented for a team that is already expected to be in the running for the ring even before the moves. Threes, stout defense and boards, how do you beat it?

Lillard has consistently been a weapon for GM Nels this season. He should be in MVP talks on most seasons for carrying his team on his back and is a force to be reckoned with, but the thing is Lillard might still have of the most underappreciated cases for the NSL MVP, and possibly Finals MVP because he has so much talent around him and he�s been like that for a good while.  
The killer will look to do what he always does, which is set the tone and control the game volume scoring and will go right at the defense to try to set the tone for the game. Averages: 38/3/7!!!!

This team�s path to the Finals have been a dismantling of Grizzlies (4-0), dispatching of a great Pelicans team (4-1) and the aforementioned Portland (4-1). They will have home court on this series!

The Spurs play fast, guard you tightly and do not surrender leads,  although when they are behind, they can always come back in a hurry, all because they have their ace, and you know what happens when it�s THAT time�

Detroit comes into this as the 1^st place in the air East, with a sparkling 69-13 regular season record. They have just gotten out of a full blown sweep (4-0) of the former East Champ Chicago Bulls to take the title of NSL Eastern Conference Champion!


After a gliding through the season, a squad that was already good then came alive mid-season after maestro-like moves by GM Sheed made them the toughest out in the hard and competitive eastern Conference.

Let�s explore how this team came to be: first there was the core of Kyrie and Bam, drafted there, then came the Gobert trade involving now criminal Jaxson Hayes and gave them a DPOY candidate in the middle of the lane. In the off-season, the move to bring in Tristan Thompson, which the engine loves was masterful but what really made the difference this year was the ability of Sheed to pull trades centered on team needs and engine-favored players, namely Kyle Lowry (future firsts) and Carmelo Anthony (pick too). They entered the team seamlessly and gelled well without messing up the chemistry of Kyrie and holding down the fort in the times he was out.

They have proven themselves to be a very good team so far and being solid everywhere and they just got a little bit deeper in their bench spots too compared to last season.

When you take a look at their roster, defensively, the wall is put up with another trio in Gobert-Adebayo-Lowry who can guard a combination of team�s matchups but offensively is where they shine because they have one of those players the engine just seems to favor, as well as the Spurs, to my account Kyrie is #4 best player in the game and he is the main reason they are here. Much like the Spurs, they do not surrender leads and kill you from three point land with Lowry, Irving and Melo.

What's interesting is that they also went on sort of a roster shake-up since the start of the season and got better after the whole process. Regardless, GM Sheed got what he was after and this is his team now, his vision, and the results have been great!

Having a great season, Kyrie Irving has taken the leadership role this season and this is a team that has of other shooters to feed, but he�s the unquestioned Alpha. Kyrie is a superstar in NSL with unlimited range and thirst for the 3-ball out of the pick and roll. He�s so crafty, best handler of all time (?), and will look to dominate the pace and go at the opposition. Look for him to have a great series in this one and continue as the centerpiece of that offense. Averages: 35/3/6 !!!!

This team�s path to the Finals have been a hard fought win against the Raptors (4-3), dispatching of INDIANAAAA (4-0) and the aforementioned Chicago in a back2back sweep (4-0).

The Pistons play fast too, outrebound you and do not surrender leads, in that sense, the matchups game will be very important like a chess match to see who can take advantage of the other teams few weaknesses. 

X-FACTOR MATCH-UP:  

Damian Lillard X Kyrie Irving

I know I sound like a broken record, but this is the only real match-up that matters, to be honest. They will probably be going head to head a few times and combining heat checks during the whole series. Will they guard each other and lose energy? Will they be hidden away from superior perimeter defenders? Whoever goes on a tear the most and activates in-game badges will benefit the most and carry their team to victory and they cannot be stopped, only hoped to be contained, both GMs better know that early on.
Another match-up to pay attention to: Drummond vs. Gobert.

OUR PICK � San Antonio Spurs:

Although picking against Sheed, a fellow from Brasil (yes, with the S), hurts but I truly believe the Spurs have more way to victory in this one. The perimeter matchups just make them a tad more dangerous and they have the better glitch player in Damian Lillard, so my pick goes to them. If the Pistons have any chance, they will need to win inside and contain Drummond somehow, good luck with that