The big dance is set.  The Wizards look to showcase a bit of their magic, vs the fast and furious Spurs.  The Spurs are led by the league�s most valuable player, and defensive player of the year, perhaps the greatest player in NSL history.  The Wizards are let by a trio of stars in Booker, Embiid, and PG.  If depth is to play a major factor, you could see the result tipping towards Washington.  If star power is the tipping factor, it�s hard to see it going against the Greek Freak.  Team breakdowns and positional matchups below, let�s get into it!

 

The Wizards

What a season for the Wiz!  The newcomers, in terms of finals experience in the matchup.  The Wizards put it all together this season and are very deserving of their place in representing the East.  They came into the seasons-end tournament as the #1 seed, and they�ve looked the part through it all.  Devin Booker, Joel Embiid, and Paul George have exhibited star qualities, and the short rotation around them has provided great results for GM Joshua.  The short rotation has ensured each of the 3 stars are seeing the court well over 30 minutes per game, and that sort of durability and consistency is exactly why they are here.  It�ll take a village to take down the behemoth that is the Giannis led Spurs, but this small village in Washington is full of it�s own cutthroat, battle-tested Warriors (Wizards), ready to stake their claim of the NSL Finals Trophy. 

 

The Spurs

There�s so much talk of the NSL Finals trophy belonging to the West during the beginning phases of the NSL�s short history.  Internal sources have quoted Western Conference GM�s as saying things like, �The Western Conference Finals, is the finals�, and �The NSL runs through the West� all season.  The West�s series went to a 7-game series, a great matchup between the leagues 2 reigning champions.  It was so hotly contested, that the game promptly imploded in the middle of game 7.   Thus, another Spurs final run was born, this time fully fueled by one of, if not the best player in the NSL.  Enough has been said about Giannis� accomplishments, as great as they are, though not much has been said about his running mate James Harden.  Perhaps not long for San Antonio, the veteran guard has put up some insane numbers throughout the post season run.  Averaging over 20 points, and 6 rebounds across all post-season competitions, Harden has fueled the offense in more than 1 way.  Perhaps most impressive, he�s done it all while averaging right around 1 turnover per game committed, exhibiting the type of control over an offense most coaches only dream off.  These are two hot teams, with star-studded lineups facing off at the perfect time, I can�t wait to see how it shakes out!

 

Matchups:

Point Guard:

Caruso vs Harden

This is a matchup of fire power, vs fire extinguisher.  Harden excels on the offensive end most, while still contributing semi-steadily on defense, while Caruso is a lock-down perimeter defender, who�s got a bit of bounce and energy that can result in some offensive outbursts from time-to-time.  Only 1 of these players was brought up in the summary, and as a result, they have to get the easy nod here.  Harden, by a fair amount.

Shooting Guard:

Booker vs Brooks

At first glance this looks like an easy decision.  Booker, the All-NSL player, scorer extraordinaire, and unquestioned 1A option of the Wizards has to take the nod, right?  Well, Brooks has played very well of late, and really always, for the Spurs.  He fills exactly the role he needs to, as a spot-up shooter, and a pretty good defender, especially against the non-freaky athletic guards of the NBA.  As a result, this matchup sets up to have a closer result than many would expect, or so I believe.  I still give the nod to Booker, who�s played a huge part in the Wizards being in this position. Booker by a smaller margin than Harden over Caruso.

Small Forward:

George vs Giannis

What a great matchup here.  2 of the better �SF�s� in the NSL, and yes we are loosely terming the position, until next year�But for now, these are 2 of the best 3�s in the game, who can both do it all on both ends of the court.  Giannis is of course the newly appointed NSL MVP and DPOTY, AKA there�s none better, AKA I won�t even sit here and act like PG can out-duel, outlast, out-anything him.  PG however will show up, in what I expect to be some big spots for the Wizards this series, when he can shake Giannis loose, or better yet, get a favorable switch.  Much of the Wizards fate seems to rest on the shoulders of PG, particularly, how he can manage to keep Giannis in check on the defensive end throughout the series.  Giannis get�s the decision here, at a similar length to Harden over Caruso.

Power Forward:

Embiid vs McGee

Here comes the major tilters for the Wizards.  Joel Embiid should, key word should, be able to have his way with McGee in this matchup.  Embiid was an NBA MVP candidate, his 2k counterpart is absolutely beastly, and he can score and defend with any front court player in the NSL.  He had troubles at times in the conference finals, only scoring 11.7 points in the series, however picking up the slack on the boards, averaging 20 rebounds.  Embiid get�s a much friendlier matchup here, speaking in terms of overall vs the Spurs front court, and he will look to exploit the weaker defensive look in this series.  McGee is steady though, and will be no turnstile on the interior.  He comes into the series with a mixed bag of post-season results, but if he can harness his conference semi-final form, where he was .2 points away from averaging a double-double, this should be a great matchup to watch.  The edge goes to Embiid, the largest of all matchups thus far.

Center:

Capela vs Vucevic

Another matchup of strengths vs weaknesses.  Capela has been exactly what he�s needed to be all year for the Wizards, and especially in these playoffs.  He�s gobbled up the missed shots, and defensive rebounds, and quietly averaged 12 and 16 throughout the playoffs.  He�s corralled a solid total of blocks and steals as well, and is poised to make a significant impact in this matchup.  Vucevic has been a switchable piece for the Spurs in the run up to the final series.  He�s been in and out of the starting lineup, and his results have varied from game to game.  He hasn�t shot much from deep during this playoff run for the Spurs, perhaps on purpose.  He shot only 11% from 3 in the conference finals series.  It would be great if he could shoot a decent clip from deep in this series, freeing up space in the paint for Giannis, while dragging Capela(potentially the Wizards best interior defender) away from defending the rim.  The advantage goes to Capela on form, but Vuc could certainly surprise.  Capela by the smallest of margins in the series.

 

Bench Matchups:

Jones, Joe, and Green vs. Jackson, WCS, Bryant, and Johnson

Where Washington gets the minor edge in the starting lineup matchups, the Spurs have the edge here on the benches.  Each of the Spurs bench contributors brings length, and solid defense.  Reggie Jackson provides an offensive spark when James Harden or Giannis isn�t taking the reigns, and backup big men of Calley-Stein and Thomas Bryant provide a potent, defensive-minded 1-2 punch off the bench.  Danny Green brings a ton of experience, and both Jones and Joe have provided some nice scoring for the Wizards when needed, but they don�t have a true big man replacement, to give Embiid or Capela much needed minutes of rest.  Edge, Spurs.

 

Keys to Victory:

Battle of 3�s: Who will come out victorious?  Will it be Giannis, the league�s newly appointed MVP and DPOTY, coming off perhaps the greatest season in NSL victory, or will he be slowed by the 2 way superstar that is Paul George.  George has been known for stepping up when the lights are brightest, and GM Joshua hopes he can do it once again. 

Mc-Gimme-That:  Javale is poised to make a huge impact in this game.  He will either stand up, and play a deterrent defensive and rebound heavy role, that will allow the Spurs to stay in the rebound battle, and hopefully keep a cap on either Embiid or Capela.  The flip side is, he will get man-handled all series, and Washington utilizes the massive overall differential on the way to winning a title.  Huge importance on McGee�s play in this series.

B-Boys: Booker vs Brooks is in my opinion, the other key matchup in this series.  If Devin Booker can continue to score like the superstar that he is, that will be one thing.  But if he continues to score, and shuts down Brooks offensive output, which has been so pivotal to the Spurs during this run, then it will spell trouble for San Antonio.  Brooks is the unquestioned 2/3^rd option of this team, even at times surpassing James Harden, and the Spurs will need that sort of output to keep this series tight.

 

Prediction: 2 games have already gone by in the series, but I will make my prediction as if I haven�t just seen the Spurs win 2 at home.  Giannis is still the best in the game, and I believe that shows here.  Nelso has done a great job of putting together the best front court in the NSL, and with the rebounding/scoring/defending combo he�s put together, I just can�t see it going any other way. 

Spurs in 7, after a fantastic series.