Match-ups that many had hoped for are long in the rear view as the Dallas Mavericks were upset in the first round by the Golden State Warriors and the Phoenix Suns were bounced in the last round after a controversial bout with the San Antonio Spurs. The Miami Heat looked old and battered, getting swept by the Chicago Bulls who in turn were beat by the Detroit Pistons.

The Spurs will lock horns with the Utah Jazz who have triumphed over the Houston Rockets as well as the Warriors. The Pistons will spend the next few days of their season battling it out with the Cleveland Cavaliers – a team that they met in last years playoffs that took them to seven games. There are several players to keep an eye on in these two series, and we’ll break them down in this week’s Top of the Key..

The Spurs/Jazz match up will provide basketball fans with two All-Star power forwards banging it out in the key, two European small forwards that bring a different style of play to the hardwood, and two point guards that should be considered among the top tier in the West.

Tim Duncan was a top five finisher in the MVP voting and his recent play has driven many people to argue that he probably should have won the award outright. Duncan has increased his scoring per game series-over-series in this post season, finishing with 27 a game in the bout against Phoenix – quite a difference from the 20 points per game that he registered in the regular season. From the first round to the second round, Duncan also increased his rebounds by three a game and blocks by 1.4 a game, mostly thanks to his nine block outing in the game six that finished the season for the Suns.

The man that will be looking to slow down the surging Duncan comes from Duke University via Alaska: Carlos Boozer. After a few seasons that were plagued by injuries, Boozer has put up solid numbers throughout the playoffs, not deviating much between series (24 points per game) aside from a three rebound per game jump due to the small-ball play from the Golden State Warriors. Needless to say, the Spurs are definitely not the Warriors in terms of size, and Boozer will have to play some of the best ball of his life to reach 14 boards a game against Tim Duncan and company.

The aforementioned Euros would be none other than potent sixth man Manu Ginobili and one-time first round fantasy lock Andrei Kirilenko. Both, ironically, had pretty rough starts to the playoffs but have come on as of late putting up solid across-the-board numbers. Manu wasn’t even cracking 34% from the floor in the first round, but has recently upped his post season average to 40% thanks to a few solid nights, including a excellent 11-17 against the Suns in game 6. In fact, that line was one of the best in the entire playoffs: 33 points, 11 rebounds, six assists, four 3-pointers and four steals in 36 minutes of play. Absolutely sick. He’ll provide stellar support of the bench for the entire series as Michael Finely will get the starting nod, long range and all.

Kirilenko’s first series was rougher than rough. After not getting the playing time that he was used to, Kirilenko was emotional in a press conference that led to a lot of scrutiny about his mental strength and actual basketball ability. AK47 responded to all of his critics by a monstrous conference semi-final series that saw him average 16 points, nine rebounds, three assists, a steal and three blocks a contest along with a 93% conversion rate from the free throw line. He’ll look to continue this pace into the conference finals as his Utah Jazz will most definitely need all the help they can get.

From Top of the Key - May 23, 2007 (cont)

Can Deron Williams provide Utah with a spark?

Though the last mentioned duel in the series, the one at point guard may actually be the most important. The Spurs boast an All-Star in Tony Parker, while the Jazz have one of the newest members to Team USA for this summer in second-year guard Deron Williams. Neither boasts a dominating outside presence, but neither is afraid to take a shot when needed. Parker finished the season with a 52% from the field, an incredible number for a point guard. Like Duncan, Parker increased his scoring contributions series-to-series, finishing with 21 per game against the Suns. He’s been comfortably dropping about six assists a game while nabbing one steal – both season averages as well.

Williams has been one of the best stories of the season. The Jazz were ridiculed for taking him over Chris Paul last season and have since thrust him into a starting role that also saw him log about 37 minutes a night. In 80 games, Williams averaged 16 points and nine assists a game, and he’s rolled with those numbers right through the playoffs. The points have remained consistent, with the assists increasing a full one per game to the 9.6 that Williams dished out against the Warriors. What deserves some attention is the increase in rebounds from Williams. After ripping down about three boards a game, Deron hit the glass hard in the opening series (five a game), and followed that up with four a night in the semi-finals.

If only the East was as exciting. Yes, LeBron James and his Cavaliers will dual it out with the Pistons, but the series that saw them beat the Nets in six games was far from exciting for anyone outside those two cities. Almost complete opposite from Tim Duncan and Tony Parker, LeBron James actually saw his numbers go down from the first series to the second – which can be attributed to the improvement in the opponent that were the Washington Wizards. Despite the “decrease,” James still averaged 25 points, seven rebounds, eight assists and a steal in the series. A notable increase from his regular season figures is in his free throw percentage. Though it hovered around 69% during the season, James converted 81% of his a free throws in the first round and 75% in the second.

The man that will be given the reward of guarding James in this series will be Tayshaun Prince. Prince is one of the better defenders in the league due to his extreme length and quickness. He’s given some of the best players fits in the playoffs, and has been to the conference finals each season since he was drafted four years ago. Prince has seen a solid increase in his scoring and assist totals, and will continue to be a huge part of the Pistons’ successes throughout the series.

The big men that are featured on each of these teams will be a huge portion of the game, despite the amount of time that the rest of their respective teams will have the ball. Zydrunas Ilgauskas is coming off of a slower season compared to most, but is primed from last season’s playoff games to keep it going into this series. Only averaging 12 points and eight rebounds a night during the season, Big Z came out firing in the first round to put up 19 points and 11 rebounds a night. His scoring has reverted closer to the season average but he’s still averaging over 10 rebounds a game. Without Ben Wallace to make matters difficult for Ilgauskas this year, you can bet he’ll keep crashing the glass with the best of them.

While Ben Wallace isn’t in the Motor City any longer, Rasheed Wallace is. Like Ilgauskas, Wallace has stepped his game up from the regular season to now. Only scoring 12 points a night during his 75 games this year, Wallace has scored 14.5 a night thus far into the playoffs. In the six games against the Bulls, Wallace had 14 points, eight rebounds, one steal and one block a game – while chipping in several 3-pointers. Fewer players offer the range of ‘Sheed while helping you out in blocks and steals. His play will likely continue to give Cleveland fits, as it did in the post season last year.

Wrapping things up will be the guard play of each team. The Cavaliers will go to battle with point guard Larry Hughes and shooting guard Sasha Pavlovic. Pavlovic has come one strong as of late, but has seemed to lose his edge towards the end of the semi-finals. Hughes is one player that is not doing well in the post season. After shooting 40% from the floor this season, Hughes upped that mark to 44% in the first series, only to plummet to 32% in the bout with the Nets. He’s still recording over 40 minutes a night, mostly thanks to his defense – but it’s pretty easy to say that Hughes is likely to be outplayed by the Pistons duo.

Chauncey Billups and Richard Hamilton will present you with one of the best backcourts in the NBA. Both seem to be able to score at will and when the shots aren’t falling, they’ll get to the free throw line where they combine to shoot about 89%. Billups is historically bad against the Cavaliers, but Hamilton has had the knack to not only get under Cleveland’s skin, but to capitalize on his opportunities. Billups is putting up MVP-caliber numbers through the post season with 20 points, three rebound, seven assists and a plethora of threes while Rip Hamilton refuses to be outdone with his 19 points, four rebounds and four assists to go with his 45% from the floor and 85% from the line in the semi-final match against Chicago.

These next few days will show us who will continue improving, continue regressing, or even give us something that we totally didn’t expect at all. Many are thinking that it’s going to be a Spurs-Pistons final this season, but only time will tell.