Well, here we are.  The NBA Finals - the pinnacle of our beloved sport.  Fourteen pretenders have been sent packing in order to get a head start on their golf games, while two contenders, the Detroit Pistons and San Antonio Spurs, are left battling for Association supremacy.  

 The Finals should be seen as a crowning achievement, of sorts, where the NBA is able to showcase not only its top two teams but the game itself.  With viewers in over 200 countries (45 languages) worldwide expected to tune in, what better stage does NBA Commissioner David Stern have to highlight his league?

 It?s a shame, however, the league could not have had a more attractive Finals matchup.  In fact, could there have been a worse pairing than the Pistons and Spurs?  

 There?s no doubt that Detroit and San Antonio deserve to be in the position they?re in.  While the Pistons received the scare of their lives in the conference finals versus the undermanned Miami Heat, they are nevertheless the defending champs, and if it were not for an early season title hangover, they would likely have been the East?s top seed.  The Spurs, though they were the No.2 seed in the Western Conference, were la cr?me de la cr?me of the NBA all season long.

 Although they represent the class of the league, collectively, the Pistons and Spurs are a less than scintillating matchup.

 Detroit and San Antonio are the antithesis of the NBA?s new era of fun n? gun basketball.  Both teams rely on sound fundamentals and stingy defensive efforts.  Both foes are very methodical, relying on breaking down their opponents in the half court.  Want high-flying dunks?  Won?t see too many in this series.  Instead, you?ll have to settle for a myriad of Tony Parker tear-droppers, Richard Hamilton mid-range jumpers and Tim Duncan bank shots.  

 The most anticipated matchup in this series?  Well, unfortunately, you won?t even find it on the court but rather on the sidelines, where opposing bench bosses and good friends Larry Brown and Gregg Popovich will match wits.  

 Now we know Brown and Popovich are two of the best in the business and we know both manipulate their respective benches in strikingly contrasting ways (Brown, thanks to a lack of team depth, will play his starters upwards of 40 minutes each, while Popovich will substitute a multitude of players in and out of the lineup).  We also know that it was the mentor Brown who provided the pupil Popovich with his first NBA gig in 1988, when Popovich was hired as Brown?s assistant in San Antonio.  But does the spotlight really need to be on Brown more than it already has been in these playoffs?

 This leads us to the undeniable top storyline of these Finals -  Brown?s flirtation with the Cleveland Cavaliers and whether he is indeed in line to become that franchise?s next team president.

 Brown, the ?Runaway Bride of NBA head coaches,? as Miami Herald humor columnist Dave Barry so succinctly put it, has managed - though unintentionally - to once again be the center of attention for all the wrong reasons.   No matter how exciting these Finals may be ? and again, we?re not banking on that ? the media focus will be on Brown?s likely Motor City exodus.  It shouldn?t be that way, of course, but it will.

 But then again, maybe we?ll need the Brown sideshow in order to keep us entertained, because while the Pistons and Spurs represent the past two NBA champions, their styles just aren?t conducive to must-see TV.  Worthy finalists, indeed.  Entertaining foes?  Not quite.

 While Monday?s Game 7 showdown between the Pistons and Heat was the most watched NBA playoff game in cable television history with a 7.5 rating, playoff ratings as a whole are down, particularly on the network side, where ABC?s playoff coverage has drawn record low audiences.  Don?t expect that trend to change during the Finals ? which must have the suits at ABC sweating bullets.      

 Spurs in six, though I wonder if anyone outside of Detroit and San Antonio cares at this point.    

 Who knows?  Perhaps I?m wrong - nothing new there - and we?ll witness one of the greatest Finals in NBA history featuring two evenly matched heavyweights.  

 Then again, likely not.  

 Kostas.Bolos@realgm.com