A cool mist glides through the main thoroughfare, the usually bustling storefronts are devoid of their typical excitement, the villagers have all battened down the hatches as an erie silence is currently the lone inhabitant of their fine town. An odd stranger strides into town perplexed by the lack of activity, only after rapping upon a shop door is he greeted by an old man who tells him there will be a great battle today and the streets are no longer safe. Titan against titan, this will be a battle that will determine legacies and futures, the very make up of the Association is at stake. Everything you thought you knew about basketball may just depend on this battle.
A little hyperbolic? Nah, it’s the Finals! This is what everyone plays for. A mere seven games separates the Spurs and the Heat from reaching the basketball promised land. Too old, too selfish, too one dimensional, too small, too slow there are a plethora of reasons why both teams should lose and win. The number of adjustments that will be made throughout this series is a digit so astronomically high that right now Stephen Hawking is toiling away, attempting to create an equation the likes of which Will Hunting has never seen. Miami was the best team in the NBA by far this season, however, it isn’t until you play a great team in a seven game series that you realize your true mettle. Much is made of the fact that the Heat have lost such a small number of games this season, how can anyone beat them four games out of seven? This is where Playoff adjustments come in, no game in this series will be similar to the one before, it will be the familiarity with one another, that makes each other inevitably beatable no matter the regular season record.
Before we sit down for a heaping helping of Finals previews, we must first briefly recap the Eastern Conference Finals (rest assured I will keep it quick, we can’t let the main course get cold). Any time a series goes seven it’s safe to say it was a good one, and it was, except for the last game. Indiana’s inexperience reared it’s ugly head at the most inopportune time, Miami’s defense befuddled them and cost them dearly. Refusing to drive the OPEN lanes and attack the basket was their fatal flaw. Miami trapped them behind the three point line where they were all too willing to remain and shoot contested deep jump shots. The Pacers ineffective offense lead to transition opportunities for Miami, which is where they are their most dangerous. Give the Heat credit, this was clearly their game plan and Indiana gave them no reason to deviate from it. Lebron came through in the clutch, as he has recently done, and we even had a Dwyane Wade sighting. When Frank Vogel left Paul George and Roy Hibbert on the bench for an extended rest during the second quarter he all but cost his team their chance at appearing in the Finals, this was the major turning point in game seven. Vogel made a couple of major coaching errors that very much harmed his team, I wonder about his success rate moving forward. It is unfortunate that the Pacers lacked a veteran presence to pull Paul George and Hibbert aside and alert them to the magnitude of their situation, they clearly where both desperately in need of a wake up call. This is it, this is a chance at a championship, this is the moment where stars (who want to be paid a lot of money) take over games, neither of them did.
The Pacers moving forward have a couple of issues, clearly they must resign David West, he is an integral part of their roster, losing him will set them back years. However, their primary concern should be acquiring a true play making point guard, they clearly need a pace setter to dictate the tempo of the game. The million dollar question though is what to do with Danny Granger? You trade him for that point guard I just mentioned, that’s what you do. With George’s emergence, Granger has become redundant. Their best bet is to hope some team isn’t too put off by Granger’s knee injury and to try and swing him for a point guard and some veteran bench presence. Paul George has a ton of potential and he is an NBA star, Superstar though? Not so fast. That’s reserved for guys like Lebron, Durant and Kobe. He could get there though and hopefully this series will serve to motivate him moving forward.
The Finals
It’s no surprise that Miami made it to this stage, they’ve been the favorite to win it all since the first tip of the season, they’ve most certainly been my pick. The Spurs on the other hand are somewhat of a surprise. Of course Westbrook’s absence cleared the path, insuring blue Playoff skies without any chance of Thunder. Then there were the Grizzlies, who became cuddly little teddy bears when pitted against San Antonio, thus leaving the Spurs with a very lengthy layoff before the Finals. Occasionally too much of a rest can be detrimental, the rust needs to be knocked off and frequently a game one loss is the end result. This will not be the case with the Spurs. The rest will have done them nothing but good and this is the Spurs, the chances of them not being prepared for a Finals series are nil. Which begs the question, who will win? Woah, woah, woah. You’re jumping way too far ahead. Let’s look at a few of the contributing factors here shall we?
Lebron
Much like every other team on the planet the Spurs will have no answer for him. When faced with a superstar the likes of James often times the best direction to take is to just let him go off. If he scores fifty, great, but you better believe the Spurs will be more focused on limiting Lebron’s teammates scoring opportunities.
Tony Parker
The Heat struggle majorly with a elite point guards and they are about to delve into a seven game series with perhaps the most elite of them all. Will Lebron defend Parker? Guaranteed at least once in this series. Make no mistake about it, Parker is going to humiliate Mario Chalmers, how long will Miami allow it to continue is the question.
Gregg Popovich
No coach is going to remove Lebron from a series, but the best coach in the NBA is probably going to be the one to give him the most headaches. Popovich will be a major asset to the Spurs, he will be more successful than all of his peers when it comes to game planning for the Heat. Do not believe the recent hype about Erik Spoelstra, the NBA Finals are commonly as much a coaching battle as anything else, unfortunately in this battle the Heat are unarmed.
Tim Duncan
Timmy will be a very different low post presence than the Heat recently faced in Roy Hibbert. Duncan is not the defensive stalwart that Hibbert is but he offers much more on the offensive end and is a terrific rebounder. Minutes will be a concern, Duncan is going to need his rest during stretches, but then again this is the Finals, do we see his playing time extended?
The Big 0.5 AKA Wade and Bosh
Inconsistency is a bit of an understatement when describing this pair’s play. Recently the only thing they have excelled at is placing a massive amount of pressure firmly on Lebron’s back. They’ll both have a game or two where they’ll be effective, but a strong Finals performance is not likely. Wade is simply an injury prone player at this stage of his career, what you are seeing from him is what he is now. He can turn it on for a game here or there but he can not be counted on night in and night out. Bosh is a perimeter shooter and nothing more now, he has settled into this role a little too willingly for my taste.
Bench
San Antonio has the edge here, they have size and frankly more talented players at their disposal. It is intriguing to imagine where the Heat would be had they not signed Chris Andersen, most likely not the Finals. Norris Cole is going to have to be an option off the bench for Miami to have any real support.
Crowd
Miami has the home court advantage, they also have maybe the worst crowd in the NBA (the Lakers are their only challenger). They arrive late, it’s a scene not a fan base and worst of all they have this thing at their games. San Antonio will feed off of their fans more than the Heat.
These are a few of the interesting aspects of this series, but I know what you want to know. Who’s gonna win?
Miami Heat in 7
This is going to be a great Finals and a Spurs victory is very possible. San Antonio has everything on paper to beat Miami, but Miami has Lebron. Gone are the days of Lebron shying away from the glow of Playoff lights. Lebron has single handedly won big games for the Heat before, there’s no reason for him to stop now. Perhaps Reggie Miller said it best, in the Eastern Conference finals when referring to Lebron James and his teammates he said, and I am paraphrasing, “You have to get your weapons going. But you can’t forget about the nuclear weapon you have on your bench.” A tad hyperbolic? Perhaps, but hey, it’s the Finals.
