Well here we are Heat Nation. The Boats have burned, and we have reached the stage we've all waited for: the NBA Finals. It's the Miami Heat's third and as many years, coming off of a dramatic seven game series against the hated Indiana Pacers, and the team is looking to win back-to-back titles for the first time in franchise history. The opponent: the San Antonio Spurs, looking for their fifth title in the Popovich, Duncan, Parker, and Ginobli era. The Spurs are old but good, and the Heat are the Heat, and here are some things you should look out for with regards to the match-up and the fan experience.
The Game
1. The Spurs are big, but not as big as the Pacers. Tim Duncan is probably the best power forward in the history of the game and a future Hall of Famer, while Spaniard Thiago Splitter anchors the center position in the front court. Compared to the likes of the Heat's front court, the Spurs' big men are physical and talented, but at least not as physical as Roy Hibbert and David West were. The Heat should honestly be able to handle Splitter, and even Duncan to some degree defensively, but look for the tall duo to give Miami some fits protecting the rim. Again, the notorious "verticality" BS should not come into play as it did for Roy Hibbert, but even with Lebron James, Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh, and Mario Chalmers driving to the hoop sans Hibbert, Duncan and Splitter are capable enough defenders to not get blown away.
2. Danny Green and Kawhi Leonard are the Spurs' key wing players not named Manu Ginobli, and the key for Miami will be to guard the 3-pt line well enough to force Leonard and Green to create their own shots. Leonard really only has a corner-3 that is consistent enough to worry about, but Green and the white toast ginger Matt Bonner can pop treys from anywhere on the arc, especially after catching a pass from Spurs point guard Tony Parker. Leonard will also have the task of defending Lebron James, which should be an interesting match-up. Leonard is a good defender with an ungodly wingspan, but Lebron James is Lebron James, and don't look for El Cobra Pinga to be slowed down by anybody.
3. The Spurs' Big Three vs. the Heat's Big Three. Duncan, Parker, and Ginobli have been together for a decade and have won four championships together. They are the modern day standard for a dynasty and a team core, something that the Heat look to emulate and even become more legendary. I, unlike the numb-nuts over at ESPN that try to make you think the Heat will lose every game, think the Heat are a deeper team than the Spurs on paper, and I also think that when it comes to tip-off most of the team's slumps will be history. So the true problems for Miami will come when their trio of superstars faces the Spurs', especially Tony Parker. Parker, no doubt, will be brilliant--he averaged 20 points on 52% shooting and 8 assists per game in the regular season with a high PER of 23.1, and has averaged 23 and 7 in these playoffs. Parker is a top 3 point guard in the league and is definitely its most underrated. The Spurs' offense is deadly in the Duncan-Parker pick-and-roll, and Parker is one of the best at making the decision whether to drive and score or drive and dish. I honestly believe Parker will be nearly uncontrollable in this series, even for the astute Heat defense. However, the Heat have some dude named Lebron James, who is better at nearly everything Parker does, unbelievably, so this is a wash, or even a Heat advantage. Manu Ginobli is old, and his minutes are controlled in the days that he can no longer contribute as a Hall of Fame wing player. Dwyane Wade is also old, although not nearly as old, and worn, but if game 7 was any indication, MV3 should treat this series as one that merits a decent amount of effort and energy. Look for that comparison to go the Heat's way as well. The big kicker will be the Spurs' most important cog in their trio, Tim Duncan. Chris Bosh has been in a horrible slump since the Bulls series, and even looked weak and afraid at most other points in the contest. Even though the slump is still raging, Bosh raged a different kind of rage, a dinosaur rage, in game 7, pulling down 8 rebounds and playing stymieing defense. Even if Bosh's shooting slump doesn't recover, slump recoveries from Ray Allen, Shane Battier, and Mike Miller should cover for Chris offensively, and the match-ups in this series suggest Bosh shouldn't face as big a problem on the boards and defensively as he did with the Pacers. However, Tim Duncan, as previously stated, is amazing, and has a leg up over the All-Star Bosh. Duncan has a wide-array of post moves, a great 18 footer, and plays incredible defense, and should play slightly better than any Heat player down low, even in his older age. But, in my opinion, if the Spurs hope to win this series, Duncan will have to play transcendentally, not just good or even great. Like, 25 and 11 transcendent. Look for this.
4. Greg Popovich vs. Erik Spoelstra. We all know Spo is a good coach, and maybe a great coach. But Popovich is one of the best of all time. If you win 4 championships with the most underrated roster in history, you're a damn good coach. I would like to think this is a wash in this series, however, as Spo is excellent at making in-game and in-series adjustments that tailor to the Heat's talents and struggles. Pop is also excellent at this, and his offensive and defensive schemes are sneaky, tactical, and brilliant. Look for both teams to be extremely well prepared and the series to play out like a weirdly intense game of chess.
The Fans
1. The Spurs aren't like the Bucks, Bulls, or Pacers. They don't really have any players that are cocky bastards, smoke a ton of pot and act like assholes, beat their wives, look like Beaker, are mean, or say "no homo" to the media. I mean, Tony Parker is kinda dumb or dumping Eva Longoria. Tim Duncan is...boring? Gibobli has a funny bald spot. Yeah, let's go with that.
2. We don't know much about Spurs fans because there's not many of them and they don't talk much. They are from Texas, though, so they have to be annoying. Plus, the ENTIRE NATION will be Spurs fans in this series, so we can hate them. Yeah, let's hate America on this one.
3. Greg Popovich is a legend, classy, and kinda cool. He's a jerk to the media sometimes, but that's kinda an admirable thing. He makes a scowl that makes you think he hates children. So there's that. Yeah, he looks really angry and mean. I hate him!
4. All in all not much wrong with this team. They're actually pretty enjoyable, like the Thunder minus Westbrook and Perkins. So there won't be too many personal attacks when you're yelling at your TV screens. So let's just stick to hating the media, twitter, and Reggie Miller on this one, OK?
My Prediction: Heat in 5. But only cause if this thing goes six I'll have to miss it thanks to a mission trip to Mexico. Ruh-roh.
Game 1 is TONIGHT at 9:00pm. LET'S GO HEAT
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