The rematch for the ages has arrived. The San Antonio Spurs and the Miami Heat will fight for the NBA championship for the second consecutive years. The stakes are higher than ever.
For San Antonio it’s a chance to redeem themselves after losing a title that should have been theirs, a chance to win a fifth title and stamp the legacy of Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili.
For Miami it’s a shot to get in the record books with Jordan’s Bulls, Shaq and Kobe’s Lakers, and Russell’s Celtics as the only teams to win three consecutive titles, and get Lebron James higher on the list of the NBAs greatest players of all time.
2013 NBA Championship
Game 6 of last years NBA finals was the greatest game I’ve ever witnessed. Ray Allen’s dagger three with 5.2 seconds left just about shot the heart out of the Spurs. After Allen’s dagger three the Spurs were devastated and could not respond in overtime of Game 6, or in Game 7 as the Miami Heat took the series 4-3.
Many blame Coach Gregg Popovich for not having Tim Duncan in for the last 28 seconds because they believe Duncan would of locked down the two rebounds that eventually led to James and Allen three pointers to give the Heat life. Danny Green, Ginobili, and Kwahi Leonard are other players who have been scape goats for their faults in the final minutes of Game 6. Lebron James had some very bad turnovers in the final seconds and I am a firm believer that Ray Allen saved Lebron’s legacy.
Roads to the Finals
All season it felt like if the Heat and Spurs didn’t meet again for the epic rematch that this season would be a disappointment. Going into this post-season the Miami Heat locked up the 2nd seed in the Eastern Conference and the Spurs locked the 1st seed in the Western Conference.
The Miami Heat had one of the easiest path to the finals in NBA history, they got a weak Bobcats team that they easily swept in four games. They faced an old and tired Brooklyn team in the second round and won in five games, and they beat a dysfunctional Indiana Pacers team in six games to advance to the Finals.
On the other hand the San Antonio Spurs clawed their way through a tough Western Conference by defeating the Mavericks 4-3 in a nail-biting first round series, then knocking off Portland fairly easy 4-1 and finally beating OKC 4-2 in a crazy series.
NBA Finals Preview
As Dwyane Wade said, “The best two will meet.”
Two very different styles of play, the Heat’s run and gun, “big play” offense vs the Spurs old school pass the ball system. Even though the two are very different they make for a great matchup.
The San Antonio Spurs have been on a year long mission to avenge what happened in last years finals as the Spurs were 28.5 seconds away from championship number five before the Miami Heat shattered that. As I said when San Antonio went against Oklahoma City, they are not getting in the way of the Spurs mission.
All in all we all know Lebron James and company will answer the bell and show up now it’s up to San Antonio to take what’s theirs. I’m picking the Spurs in 6, I believe it will be a hard dramatic series but in the end the well oiled machine will find a way to get it done. I believe it will be amongst the greatest NBA Finals in league history.
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