The Miami Heat have had a rather easy course up to now in the 2014 NBA Playoffs. They swept the Charlotte Bobcats in the first round, they easily rolled past the Brooklyn Nets in the second round and they even topped Paul George and the Indiana Pacers after facing much less resistance than a year before. The big question for the defending champs now is can they beat the San Antonio Spurs?
The answer to this question is yes and no.
NBA Finals Preview
Miami is not playing as well as it did last year, when they faced the almost identical Spurs team. Although LeBron James is playing better than he did last season, the wear and tear on the bodies of significant role players like Ray Allen and Shane Battier is obvious. On the contrary, San Antonio has reached a frenetic pace in its game and it seems to hold the slight edge in this matchup. Let’s examine where the Heat are better and where they are worse than the Spurs.
Advantages
LeBron James will need to play big for his team to win the championship. The good news for Heat fans is that up to now, he is playing even better than expected. King James is doing it all for Miami down the stretch and he will be a big factor in this series. James is the No.1 reason the Heat are capable of spiking the Spurs and he will make the difference in this matchup. No offense to Kawhi Leonard. He has tons of potential and he could be a superstar sooner than later. However, he is not LeBron.
Another big advantage for Miami in this series, one that sometimes gets underestimated is the contributions Dwyane Wade has been able to offer to his team as of lately. Despite his knee issues, Wade is playing like a true superstar and in fact, he is better than last season. Hopefully the Heat’s captain can continue to play big for his team during the NBA Finals.
Miami also possesses some role players, like Ray Allen, Norris Cole and Shane Battier, who can all make the difference with their game, if they find their pace. Allen, in particular, was the one to save the season for the Heat last year and despite his 38 years of age, he is still a factor off the bench for Miami.
Disadvantages
However, the Spurs’ bench is much deeper and more capable that Miami’s. Manu Ginobili, Boris Diaw, Marco Belinelli and Patty Mills just can’t be evenly compared to the Heat’s reserves.
The Heat are also one of the weakest teams in their big men line and Tim Duncan will have a chance to redeem himself after last year’s overwhelming loss. Duncan can really make the difference against Chris Bosh or against whoever the Heat might throw on him. In other words, the Heat have a big disadvantage in one of their two big men positions.
Erik Spoelstra is a great and widely underrated head coach. He has led the Heat to four consecutive NBA Finals appearances and he has also managed to keep this Miami Heat on the top ever since the Big Three came together. Nevertheless, Gregg Popovich is a level of a head coach better than Spo. In fact, coach Pop is one of the best head coaches to ever pass from the courts of the NBA and following last year’s loss, he will be as rabid for the championship as ever. Count one for the Spurs in this one.
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Thank you for reading. Ron Leyba is the lead editor of Fantasy Basketball Money Leagues, and a LastWordOnSports NBA Analyst. For more of his articles, follow his updates at Google+ or follow him on Twitter – @ronniedare. Support LWOS by following us on Twitter – @LastWordOnSport and “liking” our Facebook page.
