It’s here girls. The Nba Finals are finally upon us and we really got a treat this year. The two best teams in the league are meeting each other and that’s all we really could’ve asked for.
We also have two teams that couldn’t be any more different from one another. On one hand we have a bandwagon (lead by David Vielmann) that completely filled up once Lebron decided to take his talents and gigantic headbands down to South Beach. Girls that don’t even watch basketball (David Vielmann) are Heat fans. On the other hand we have a completely empty bandwagon. People don’t like watching the Spurs. I’ve heard stories of people falling asleep and not waking up til two days later when they turn on a Spurs game. Tracy McGrady now has two sleepy eyes. The Heat are always in the spotlight and seek it out while the Spurs run from it.
There are so many different storylines to look at in this series. Tim Duncan is looking to win his 5th Championship and remain undefeated in finals appearances. You start to wonder whether he’s going to ride off into the sunset if he wins it this year much like David Robinson did. Greg Popovich said he’s leaving once Timmy leaves. It would be the end of an era and kinda bittersweet to see.
The last time Lebron met the Spurs in the finals it was the worst Championship series I’ve ever seen. It was really kind of embarrassing how much better the Spurs played that season. Lebron shot an atrocious 14% (8 for 56) on shots that were outside the paint. The Spurs were daring him to shoot and he couldn’t hit them. It’s a different Lebron now. This guy is easily the best player in the world now. You struggle to find weaknesses in his game. You now have to be in his face even on 3pt shots. Kawhi Leonard and the rest of the Spurs have their hands full .
Lebron will get his. The key for the Spurs is to slow everyone else down and don’t let guys like Almario Chalmers, Norris Cole and Birdman Birdman beat them. They actually matchup very well with all of these guys and should be able to keep them in check. The Spurs are a very disciplined team and don’t give up as many points in the paint and offensive rebounds as the Pacers allowed against the Heat.
Erik Spoelstra decided to rest Wade and Bosh for the first 6 games of the series against Indiana. It ended up being a brilliant coaching move but it won’t work against the Spurs. Miami will need the Wade and Bosh of past years to be able to win this series.
Speaking of brilliant coaching. Greg Popovich is the best coach in the league. He just got an extra 10 days to prepare for the Heat. Huge advantage for the Spurs.
We talked about the trouble San Antonio will have guarding Lebron. Miami should have similar problems covering Tony Parker and Tim Duncan. Roy Hibbert caused the Heat all kinds of trouble. Timmy should be even more difficult for the Heat. Mike Conley and Tony Allen were all defensive team selections. Marc Gasol was the defensive player of the year. They couldn’t do a thing to prevent Tony Parker from doing whatever he wanted. That doesn’t bode well for the Heat. It’ll be interesting to see whether Lebron tells Spo to decide to put Lebron on Tony. Miami might not want to put that kind of burden on Lebron though. He didn’t cover Paul George in the Pacers series.
There are 4 former Finals Mvps in this series in Tim Duncan, Lebron, Wade and Tony Parker. The first time that has ever happened.
It’ll also be interesting to see whether Tracy McGrady decides to put the team on his back and make the league his again. Only time can tell.
This is gonna be good.
Spurs in 6 bubba.
Sport Thoughts 