Legacy Watch: Previewing the Heat-Spurs 2013 NBA Finals

King: LeBron James won his fourth MVP award in five years this season. (Getty Images)

If Heat win:

It would be LeBron James’ second ring, and second in consecutive years. And it would be LeBron’s retribution for the embarrassing Finals sweep that the Spurs dished him when he was with the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2007. LeBron was young then and his team weaker.

Now, he’s in a prime of his career, having won four of the last five MVP awards and standing alone as the best player in the world. LeBron’s individual accolades already make him into a top-12 player in history; another ring would boost his resume into the top 10 and bring him closer to achieving his incredible potential.

If would be Dwyane Wade’s third ring. Wade has taken a vastly unique route to NBA superstardom. He won his first championship back in 2006 after taking over the Heat from under Shaq’s wings to be the Finals MVP. The team’s fortunes dipped over the next few years, but once LeBron joined him, Wade’s brilliance begun to be seen back in the most important games at the end of the season again. He played second-fiddle to LeBron in last year’s championship run, but hasn’t quite reached superstar status so far in this year’s playoffs. He’ll need a better performance in the Finals to get his hands around the NBA trophy a third time.

Chris Bosh would get his second championship too. The Big Three have been to the Finals all three years since their union. Bosh has accepted his role as the team’s third wheel, and has been rewarded with multiple championship opportunities.

Flash: Dwyane Wade has looked rusty all season, but came up trumps in Game 7 vs. the Pacers. (Getty Images)

Ray Allen would get his second ring as well, after getting with the Boston Celtics back in 2008. The sharp-shooter left the Celtics after an amazing five year run with one mission: to win another championship. His legacy is already that of perhaps the greatest three-point shooter in NBA history. Another ring will make us call him a ‘multiple champion’ as well.

Let’s not forget Udonis Haslem, the no-nonsense hard-working big man who has been with the Heat all 10 years of his career and could cap off his incredible service to the franchise with a third championship.

Most of Miami’s championship supporting cast returns from last year and could all be one ring richer, including Mario Chalmers, Shane Battier, Norris Cole, Mike Miller and Joel Anthony. A surprising new addition this season has been The Birdman, Chris Anderson, and he will make one of the most, um, colourful, NBA champions since Dennis Rodman.

Finals Preview

With all those intriguing legacies in mind, we are back here at the start. An unstoppable force. An immovable object.

Flashback: San Antonio Spurs Tim Duncan (21) with Larry O’Brien trophy and Tony Parker (9) with Finals MVP trophy after winning Game 4 and the NBA championship vs Cleveland Cavaliers in 2007. (Getty Images)

And I predict that they will battle it out for as long as they possibly can. Seven full games; maybe a couple of overtimes too.

What is interesting about this Heat and Spurs matchup is that we don’t have any real regular season barometers to compare it with. The two teams did play each other twice this year, but Popovich sat Duncan, Parker, Ginobili, and Green in the first game and Eric Spoelstra sat LeBron and Wade in the second. Teams play differently in the playoffs anyways, but these two teams will feel like they are facing each other for the first time ever in games that truly matter.

LeBron has faced them before. The Spurs shut down a 22-year-old LeBron in his first trip to the Finals back in 2007, which was also coincidently the Spurs’ last trip there. Since then, LeBron has become MVP four times, been to the Finals twice, and been a champion. The Spurs have spent the previous five years coming up short in the playoffs despite great regular season performances. And in 2013, they are face to face yet again.

The Spurs are well-rested, enjoying 10 days off after sweeping Memphis while Miami battled Indiana. Unlike other teams who could gather rust in this time, the Spurs would’ve used the rest to reenergize their old legs and plot their tactics in great detail on how to stop their opponent. They would’ve planned how to come out and steal a home game. They would’ve planned how to find points against Miami’s defense when their shots aren’t falling and how to tighten up their own defense against James and Wade when they desperately need a stop.

This is a team that knows how to close games and has the experience to react to almost any type of opponent. In Duncan and Tiago Splitter, they have the size to give Miami trouble. In Parker, they have a complete point guard who will run off screens using his incredible speed, who will finish around the rim or help move the ball expertly to always find the open man.

The Heat don’t want the rest, because it takes away their edge and momentum. For them, entering the Finals back at home after just blowing out the Pacers so dominantly is exactly the scenario they would be hoping for. Miami can switch their defence to completely shut down their opponents, but they will have to turn on that switch more consistently against the offensively efficient Spurs. On the 27-game winning streak, Miami looked unbeatable. That aura has escaped them since, especially after the stumbles against Indiana, but this is still the most talented team in the NBA featuring the NBA’s most talented player. When they get on their role, they become impossible to stop. LeBron will dominate every game, but if Wade and Bosh get into the act as well, and when the threes start falling from Allen, Chalmers, Cole, Battier and Miller, they could make even the strongest challenger look pedestrian.

And when the dust settles after seven close battles, the team with the edge will be the San Antonio Spurs. The Spurs’ can hold an advantage on the glass against the Heat, and unlike the Pacers, won’t turn the ball over as often. They will make the right plays at the right time. Although they don’t have the same level of individual defenders to contain Miami’s Big Three, their offense is far more fluid than anything Miami has faced in the post-season too. It will be the fifth championship for this storied franchise. Duncan will play a major role in manning the middle, and Parker will dominate from the point.

Final Prediction: Spurs win 4-3

Finals MVP: Tony Parker

At least half of you are going to disagree. Go ahead and make your own predictions here and let’s prepare for a memorable series ahead!