Just a few days ago, Dwyane Wade of the Miami Heat offered some interesting comments. Referring to the San Antonio Spurs, Wade said they were the other team like them (the Heat). You will not, cannot "put us (or them) away" because we will always believe.
Wade turned out to be dead wrong. In the NBA Finals, the Heat were not only put away, but blown away by the Spurs.
Who would have thunk it? Not yours truly. I thought the Heat would 3-peat as champions going into the series, especially after they "stole" homecourt advantage by winning Game 2 in San Antonio. But then something amazing, or maybe not, happened.
San Antonio promptly went into Miami and thumped them thoroughly in Games 3 and 4. I dare say few saw that coming. Wade himself admitted the same after he and the Heat found themselves down 3-1.
However, a look back at the series clearly shows the Spurs were the vastly superior team. Indeed, the Spurs won their four games by margins of 15, 19, 21, and 17 points, while the Heat's only victory came by 2. In other words, over five games, the Spurs outscored the Heat by 70 points. And that's not a close call. It's pure dominance.
Many hoop fans think the Spurs are "old" by NBA standards, and some of them are. Notably the Big 3 of Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili, and Tony Parker, who seem to have been around forever, though it's only slightly over a decade. Thing is, when one takes a closer look from top to bottom of the rosters, Miami's even older.
But top to bottom of the rosters made a world of difference in this series. The Spurs could routinely substitute fresh bodies into the game and continue playing within their system and at a very high level. Conversely, the Heat seemed to live and die by the output of their own Big 3 -- Lebron, D-Wade, and Chris Bosh. Their bench players couldn't remotely match the tempo, talent, and overall play of their Spurs' counterparts.
While Lebron James almost single-handedly attempted to carry the load for the Heat in Game 5, eventual Finals MVP Kawhi Leonard, amongst others, was dogging him all over the court. By the middle of the third quarter, James appeared gassed. And yes, the air conditioning was working just fine this time in the A.T. &T Center.
Good grief, Spurs super-star Tony Parker was 0-10 in the first half and the Spurs still led by 7 at the break? This, after Miami had jumped out to an early 16 point lead? Considering they would eventually lose by 17 points, that's a 33 point differential. A virtual beatdown for three and a half quarters, garbage time at the end notwithstanding.
But it's all about a few things. Superior ball and player movement. Depth. Staying within the system they've been taught -- as in -- passing up a good shot so an open teammate can have a better one. A team defense that seamlessly shifts, rotates to the ball, and generally makes life tough for the opposing players on offense. In a word -- stifling. And of course, the coaching. Heat head coach Eric Spoelstra didn't appear to have any answers for what Spurs mastermind Gregg Popovich was throwing at him.
There can be little doubt the best team won.
Yet looking at San Antonio and Miami in the future presents food for thought. Sure, the Spurs' "old guard" are likely getting close to retirement. And who knows? A couple of them might hang up their sneakers after this year and go out on top as champions. Could happen. Would they be championship contenders next year if their aging Big 3 all bowed out? Maybe not, considering the ascendance of other "youthful" teams, notably the LA Clippers, Okla City Thunder, and even Golden State. The western conference looks to be brutal for many years.
Miami offers up a totally different scenario. Remember when their Big 3 was originally mugging up the cameras as to how many titles they could win once they had teamed up? Not one, not two, not three, four, etc. And they all smugly laughed.
Well, they got two, and were just blown out in their quest for a third. And that gets interesting as well. Lebron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh will soon all become free agents. A few questions. Will they all want to re-sign with the Heat for another go-round at a title? Or might one or more of them be lured elsewhere? Could the Heat find a way to re-sign them all with enough decent help to be title contenders, given that pesky salary cap? Or after the embarrassment of being trashed in these NBA Finals, might ownership decide to blow up the team and start over, while saving a few bucks? Hey, 10 million here and 20 million there and, next thing ya know, we're talking about serious money, even for a billionaire owner.
Watching this Spurs team play during the Finals poses another interesting question. Could this current squad be, gasp, the best team of all time -- at least for one year? Forget Red Auerbach's Celtics team of old with Bill Russell and Co. This year's version of the Spurs would run them out of the building. The 80s version featuring Bird, McHale, Parrish, etc? Same. The "showtime" Lakers with Kareem, Magic, Michael, James, and all? Now that would have been a series to behold indeed. As would challenging the Bulls during their Jordan -- Pippen heyday.
But for now, all hail the San Antonio Spurs, 2014 champions of the world.
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