For the third time in his career, LeBron James will face Tim Duncan and the San Antonio Spurs in the NBA Finals. The two teams will square up for Game 1 Thursday in San Antonio. LeBron James and the Miami Heat are looking to join elite company by becoming the 5th team in NBA history to win 3 titles in a row. Tim Duncan and the San Antonio Spurs are looking to avenge last year’s heartbreaking loss where they were just one rebound away from being crowned NBA champs.
During San Antonio’s media day the Spurs were all business. Even though Tim Duncan says they don’t have a chip on their shoulder going into this series, that is exactly how they carried themselves. It’s obvious that they still haven’t gotten the sour taste out of their mouth from last year. The Heat, though focused, seemed much more relaxed and loose. Dwayne Wade was cracking jokes during warmups and LeBron was shooting half-court shots. They looked like a team that was excited to be there and ready to compete.
Both teams claimed they’re not concerned with their legacies but I find that hard to believe. LeBron is constantly being compared to Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant. Him winning his 3rd title in a row would only solidify that argument. On the other hand, Tim Duncan is widely considered the greatest power forwards of all time. Beating the Heat would add him to list of active players with the most NBA titles, tied with Derek Fisher and Kobe Bryant.
Prediction
The Spurs are so desperate to get last year’s finals out of their minds and the only way to do that is to win the series. This team is too good to allow what happened last year to happen again. They are more focused than ever and that is going to help them beat the Heat in 7.