Like last year, this year’s NBA Finals won’t be too much of a stressful one for this bleacher bum as we admire both the Miami Heat and San Antonio Spurs and will be very happy with a championship for either side. This thus becomes a series to enjoy and we’d like to share some of the more important highlights, sidelights and x-factors worth looking out for. And this are mentioned at random and not any particular order.
Why do we want a championship for the Spurs? Or the Heat? For the Spurs, it’s about time that Tim Duncan be allowed to retire with another ring. There is no other NBA player who deserves it more. After all he has done not only for the Spurs but the NBA in general; Duncan is a role model who ought to be followed by all of today’s superstars. He is probably the only superstar player who doesn’t move around “feeling superstar.†Everything from the way he moves around on and off the court; the way he conducts interviews; the way he leads the Spurs and so much more. He’s a rare class act among his peers and the sad news is that none of today’s superstars is like him. So give him that ring! For the Heat, my top reason for a championship is Erik Spoelstra, the only NBA coach with Pinoy blood. It’s that simple. It will make all of us Pinoys proud, wouldn’t it?
Both the Spurs and Heat play beautiful, unselfish basketball, albeit in different ways as they take advantage of their players’ strengths. For the Spurs, Tony Parker shows why he’s today’s best point guard who creates all sorts of opportunities for his team. If he isn’t passing off nifty assists for his teammates, he makes lay-ups and jump shots look so easy. His execution of the pick-and-roll with Duncan, Boris Diaw or Tiaggo Splitter are all textbook stuff. Duncan’s post moves look so simple but so effective. He’s so tough to defend down low. And when that isn’t available, he can also make the medium range shot. Manu Ginobili glides, slides and wiggles his way to lay-ups as if he were 25 years old. But did you notice the receding hairline and banged up nose. He’s showing the younger kids that he’s as good as when he was deadly in his prime years. And then you have the rest of the cast. Danny Green showed us in Game 1 that he can explode for instant offense even if cold for three periods. Kawhi Leonard also had a triple of his own in the endgame of Game 1. Splitter ate up the interior defense with easy baskets in the paint, on 5-of-6 shooting. Then Marco Belinelli is another threat from three-point land, making the Spurs deep, some say deeper than the Heat. This depth had given Parker, Ginobili and Duncan the chance to rest during the season. Remember Parker missing the entire second half of Game 6 against Oklahoma? The irony of it all is that they’ve been doing all this without the spotlight trained on them. Wasn’t the media more excited about the Thunder, Clippers, Blazers and Warriors in the West? Well look who’s talking now.
Miami, to a certain extent, is just like San Antonio, minus the dominant inside presence, a factor that the Heat need to address if they are to win. The Heat’s reply is their own triple threat of Lebron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh. Ray Allen comes of the bench to serve as that fourth offensive weapon along with Norris Cole and Mario Chalmers. They’re also blessed with veterans Rashard Lewis and Shane Battier. Chris Andersen serves as the utility man, cleaning the boards and playing tough defense against the bigs of the Spurs. The Heat like to take the ball straight to the hoop on dribble drives of Wade and James as the shooters in Allen, Cole, Chalmers, Lewis and Battier wait in the corners or wings for that kick-out pass. Bosh also stays away from the paint to bring Duncan (his defender) outside his comfort zone on defense. They also won’t hesitate to rotate the ball a lot just to look for an open man. The key for Miami is finding the other offensive threats outside of the usual. Moreover, the championship experience from the past three years simply can’t be ignored. This will come in handy when the games are close and pressure-packed. While the Spurs may have a slight edge in terms of having more threats on offense, the Heat are just as tough on defense. They’ve played all year with a “small ball†line-up that doesn’t feature a legitimate big man. In fact, Lebron is a power forward on paper with Bosh as the starting center. But we all know how both don’t play like traditional big men.
At the end of the day, it’s all about playing beautiful basketball. I’m so glad I don’t have to make a forecast. I’m just going to kick back, relax and enjoy the show.
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Time-out: Happy birthday to Dan Stephen Palami! Thanks for bringing Philippine football back to where it belongs. >>> You can reach me at bleachertalk@yahoo.com.