Los Angeles Lakers 2013 NBA Draft Recap:

Round 2 Pick 48: Ryan Kelly, Forward, Duke

My thoughts: This is like the 5th year the Lakers don't pick until the second round of the NBA draft. If you look at the long list since 2008, Joe Crawford, Chinemelu Elonu, Devin Ebanks, Derrick Caracter, Darius Morris, Andrew Goudelock, Ater Majok, Robert Sacre, and now Ryan Kelly is the next recent late 2nd round pick for the Lakers. Most of the 2nd round picks we drafted are either waived after their rookie season, don't get any playing time, sent to the D-League, or never played in the NBA at all. This is quite possibly a 2nd round draft pick I'm intrigued about. Looking at his tape, his game reminds me a lot of Dirk Nowitzki, same gestures and expressions as him, which is a lot more eerie, but we all know with Duke players, most of them are good in their collegiate days, but once they make it to the NBA, they start sucking.  Ryan Kelly, though I'm intrigued with this pick and hope he gets a shot and develops as a talented player, not gonna talk all-star caliber, but a key role player. Anyway welcome to LA, Ryan Kelly, R. Kelly, Mini-Dirk.

Ryan Kelly Tape:

Heat Clinch Back to Back Titles in Decisive Game 7

Final Score: NBA Finals Game 7 @ MIA SA 88 MIA 95 MIA Wins NBA Championship 4-3

The 2012-13 NBA season has come to an end and it ended with the Miami Heat becoming back-to-back NBA champions and for the Spurs, a bitter end as they are handed their first franchise loss in Finals history.

The San Antonio Spurs, classy organization, classy fans, and as a Laker fan, there was no team in the West I respected more than the San Antonio Spurs and it was an honor to clash with them 5 times in the last decade to go to the NBA Finals. Tim Duncan, if this were his last season, he went out guns blazing. Duncan was a positive for the Spurs, 24 points, 12 rebounds on 8-18 shooting, perfect from the free throw line. I mean it's a bitter end to his legacy, considering he is no doubt one of the greatest power forwards to ever play the game and it's crushing to end on a bitter note on the NBA's biggest stage at the twilight of his career, considering he was perfect up until this Finals. Kawhi Leonard, this guy is going to be the Spurs' building block of the future once Duncan, Parker, and Ginobili retire. Leonard had 19 points and 16 rebounds, he's a star in the making and he should take these Finals as a learning experience to lead this team back to it at some point in the future. Manu Ginobili, in the limbo of the positive/negative, he did have a bounce back game with 18 points on 6-12 shooting, but he did commit key turnovers that helped the Heat en route to their 3rd NBA championship. Tony Parker, a negative, non-factor this game, the Heat did an amazing job defensively clamping him down with their long defenders. Parker only scored 10 points on a whopping 3-12 shooting, it's apparently obvious that hamstring caught up to him. Danny Green, I said if the Spurs were to win, he should get Finals MVP honors; I ate crow the last two games, he stunk even more in game 7 scoring only 5 points on 1-12 shooting.

For the Miami Heat, congrats to them and to Finals MVP, LeBron James. LeBron had a spectacular game 7, a performance that further solidifies his legacy, I mean he's already light years behind Kobe (don't flame me my fellow Laker brethren, I was a Laker fan first, then a Kobe fan) since last year and this game 7 performance certainly puts him in the conversation among the all-time greats, but putting him in the conversation with Jordan is pure ludicrous, but with the all-time greats he's up there. Virtuoso game 7 performance by LeBron on the grandest stage, finishing with 37 points, 12 rebounds, 12-23 shooting and was hitting from beyond the arc. Full credit to LeBron for bringing his A game when we all know the pressure was going to be on him. Dwyane Wade another positive for the Heat, bad knee at all, he was just hitting his shots at will. Wade had 23 points and 10 rebounds on 11-21 shooting, just a brilliant performance from him. Shane Battier, the X-factor in this game off the bench. Battier started 5-5 from 3 point land and finished with 18 points on 6-8 shooting from beyond the arc, his shots were the big shots Miami needed in order to clinch this title. Mario Chalmers in a limbo between the positive/negative, didn't have a good shooting night, but his 14 points were key and that deep three he made in the final seconds of the third quarter. Negatives, Chris Bosh and Ray Allen, they went from heroes in game 6 to goats in game 7. The Boshtrich, Boshasaurus Rex, laid an egg this game and was in foul trouble, Duncan obviously did a good taking it to him physically in the paint and the Spurs who penetrated in the likes of Parker because obviously Bosh is not a true rim protector. Ray Allen, another goose egg after being so clutch in game 6. Of course the negatives are going to be negated considering the Heat won the championship.

Anyway like I said, bitter end for the Spurs, but as always, they're professionals and very classy organization. For the Miami Heat, for the city of Miami, congrats on your 3rd NBA title. And for all of you, thanks for following my coverage of the 2013 NBA Finals, it was an amazing series if you're a basketball purist and love the game like it is. Until then, I will take a short break, recap the Lakers' 2013 NBA Draft Picks and once July hits, I'm going to be posting daily off-season transactions the Lakers made as the 2013 NBA off season now rolls on.

Congrats Miami Heat 2013 NBA Champions!

Photo Courtesy of: Yahoo! Sports, Getty Images, Associated Press

Heat Force Game 7 in Crazy Overtime Thriller

Final Score: NBA Finals Game 6 @ MIA SA 100 MIA 103 (OT)

What a game 6. So many times the Spurs were inches away from clinching their 5th NBA title, but choked it away from a furious Miami Heat rally.

The San Antonio Spurs, so close, so close. This game is definitely going to be an ouch game and possibly a blow to their morale heading into game 7. Tim Duncan, out of all the players from the Spurs, I think he was one who wanted it more. Duncan finished 30 points and 17 rebounds, he was like the Duncan of old this game and if the Spurs were to win it, he could've made a strong case for Finals MVP. Kawhi Leonard and Tony Parker are in a limbo in the positive/negative range. Leonard had a strong game all-around, scoring 22 points and 11 rebounds, but he couldn't help seal the game, missed a critical free throw and had like one or two chances to grab the game winning defensive rebound. Tony Parker was magical the final minute of the 4th quarter, scoring a game tying 3 and a layup to give Spurs the lead, but finished on a horrid 6-23 shooting with 19 points and 8 assists. Negatives, obviously I mentioned the free throws with Kawhi Leonard and failing to make the defensive stands and boxing out in final minutes. Another negative, Danny Green. He was playing so well this whole series, but he finished on a whopping 1-7, obviously the Heat did a great job defensively freezing him out of the 3 point line. Ginobili, another negative this game, magical in game 5, but what the hell happened I don't even know. Final negative for the Spurs, Coach Pop's adjustments in the final seconds, should've kept Tim Duncan in the final seconds, Bosh heavily out-rebounded Boris Diaw and Leonard to give Allen the game tying 3. Bad game management by Pop and giving the game away on free throws, a critical mistake that cost the Spurs ultimately.

To the Miami Heat, they got lucky, I'm not saying that because I hate the Heat, although I projected them to win in 6, but they escaped this one big time. The true positive of the Heat, Mario Chalmers, I thought Chalmers showed up big this game scoring 20 points on 7-10 shooting, obviously the X-factor for the Heat coming into this game. LeBron James, I'd barely consider him a positive. LeBron's a positive, but barely. He recorded a triple-double scoring 32 points, 10 rebounds, and 11 assists. During the game, he was shooting poorly like for the the first half he was 3-9 and was 3-13 before his 4th quarter eruption. Don't get me wrong, he showed up the most where it counted, but during the game it looked like he didn't want it. Ray Allen, is another barely positive, even though he scored only 9 points, but those 9 points were big buckets and you can't deny Ray Ray's clutch ability. Chris Bosh is in a limbo of the positive/negative, didn't shoot well, didn't get any touches, but he was crashing the board offensively and defensively and was an integral part in the game winning defensive stand and the offensive board that gave Ray the go ahead 3 with like 5.2 seconds left in the 4th. Negatives, foul trouble. Allen, Wade, Miller, and Andersen were in deep danger of fouling out, obviously if you guys saw the game Andersen and Miller were picking up quick fouls because they were over-aggressive on trapping Duncan in the paint and that was a factor as to why the Heat won in a close one.

Game 7, do or die for both teams. Will the Spurs recover from this heartbreaking defeat? Will the Heat repeat. Remember the last team to win the next two games on their home floor in the finals while being down 3-2 was yours truly, the Lakers in 2010. Will the Heat be the next to do it?

Next Game: NBA Finals Game 7 @ MIA (06/20/13)

Ginobili Resurrected in Game 5 to Help Spurs Over Heat

Final Score: NBA Finals Game 5 @ SA MIA 104 SA 114

A pivotal game 5 in the books and the Spurs come out on top to take a 3-2 lead over the Miami Heat as they are now one game away from clinching their 5th NBA title.

Some positives for the Miami Heat, Dwyane Wade has been the Heat's best player so far in this finals, sorry LeBron fans. The '06 Finals MVP scored 25 points, 4 rebounds, 10 assists on 10-22 shooting, relentlessly attacking to the basket to keep his team afloat. I keep saying this, if the Heat somehow win the next two games in Miami, he should be Finals MVP, if it's LeBron, it's all for the media hype. Another positive Ray Allen, 21 points, two 4 point plays this game, truly Ray Ray found the shooting touch in this series, game 3 was his only game where he was held into single digits and he's given the Heat a bench player that can score in double figures. LeBron James, I wouldn't put him in the positive nor put in the negative, but he's in a limbo in between those two. After putting up a spectacular performance in game 4, he didn't have a good shooting night just 8-22 from shooting, but finished with 25 points, 6 rebounds, and 8 assists. Negative, point guard play. I'm not sure what Spoelstra is trying to do, but from glimpses I think he's trying to put longer, bigger defenders on Tony Parker to give him a hard time, particularly he was putting LeBron on Parker most of the game. Chalmers, just 7 points, awful shooting and Norris Cole didn't even see significant playing time this whole game, just attempting one shot. Another negative, finishing in the rim, I mean you talk about a team that is so athletic, a team that is so good in the fast break, can't even buy a bucket in transition. Just a horrible in transition game for the Heat, but it was just better transition D from the Heat.

For the San Antonio Spurs, they took a page out of the Miami Heat playbook, pushing the tempo and attacking the rim. Positive, the Spurs' starting 5, especially Manu Ginobili. BatManu, Obi-Wan Ginobili, whatever you Spurs fans nickname him, he has found the range and the youth this game. I know I harshly criticize his play this series, but you can't deny his infinite competitive spirit. Manu finished with 24 points, 10 assists on 8-14 shooting in his first start since forever. If Manu puts up these kinds of numbers next game, along with Spur's great team play, there's no chance for the Heat. Tony Parker, is this guy faking his hamstring injury? Parker scored 26 points on 10-14 shooting, he was attacking the basket all game long, finding the open teammate, and pushing the tempo to clamp down Miami's D. Danny Green, hands down the Spurs' Finals MVP, the way he's been playing so far. 24 points, 6-10 from downtown ultimately breaking Ray Allen's record for most 3's this game, the guy has been unbelievable. Tim Duncan tallied 17 points and 12 rebounds and Kawhi Leonard racked up 16 points. The starting 5 of the Spurs just shooting the ball well. A negative, bench play. First time in a long time the Spurs' bench played sub-par and the bench is going to be a critical X-factor heading into game 6.

Game 6, do or die for the Heat. For the Spurs, the sky is the limit to fulfill their destiny of a 5th NBA championship.

Next Game: NBA Finals Game 6 @ MIA (06/18/13)

Heat Answer the Call in Game 4

Final Score: NBA Finals Game 4 @ SA MIA 109 SA 93 Tied 2-2

The Heat respond back in a big way after being blown out in game 3 by 36 points where the Spurs set an NBA record for most 3's as they deliver a stunning performance in San Antonio.

For the San Antonio Spurs, Tony Parker, bad hamstring at all was the team's top performer with 15 points and 9 assists. He did the best he could with that hamstring, I mean he was not human for the most part in the game playing with strained hamstring like that. Tim Duncan another positive with 20 points on 6-10 shooting. The Spurs were feeding the ball inside to Tim all game to get it going, most of his buckets and free throw shooting kept the Spurs afloat in the game before the Heat manage to pull away. Kawhi Leonard, great all-around game with 12 points shooting 50% from the field to go with 7 boards. Boris Diaw was a game surprise, he didn't play too much in the first three games but was a key component in the Spurs' runs even though he only scored 9 points, I mean the Spurs needed another key role player to bring a spark besides Gary Neal. The negative of the Spurs, Tiago Splitter and Manu Ginobili. Watching Splitter this game reminded me so much of seeing Pau Gasol in the 08 Finals, although he did make crucial free throws to keep the Spurs hanging. Aside from that, Splitter is just being abused inside throughout this finals, had a couple easy buckets, but didn't finish strong enough for the Heat to recover and block most of his shots, I mean Splitter has been soft throughout this whole finals series. Next negative, Ginobili, I've already talked about how awful Ginobili's been so far in the finals, so it's no surprise that he's struggling.

Miami Heat, all I can say was where was this big 3 the whole finals? When the big 3 are in major double figures, the Heat are gonna pull away. LeBron James, the real LeBron James showed up here performing up to his usual stats average scoring 33 points, 11 rebounds on 15-25 shooting. I told you guys in my keys, if LeBron scores 20+, the Heat make their opponents tap out and what more with the support of Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh? Dwyane Wade bad knee at all had a magnificent performance, I thought he should've been the Heat's top performer with 32 points, 6 rebounds, 6 steals, he was doing it all on both ends of the floor when LeBron couldn't get it going until some time later in the game. I'll say this, if the Heat win this series, Dwyane Wade should be Finals MVP, I don't care what LeBron fans say because Wade has been answering the call and carrying this team on the NBA's grandest stage when LeBron couldn't, if LeBron wins those honors, obviously something's wrong, unless he proves it to me in games 5 and 6 by performing like this on a consistent basis from here on out. Chris Bosh had 20 points and 13 rebounds, he was also hustling and grinding, out-rebounding Duncan and Splitter combined. There's not a lot negatives surrounding this Heat team, but I think Mike Miller is a negative, inserted into the starting lineup, wasn't his usual shooting self finishing with a big doughnut and I didn't like how Coach Spo took out his starters when the Spurs were inserting their janitor players, I thought it was a means for LeBron to stat pad, make him look good and run up the score a little.

The Spurs will no longer celebrate a potential championship in San Antonio as they have to do it back in Miami. The Heat are 6-0 in push back games and the Spurs have never trailed a Finals series. Look for the Heat to keep this intensity up as they try to make the Spurs trail in the Finals for the first time.

Next Game: NBA Finals Game 5 @ SA (06/16/13)

Eye for an Eye: Spurs Punch Back at Heat

Final Score: NBA Finals Game 3 @ SA MIA 77 SA 113 SA leads series 2-1

Game 3 in the books and as the Heat blew out the Spurs in game 2, the Spurs returned the favor in game 3 raining twice as much 3's as the Heat did in game 2. As usual I'll start with the losing team, some of the positives and the negatives, followed by another paragraph on the winning team.

The Miami Heat, how did they get caught up on the other side of the stick? The guys, with the exception of Mike Miller, who helped blow the gate open in game 2, all of a sudden got cold. To be honest, Mike Miller is the only positive for the Heat this game, scoring 15 points off the bench, perfect from beyond the arc 5-5. I thought his game in the first half kept the Heat hanging around for the most part and he's been playing better in the finals than the whole playoffs where obviously Shane Battier got the nod, but Battier's has been shut out for the finals and they activate a great sharpshooter like Miller. Negatives, the whole team. You know it's awful when Chris Bosh is your top performer and he had a bad shooting night with 12 points, 10 rebounds, but on 4-10 shooting. What happen Chalmers? What happen Ray Ray? What happen Birdman? Took the night off this whole game. In fact besides Chalmers, Haslem is another starter that finished with a big doughnut in the points category. LeBron James, admit it Heat fans, LeBron fans, James has been terrible the last three finals games and this guy is supposed to be the best player in the game today. 15 points, 11 rebounds on 7-21 shooting from James, even Kobe is face palming from that horrid performance in the finals. If the Heat want to have a chance, LeBron needs to have a 20+ point performance while retaining his usual triple-double stats, but this guy seems like he's afraid of doing that. I don't understand, you win Finals MVP honors last year, but you're stinking it up in the last 3 games of this years' NBA Finals. Give me a break.

Onto the San Antonio Spurs, the color in this game ain't teal green, but it's Neal Green this game. Gary Neal and Danny Green big positives this game for the Spurs. These two are not afraid of the moment in this finals. You talk about guy a who was a 2nd round pick and a guy who was an undrafted free agent, didn't get fair shots from teams, manage to find their confidence playing for the Spurs because Pop is a good as f*ck coach, it's hard to believe they're playing at such a high level on the NBA's grandest stage. Danny Green 27 points, 7-9 shooting from behind the arc, Gary Neal off the bench, scoring 24 points on 6-10 shooting from behind the arc, including a 3 at the buzzer to give the Spurs a 44-50 edge at halftime. If they keep showing up like this, the Spurs are gonna take it if either Neal or Green keep performing like this on a consistent basis throughout this finals. Kawhi Leonard, finally a great all-around game from him this finals scoring 14 points, 12 rebounds on 6-10 shooting including 2-3 from behind the arc. I'll give credit, he has been pestering LeBron this finals, the kid has been holding off on his own against "the best player in the game today" according to the media. Probably the negative from the Spurs is Tony Parker, as I went back to the game, I heard about he went to the locker on a hamstring issue. For now it's a non-issue, but if it is, it's a devastating blow to the Spurs as Parker is the biggest key to Spurs' victory in my preview.

Finals game 4 what can we expect? Game 1 was close game, down to the wire, games 2 and 3 were blowouts, what next a shootout? We'll see what game 4 can bring to the table.

Next Game: NBA Finals Game 4 @ SA (06/13/13)

Miami Turns Up The Heat in Game 2

Final Score: NBA Finals Game 2 @ MIA SA 84 MIA 103 Tied 1-1

After game 1, critics ought to be asking "will the real Miami Heat please stand up in game 2?" The Heat did exactly that. The Spurs kept hanging and hanging, but like I said, the Heat, defensively turned it up late in the 3rd and early in the 4th just clamping down the San Antonio defense and basically it kept raining 3s that the Spurs had to empty their bench quick because of the game being out of their reach.

My analysis of game 1 was pretty long for some of you guys to read, but since this game was a blowout, there's probably not too much to talk about.

As usual I start off with the losing team and how they did. Let's start off with the positive, Danny Green was basically the only Spurs player that came to play in game 2. He started off real hot not to mention the fact that he was perfect from the field, especially beyond the arc to give San Antonio an early edge in the game. Biggest negative, the Big 3 of the Spurs. The Heat defense just shut down Duncan, Parker, and Ginobili even though Parker was the only one out of the three in double figures, he had an awful shooting night, 5-14 from the field and had 5 turnovers this game in contrast to his game 1 performance where he was off the turnover category. Duncan was absolutely abused this game. Credit to the Heat defense, they took it to hands down one of the greatest power forwards to play the game as they limited him to just 9 points. Ginobili has been sloppy as of late, the guy can't find his stride off the bench. I'm sure it's frustrating for Spurs fans to see him struggle this bad, especially the way he is performing in the finals thus far.

Ok now onto the Miami Heat. They followed my keys, using that raw speed and athleticism, get other players to score other than LeBron, and use the fast break to their advantage, which they did last game. It took the Heat almost 3 and a half quarters to finally show the Spurs who they really are and they started to wipe the floor with them. About time Spoelstra realized Chris Bosh is not fit to be a 3 points specialist, but a stretch forward inside the paint and he put up a better performance with 12 points and 10 rebounds. Mario Chalmers, he is not a consistent go to guy for Miami, but I thought he put up his best performance today with 19 points and had a better shooting night. Miami's bench outscored the Spurs' bench including the garbage minutes guys 40-32, I thought the Heat bench stepped it up when they were needed the most. LeBron James, obviously he was getting some criticism for being passive in game 1, he was struggling to find his shot this game, starting off 3-13 before finishing with 7-17. Luckily the rest of the sporting cast showed up, but at some point, he's gotta score 20+ points while still tacking his triple-double stats, and when he does that while getting his team mates involved, Miami is literally unstoppable.

The scene shifts to San Antonio, obviously Miami punched them in the mouth. Coach Pop emptied his bench early to give his starters a rest. Do the Spurs got the Heat where they want them to be? Obviously it's an assumption because the Spurs were thinking games 3-5 after this blowout and you know the Heat will come ready to take a 2-1 lead. Series is far from over and there's a lot of burning questions heading into game 3.

Next Game: NBA Finals Game 3 @ SA (06/11/13)

Spurs Outmuscle Heat in Game 1

Final Score: NBA Finals Game 1 @ MIA SA 92 MIA 88 SA leads series 1-0

Alright so welcome to my first post with a new recap style I will be doing. I will be breaking down most of the positives, negatives if necessary about the overall game and the two teams.

So let's start it off. The San Antonio Spurs, fresh off the Memphis Grizzlies sweep, steal game 1 in Miami against the Heat, who are just coming from a gritty 7 game series against the Indiana Pacers. As I said in my preview that game 1 will be the decider early and that either the Spurs exploit fatigue within the Heat or the Heat exploit rust within the Spurs. In my opinion, I think both played a key factor in this game, it was a close game overall, impartially officiated, just two great teams playing it out.

Starting with the Heat, they managed to hold onto the lead, but the Spurs defense late turned it up a notch. They were running at their pace most of the game because one quarter, the Heat had 9 fast breaks in contrast to the Spurs' whopping 0 fast breaks. I thought they exposed the Spurs' transition D well with the dynamic speed of the Wade-James duo. LeBron James had his triple-double, finishing the game with 18 points, 18 rebounds, and 10 assists, on 7-16 shooting, played a solid all-around game, I thought Dwyane Wade played a good, but not great game doing the usual role of scoring and penetrating finishing with 17 points on 7-15 shooting. Surprisingly, Ray Allen came to play off the bench today, I mean all season ever since he joined the Heat, he didn't have his usual shooting form on sync. We saw the Ray Allen of old this game scoring 13 points on 3-4 shooting all beyond the arc, his specialty. Overall, outside of Wade, James, and Allen, I thought the overall team gave a huge letdown. A lot of the other players like Udonis Haslem, Shane Battier, Norris Cole, Chris Andersen, didn't get too many touches, it was a huge disappointment considering they were playing so well as key role players during the playoffs. Chris Bosh, another negative for the team, even though he scored 13 points, he was spending more time on the outside more than getting his shot inside. Here's his stat on the three point line, 0-4. My initial reaction is like WTF are you using Bosh like that Spoelstra? Sure he can make some of his threes, but give him some touches inside! He's not a pure stretch forward/center, he needs his shot outside of the paint and with space, that's his true game. Overall the Heat's D came to play, the O, not so much.

Now talking about the Spurs, I thought the Spurs came in and played with a lot of heart, after all the trio of Parker, Ginobili, and Duncan are still elite because they've been playing together for a long time, while on the opposite end, you've got a trio in Wade, James, and Bosh who are just in their 3rd year of playing together. The Spurs handled the Heat's way of playing to their tempo well, despite all the fast breaks the Heat were getting, the Spurs were still playing at their own pace and staying patient. Tony Parker was going to be the Spurs' key to beating the Heat because he can score, penetrate, and facilitate. Parker played a flawless game: 21 points, 6 assists, 9-18 shooting from the field and 0 turnovers. I thought Parker handled the Heat's swarming defense well this game because of how much the Heat like to trap. He hit a clutch shot as the shot clock, so close to being a shot clock violation had he not get it off on time, that proved to be the game sealer and the Heat were all over him. Tim Duncan showed why he is the best power forward in the game today, took the Chris' (Bosh and Andersen) to school scoring 20 points, 14 rebounds, and 3 blocks to surpass Robert Parrish in playoff block shots all-time. Duncan at his age, still can get it done if Pop can keep him fresh. Biggest surprise for me was Danny Green. I mean between the new blood the Spurs have in the finals, Green showed up big time, 12 points, he didn't shoot the ball well, but made shots beyond the arc that mattered the most to keep the Spurs hanging around. Some of the negatives, Manu Ginobili is just not getting going, 13 points, but a whopping 4-11 shooting and Kawhi Leonard, even though in my opinion he did a good job guarding LeBron, managed only 10 points, and was bricking 3s that would've given the Spurs either a tie or the lead. Overall the Spurs negated their missed opportunities by adjusting their defense, limiting turnovers to transition baskets for the Heat.

Obviously it's just the first game, Pop absolutely outcoached Spo this game making the right adjustments at the right time. Spo has adjustments he needs to work on in order for the Heat to play their style of tempo, but again Pop showing that finals coaching experience and that lead to the Spurs' game 1 victory tonight.

Next Game: NBA Finals Game 2 @ MIA (06/09/13)

2013 NBA Finals Preview: San Antonio Spurs vs. Miami Heat

Alright so this is a new thing I'm gonna do and will announce this further as the NFL preseason starts. If you look in my past posts, I posted the results of the Super Bowl and I'm going to reiterate this saying regardless if my Raiders and Lakers are or are not competing in the postseason or for the championship, I will still cover results of the Super Bowl/NBA Finals starting this year.

So the 2013 NBA Finals matchup is set, San Antonio and Miami. A team that has a load of experience in the finals vs. a team that is building experience in the finals. It's a pretty interesting storyline between these two teams because LeBron James, first finals appearance in 2007 during his tenure with the Cleveland Cavaliers faced off against the Spurs, but got swept and looking to get his second ring against the team that made his first finals appearance a humiliating one. Tim Duncan, arguably one of the greatest power forwards to ever play the game looking for his fifth ring and trying to stay perfect on pace to chase Michael Jordan with the best undefeated record in the NBA Finals, although I doubt he'll make it to a sixth appearance. An interesting trivia, Tim Duncan won his first ring in the 1999 lockout season, LeBron James won his first in 2012 lockout season. So most of the pressure is on LeBron to win a championship in a full season considering Duncan has proven it and won 3 in 03, 05, and 07 in a full 82 game season.

So I'll start off with the San Antonio Spurs. This team is loaded with under the radar talent outside of Duncan, Parker, and Ginobili and Gregg Popovich is one of the greatest coach still active. The four of them have kept this San Antonio team consistent and competitive, hence why the Spurs have like 13-14 consecutive playoff appearances and they haven't missed the playoffs since 1998. A lot of the media have written this team off as old and done, but beginning in 2011 they have proven their critics wrong and looking to put the foot in their mouths in this years finals. San Antonio faced off against us, obviously in our side, the Lakers side we had an army of injuries, Spurs took advantage of that and swept us in the first round, but no excuses there. 2nd round, the Warriors, probably the Spurs' only challenge this whole playoffs, they took care of them in 6. Last but not least the Grizzlies in the conference finals, taking advantage of a Thunder team without Westbrook, swept them. Although it sounds as if the Spurs had an easy route because most of the top stars in the West were missing, there's no excuses, credit where it is due, the Spurs obviously want the West crown more and one more trip to the Finals.

So next up is the Miami Heat. Absolutely irrelevant before 2010 and when LeBron joined in his ESPN special, they are the source of all media hype and made 3 straight trips to the NBA Finals. Let me be out on the limb, I don't like the Heat, I think most of their fans or even if you call them "fans" are annoying and sick in the head at times. Before people label me as hypocrites considering most of the fanbase of my Lakers are bandwagons let me tell you this, I don't respect or have sympathy for bandwagoners among our fanbase. Anyway LeBron's record in the Finals since joining the Heat, 1-2 and all time, 1-3. As I said before all the pressure will go on him to win a title in a full 82 game season. Sure they had their 27 game win streak in the regular season, but they face a couple of tests in the postseason that exposes most of their flaws. They had it their way with the Bucks, but came across two bulwarks in the same central division in the Bulls and Pacers, especially the Pacers, who pushed them physically and mentally in 7 games of the Eastern Conference Finals.

How the Spurs match up:

In every finals they've been in, the Spurs had home court, this finals is different considering they don't have that advantage. They're going to need Tony Parker to facilitate the offense and Tim Duncan to be at his very best considering his age. The usual core with Ginobili, Parker, and Duncan. And they're going to need their best from the bench. This deep team without the 3 pushed the Heat to the test in the regular season and the Heat sweep them with a small margin of victory. Coach Pop has gotta reinstate his magical finals coaching to lead this team and the city of San Antonio to its 5th Larry O'Brien trophy. So it comes to matter of can the Spurs use their experience to take down the rising Miami Heat "dynasty." 

How the Heat match up:

The Heat have to prove they can beat a perennial West powerhouse like the Spurs. They won last year, but against new blood in the Oklahoma City Thunder and the year before that, they lost to another perennial powerhouse in the Dallas Mavericks. The Heat have to use that speed and athleticism against this older Spurs team and use the fast break to their advantage. LeBron has to be at his A game every game and Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh have to shoulder most of the load with him. The team also needs to find ways to step up and attack the paint without a premiere post player with size and skill.

Prediction:

It's a tough series to predict, but I think game 1 will decide the fate the most. The Heat are going to try and exploit the Spurs' long rest while the Spurs will try and use their pace to expose the Heat's fatigue. But as much as I hate to say this, LeBron will redeem himself from 2007 against the Spurs and hand the franchise their first loss in Finals history.

Heat in 6.

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About time I finally came up with a new banner. This banner is only temporary and may be subject to change, but I think it's a good one. So the new banner represents the amount of Larry O'Brien trophies and Vince Lombardi trophies won by the Raiders and Lakers. The 11 NBA titles in the back represents the ones that were won by the Lakers since the move to LA, the 5 in front is an honorable mention to when the Lakers won 5 back in the days as the Minneapolis Lakers totaling their banners to 16. Down the NBA titles are the Vince Lombardi Super Bowl titles won by the Raiders, 2 in Oakland from left to right and 1 in LA in the center. Surrounding the titles are the jerseys of the players who won Finals/Super Bowl MVP or the main player that played an integral part. Left to right jerseys: George Mikan (1949-1950, 1952-1954), Jerry West (although the Lakers didn't win the title in 1969, Jerry West is still the only player to win Finals MVP honors in a losing effort), Wilt Chamberlain (1972), Fred Biletnikoff (XI, 1976-77), Jim Plunkett (XV, 1980-81). At the bottom from left to right near the Lombardi trophies: Magic Johnson (1980, 1982, 1987), Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (1985), Marcus Allen (XVIII, 1983-84), James Worthy (1988), Shaquille O'Neal (2000-2002), and Kobe Bryant (2009-2010). Left corner on top, the Raiders official logo, on bottom, the decal of the late great Dr. Jerry Buss. Right corner on top, the Lakers alternate logo, on bottom, the decal of the late great Al Davis.

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