(credit: miamiherald.com)
I’m sure if
you are reading this, you are fully aware that the San Antonio Spurs won their
5th NBA Championship on Sunday night after dominating the Miami Heat
in 5 games. As J.A. Adande pointed out on twitter, the Spurs’ 528-458 scoring
edge over the Heat was the largest point differential in the history of the NBA
Finals. What was expected to be a close 7 game series ended up being a 5 game
beat-down, which has left many of us who analyze the NBA scratching our heads.
We knew the Spurs were a really
good team and that with home court advantage the series was theirs to lose, but
none of us foresaw the shellacking that they delivered the Miami Heat. The key
question going into the series was “Can a better team defeat a team with the
world’s best player?” and the answer we got was a resounding “Yes”. After
watching this series it is abundantly clear that the San Antonio Spurs simply
are heads and shoulders above the Miami Heat and playing at an entirely different
level from anybody else in the Eastern Conference. Remember how the Heat
thumped the Pacers and looked like they were on another level? Well the Spurs
looked even more dominant against the Heat than the Heat did against the
Pacers. This means that the Spurs and the Pacers don’t even belong on the same
floor together and the Pacers had the #1 seed in the Eastern Conference!
There truly are so many different
things to take away from the NBA Finals that I could devote multiple articles to
the topic. What I will do instead for the sake of time and efficiency is touch
on multiple things instead of doing an in-depth analysis of just one
thing.
The first thing to take away from
this NBA Finals is that the San Antonio Spurs are truly a team for the ages. I don’t
mean just this team, but more specifically the Spurs during the Tim Duncan
& Gregg Popovich era. Over these last 17 years with both Duncan and
Popovich in the organization, the Spurs have won 5 NBA championships and been
to 6 NBA Finals, with the only loss coming to the Heat last year. They have
been the ultimate model for consistency, teamwork, and class over the course of
this time. To see Tim Duncan and Gregg Popovich get a 5th NBA title
as their careers come to a close truly is fitting.
The second thing to take away from
this NBA Finals is that the future remains bright in San Antonio thanks to the
emergence of NBA Finals MVP Kawhi Leonard. Over the last 3 games of the NBA
Finals, Leonard averaged 23.7 points, 9.3 rebounds, 2 steals, and 2 blocks. A
new star was born before our eyes, and the Spurs organization has to like the
fact that at just 22 years of age, Kawhi Leonard is already blossoming into a
player who can be the face of the franchise once Tim Duncan is gone.
As for the Miami Heat side of
things, three questions must be asked: Where do the Heat go from here? Was “The
Big Three” A Success? Will LeBron James stay in Miami? I will try and answer
each question briefly, though keep in mind that there is no right answer to
each question.
(credit: sportsglory.com)
As for where the Heat go from here,
it is really tough to know. 2 championships in 4 years is really good and 4
straight trips to the NBA Finals is an incredible achievement. With LeBron
James as their franchise player, the Heat have to like their chances of continuing
to contend for titles provided they keep this core group together and that they
stay healthy. Nobody in the Eastern Conference gives the Heat any real scare at
the moment, and so provided they all opt in to their contracts for next season,
the Heat should like their chances to get back to the NBA Finals. However,
there is reason for them to worry. First of all, Dwayne Wade’s health is a huge
concern. If he doesn’t feel like he can stay healthy and that he is ready to
hang it up, then the Heat are looking at a rebuilding process ahead, which
means that they may not hang on to LeBron James. In addition, Shane Battier is
retiring, Ray Allen may be gone, and other members of this team aren’t likely
to be back. Michael Beasley and especially Greg Oden were failed experiments
and so the Heat really doesn’t have any more ways to get better this offseason
unless they somehow land Carmelo Anthony or Kevin Love, which right now appears
to be pie in the sky.
The Heat need to find a way to
improve their team even if they keep this core group together and it’s not
entirely clear how they do that. I see these three guys sticking together for
one more season, but unless they make some good moves this offseason to get
better complimentary pieces, their chances of winning a 3rd title in
5 years looks slim.
Was “The Big Three A Success”? This question
is a really difficult question to answer and obviously a question that must be
asked. LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh won 2 titles together in a
span of 4 years together and each year they didn’t win a title, they lost in
the NBA Finals. It’s hard to say that they weren’t a success considering how
rare a feat it is to do what they did. That being said, the expectations that
they put on themselves were ridiculously high and each season was approached
like with a “championship or bust” type of mentality. For them to only have a
50% success rate at accomplishing their goal, especially when looking at how
they almost didn’t get it done last year, it’s hard to say that they can feel
wholly satisfied with how things have gone. The final piece to all this of
course is whether or not “The Big Three” is done or not. If they are done, then
we can look at them as a failure to accomplish lofty goals that they alone set
for themselves. On the other hand, if they plan to be together for a few more
years, then we have to say that they are still a work in progress, which makes
them sound rather scary given the success they’ve already had.
This leads
us to the third question “ Will LeBron James stay in Miami?” I think this
ultimately comes down to whether or not Dwyane Wade is confident that he can be
healthy. If he is confident that he can be healthy going forward, then LeBron
James stays in Miami. If Wade comes to him and says he doesn’t think he can be
healthy going forward and that retirement is something he is considering, then
LeBron James has to consider other options. One option is to of course stay in
Miami, but expect a rebuilding period or at least a period of finding new free
agents to sign. This option has the benefits of continuing to build his legacy
in the same place where he has already won titles and also the benefit of not
facing more scrutiny for being a guy who leaves a team once the going gets
tough. That being stated, LeBron James is all about winning titles and he
doesn’t care what we in the public think, which means if he likes his chances
to win elsewhere, he’ll leave Miami. If he does leave Miami, the question on
everybody’s mind is “Will it be Cleveland?” I personally doubt he ever dons a
Cavaliers jersey again, but truth is stranger than fiction. Perhaps he wishes
he had won a title in Cleveland and also he might like the fact that the
Cavaliers have some attractive pieces to work with. E.g. Kyrie Irving and
whoever they pick at #1 this year. The notion of him going back to Cleveland
isn’t insane, but it also has the feel of being just wishful thinking. Why
leave a place where you have won for a place where you failed to win? I don’t
have a good answer to that question, but perhaps he feels like his legacy will
be hurt unless he delivers Cleveland a championship.
In
conclusion, there are a ton of things to take away from this NBA Finals, and I
hope I gave you a good list of key things to think about as we look back on
this NBA Finals. This series featured two great teams, multiple hall of fame
players, and a hall of fame coach. There are so many things I could have
touched on that I didn’t and I encourage you think about what some of those
things might be. One thing I didn’t touch on was LeBron’s 2-3 record in the NBA
Finals, but I didn’t address that because the comparisons to Michael Jordan are
asinine. Michael Jordan is the greatest player to ever play and LeBron James’
career isn’t over yet, so perhaps we shelf that debate until LeBron gets
enshrined in the Basketball Hall of Fame so that we can do a final tally of all
the things that both men accomplished. I personally think that even at that
point, Michael Jordan’s resume for greatest of all time will be much
stronger. But as we look at what this
Finals means for the here and now, it means that the Spurs are still a
championship organization, the Heat have serious questions to answer, and the
future of the NBA remains a mystery. What could possibly be more exciting
conclusions to reach as we look forward to next year?
---Ben Parker: follow me on twitter @nba_lord
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