The Miami Heat and the San Antonio Spurs will meet in the 2013 NBA Finals. Mark it down on your calendar as we bring you the TV schedule for the NBA Finals. Don't miss a day, minute or second of the action as the Heat will defend their title against one of the toughest teams in the league.
The only channel you should be focused on for the next week and a half is ABC. There will be no other channel bringing you live NBA action.
This will be the first time these two teams battle for the Larry O'Brien trophy. Maybe if the Spurs were younger it could be said that we could be seeing this matchup more often, sort of like the Chicago Bulls vs. Utah Jazz in the late 90's. However, everybody always doubts the Spurs' ability to play well during the playoffs and some are even shocked that they are so successful during the regular season. Even then, the Spurs finished with the third best record in the NBA at 58-24. Only the Oklahoma City Thunder had a better record in the West as they went 60-22 and the Heat had the best record overall as they finished 66-16 during the regular season.
Because of their record, the Heat will have home court advantage, something they really haven't taken care off in the first two games of the previous series. In the second round, the Heat were beaten in Game 1 by the Bulls. Then, the Indiana Pacers took Game 2 at the American Airlines Arena and ultimately pushed the Heat to the brink forcing a Game 7. The Heat won, but they had to work hard. Maybe this will be helpful in their quest to defeat a well-disciplined team like the Spurs.
Here's what the schedule looks like as the NBA Finals' Game 1 is just a couple of days away:
Game 1 Thursday in Miami @9 p.m. ET on ABC
Game 2 Sunday in Miami @8 p.m. ET on ABC
Game 3 Tuesday in San Antonio @9 p.m. ET on ABC
Game 4 Thursday in San Antonio @ 9 p.m. ET on ABC
Game 5 Sunday in Miami @8 p.m. ET on ABC
Game 6 Tuesday in San Antonio @9 p.m. ET on ABC
Game 7 Thursday in Miami @9 p.m. ET on ABC
Though the Spurs seem like the least explosive team, their fundamentals are immaculate. They play basketball in a very basic manner, but they play the sport well. Though they might not be the most fun team to watch, the Spurs are disciplined and will play their brand of basketball from tip off until the final buzzer. The most exciting part of the Spurs game is their ability to knock down the outside shot and maybe watching Tony Parker attack the rim. Aside from the the Heat are the more explosive team in the Finals.
The Heat do it all except rebound, but they have shooters, dunkers and guys who (when motivated) play defense. We saw a combination of defense and their offensive attack on Game 7 against the Pacers. Miami attacked the rim as Wade looked pretty healthy and on the other end they forced multiple turnovers. They actually out-rebounded the Pacers, which seems like a tough task since the Pacers had all the length in this matchup.
Game 1 is on Thursday. Make your plans, put your kids to bed early so you can enjoy the non-stop action of the first night of the NBA Finals.