It will be the Miami Heat versus the San Antonio Spurs in Game 1 of the NBA Finals. As predictions and bets start rolling in for the 2013 NBA Finals and the Heat are the favorite, it's the Spurs who have the better record in the playoffs despite having what many consider aging superstars.
When looking at their records and if playoff standings truly existed, the Spurs would be at the top of the list with their 12-2 record which equals to a .857 winning percentage. Two sweeps would get you a record like that and for the Spurs, the competition has been thin and inexperienced. With Tony Parker and Tim Duncan still playing at a high level mixed in with their rising stars and role players, the Spurs have become an unstoppable force that was truly only threatened once in the playoffs.
San Antonio got off to an easy start in the 2013 postseason. They quickly got rid of the Los Angeles Lakers in four games for their first sweep of the playoffs. Without Kobe Bryant, Metta World Peace and Steve Nash, the Spurs didn't have to worry about the Lakers' starting lineup. The Golden State Warriors were a true test. The Spurs should have lost Game 1 and the Warriors should have had a 2-0 lead heading into Golden State, but San Antonio rallied in Game 1 to avoid embarrassment. Then, they quickly got rid of the Warriors winning three of the next four games wrapping up the series up in six games. The Memphis Grizzlies were the next victim. Though they sported two of the top big men in the league, with Duncan and Tiago Splitter, the paint was smothered and Marc Gasol and Zach Randolph were axed out of the Grizzlies' offensive scheme. Without their steady contributions, the Grizzlies were done after four games.
For Miami, it has been a bumpy ride. They had slow starts against the Milwaukee Bucks, but they put that series away easily. However, they lost Game 1 to the surprising Chicago Bulls, but were able to dodge that bullet as the team from the Windy City was too injured to keep up with the Heat. The Eastern Conference Finals was the Heat's test in this series. The Indiana Pacers were relentless and hungry. The true Miami Heat team didn't show up until Game 7 where they harrassed the Pacers with their defense and let LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh handle the rest.
The Heat went 12-4 in the playoffs, good for the second best record in the 2013 postseason. However, both teams can put whatever they did in the past because they will need to formulate new gameplans for this series. They will keep the things that worked, but the wins in the previous three rounds don't count anymore. It's the first to four in this best of seven series.
Tipoff is at 9 p.m. ET tonight, Thursday.
NBA PLAYOFFS STANDINGS
San Antonio Spurs: 12-2
Miami Heat: 12-4
Indiana Pacers: 11-8
Memphis Grizzlies: 8-7
New York Knicks: 6-6
Golden State Warriors: 6-6
Oklahoma City Thunder: 5-6
Chicago Bulls 5-7
Brooklyn Nets: 3-4
Houston Rockets: 2-4
Los Angeles Clippers: 2-4
Denver Nuggets: 2-4
Boston Celtics: 2-4
Atlanta Hawks: 2-4
Los Angeles Lakers: 0-4
Milwaukee Bucks: 0-4