The Miami Heat and the Indiana Pacers played a tough series in the Eastern conference finals and after Game 7 finished up on Monday night, it was LeBron James and company moving on to the NBA finals to take on the San Antonio Spurs, who were waiting after sweeping the Memphis Grizzlies.
LeBron James has proven to be a Big One rather than a Big Three with Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh at times, but he will need his supporting cast to come through in the finals as the team faces off against another Big Three in Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili. The Spurs are the best and most successful team of the 2000's and with the Heat looking like that team in the 2010's, the matchup is a perfect example of the old guard and the new guard facing off for NBA dominance.
Tim Duncan once told a young LeBron James that the league will be his one day and while that has happened, the Spurs have endured as well and Duncan and Parker have been playing fantastic throughout the playoffs and look like they are their younger selves rather than grizzled veterans. The Spurs had some trouble with the Warriors in the previous series, but since then the team has been playing fantastic and after sweeping the Grizzlies they have had a week off to prepare for Miami and the finals.
One advantage for the Spurs is the fact that they have had time off and the Pacers also showed off some of Miami's weaknesses, including depth on the inside. Miami was dominated in the paint for most of the series, but the team turned it around in Game 7 and now they will have to go against Duncan and company in the finals. James has been playing at an MVP level all postseason and he will need to do that again to get revenge against the Spurs.
San Antonio was the veteran team back then and James was a one man show and while Bosh and Wade haven't been their usual selves, they showed up in Game 7 and that could be a sign of things to come in the series. James had 32 points in the Game 7 victory while Wade and Bosh contributed and putting Roy Hibbert in foul trouble was key for the team and Paul George fouling out did the Pacers no favors. Miami will have home court advantage in the playoffs and that could end up being the difference in the series.
