NBA Finals 2012: 10 Reasons We Will See Heat-Spurs

Two games into the Western Conference Finals and it would appear that the San Antonio Spurs are having their way with the Oklahoma City Thunder.  If the Spurs can continue their dominance, they will, in fact, earn themselves a birth in the NBA Finals.

On the flip-side, the Miami Heat also has a 2-0 lead on their opponent in the Eastern Conference Finals, the Boston Celtics. Game 1 saw the Heat dominate the Celtics inside and out, leaving many wondering if the Celtics had any hope of hanging with the younger Heat squad.  In Game 2, Rajon Rondo went off and Boston held a 15-point lead at one point, only to see Miami come back and eventually close out the game in overtime.

With both Miami and San Antonio dominating in the Conference Finals, they are now unquestionably the heavy favorites to close out their respective series' and meet up in an epic clash in the NBA Finals. 

Both teams have a lot riding on those 2-0 leads, but there are a number of reasons to rest assured that they will, in fact, close out to be crowned Conference Champions.

In this slideshow, we will examine five different reasons for each team, Miami and San Antonio, and explain why they not only have those huge leads, but how those reasons will lead them to the Finals.

First, we will look at the San Antonio Spurs.

Fundamentals Always Win out

One thing that the Spurs are able to do that the Thunder have not figured out is that playing good, team-oriented basketball will beat purely talented teams nine times out of 10.

San Antonio likes to work their offensive flow through pick-and-rolls and passing multiple times per possession, while Oklahoma City relies on their ability to play one-on-one with their defender to get to the rim.

It's one thing to have a skilled group of players, much like both the Spurs and Thunder have, but it is quite another to get all those players to work together for the greater good of the team.  San Antonio's ability to not only utilize their talented players, but also to incorporate a mindset of fundamental work ethic, has brought the Spurs to dominating measures in this year's playoffs.

Also, it doesn't hurt to have Mr. Fundamentals himself, Tim Duncan, on your roster.  Is there a more dominant forward in the league who doesn't possess the same quickness, explosiveness or allusiveness as high flyers such as Durant and Blake Griffin than Duncan?

If there is, you'd be hard pressed to convince anyone they are better, and more consistent, than Duncan has been through his entire career.

Gregg Popovich Is a Master of His Craft

Gregg Popovich is not only the longest tenured coach in the NBA, he is also the longest tenured coach in any of the big four sports—NBA,NFL,MLB and NHL—starting his run as the Spurs coach in 1996.

During his time in San Antonio, Popovich has posted an impressive .680 winning percentage, appearing in seven different conference finals and winning four championships.  His accolades can only be compared to that of Bill Belichick's of the New England Patriots.

There is no coach in the NBA that is as highly respected and admired as Popovich as his success speaks for itself.

To say that Gregg Popovich is a wizard is an understatement, as each and every season he takes a group of players that most would write off as outcasts—minus Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobilli, of course—and continues to make them a force to each and every team that attempts stop the force that is Pop's Crew.

Combine Pop's experience and knowledge for the game with his team's talent, the Spurs' roll is nothing to be surprised about.

Russell Westbrook's Selfishness

While the Spurs have dominated the Thunder thus far, Oklahoma City has had its fair share of opportunities to win. Not only did they drop the ball in Game 1 after leading by nine, but they also mounted a mini-comeback of their own after being down by 20 in the third quarter before finally dropping Game 2 as well.

Besides the Thunder's glaring issues such as overall defensive pressure and sense of urgency, one of the bigger issues is the continued selfishness of Russell Westbrook come playoff time.

Westbrook is keeping the Thunder in games, but he is also taking them out of them. He has scored his fair share of points, dished out his share of assists and worked as hard as anyone else for Oklahoma City, but that is not the issue. 

The issue with Westbrook is that throughout the season, he knows his role is the number two guy behind Durant and there are rarely issues during the regular season. Durant and Westbrook are also one of those tandems that strikes fear in the opposition, using their athletic ability and scoring prowess to dominate the competition.

It's during the playoffs that Westbrook suddenly stops playing team basketball and starts trying to prove he can carry the Thunder to the promised land just as much as Durant can. Not that Westbrook can't lead the Thunder to glory, but Oklahoma City works better when Westbrook defers to Durant during crunch time, even throughout the game.

Through the first two games of the series, Westbrook has subjected himself to errant drives to the basket, often under deres from Spurs defenders, over-dribbling during offensive possessions that take the Thunder out of their rhythm and stalled offensives sets that see Westbrook dribble for a few seconds before pulling up for contested jump shots.

Not that Westbrook is a bad player. In fact, he is an outstanding player with potential for improvement. It is just when OKC needs Durant to produce, Westbrook puts a nail in that ability far too often. It is an issue that the Spurs have capitalized on numerous times.

Deep Roster

Besides Duncan, Parker and Ginobilli, San Antonio has a nice group of guys that blend well together and work to get better as a team.

In Tiago Splitter, the Spurs have a big man who isn't too bad on his feet that gives the Thunder fits in the paint. His free throws are, well, atrocious, but his overall compliments that of Duncan nicely.

Gary Neal is the type of worker that every team wants to have. He works hard when he plays and can knock down the clutch three-pointer when called upon.

The additions of Stephen Jackson and Boris Diaw midseason have really paid dividends nicely for San Antonio this postseason. Jackson seems to play at his highest intensity when he's being coached by Popovich and this stint is no different as his defense is at a premium while defending Durant, not to mention his always deadly outside jumper.

Diaw fits the Spurs system perfectly because he's a smaller forward who has the ability to play the center position based on his aggressiveness and willingness to bang in the paint. He is the type of play Pop loves to have around to take some of the physicality off of Duncan's shoulders.

Kawhi Leonard gives San Antonio a young, energized body on that court at all times. He has a body type that provides a rebounding punch as well as the ability to shoot from the perimeter.

Take all these players and figure in the fact that the Spurs have been playing the last four playoff games with DeJuan Blair on the bench, something is clicking for all of these players at the right time. Sitting Blair would normally be questionable, but since the Spurs still haven't lost in these playoffs, nobody is questioning them.

Last Hurrah

Quite possibly, this could be the Spurs final chance at winning an NBA Finals with their core of Duncan, Parker and Ginobilli.

Remember, it wasn't too long ago that Tony Parker almost left San Antonio to join the New York Knicks as part of another "Super Team." Had he gone, we may not be sitting here today discussing one of the most remarkable team playoff performances in NBA history.

Finally, Tim Duncan is winding down in his career. 

Duncan has been in the league for 15 years now. Having won four championships, two MVP awards and  a three-time NBA Finals MVP, there really isn't much for Duncan left to do. 

His contract expires once this season finally ends for the Spurs, but Duncan has stated that he wants to stay in San Antonio at least one or two more years. However, if the Spurs can, in fact, win another championship, Duncan could change his mind and go out the right away, winning an NBA Championship, much like his former teammate, David Robinson, did.

With another NBA championship ring, that will put Duncan at five. Five championships is a remarkable number, just ask Kobe Bryant and Michael Jordan. Yet, Duncan is rarely mentioned in the conversations of best players in NBA history. Sure, he's always discussed in discussing best forwards in history, but in terms best overall players, it's hard to find Duncan's name being brought up.

The group of Parker, Ginobilli and Duncan have done some great things under the leadership of Popovich and this very well could be this group's last shot at winning the big one. San Antonio wants to send Duncan out the right way and the window is closing

Their time to win is now.

More to Prove

Now for the reasons that we will see Miami in the NBA Finals.

There is no question that the most highly scrutinized player in the NBA is LeBron James.

Whether it's him closing out games, being able to hit the big shot or his attitude on the court sometimes, James has his fair share of critics for any number of reasons.

Most notably, those critics began coming out in full force last year after "The Decision" on ESPN to announced where he would be playing. Had he chosen Cleveland, this would not be much of an issue. However, since he chose the Miami Heat, whom had just recently signed star players Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh, hearing LeBron choosing to join a "Super Team" was not popular with most people.

Since that time, James has admitted that "The Decision" was a mistake and that the criticism coming from its airing affected his mindset during last year's Finals against the Dallas Mavericks. Although, James has also stated that his mind is clear of all that hoopla and is more focused than ever before.

With all of the attention on James recently, even over the past number of years, it may not all be about proving he can do it. It may be proving he can do it without one-third of the Heatles.

With Chris Bosh being out of action since Game 2 of the Conference Semifinals against the Indiana Pacers, Wade and James have been on a tear, going 5-1 during that stretch and increasing their productivity in the process.

There really is no way to prove this unless either Wade or James come right out and say it, but it is very possible that they want to prove that they can do it without Bosh, potentially making Bosh expendable in the trade market.

Overall, the Heat have a lot to prove this year after botching in the Finals last season. James and Wade are on a mission to show the world they can, in fact, win championships together.

Rondo Can't Do It Alone for Boston

On a normal team, dropping a 44 point, 10 assist, eight rebound stat line would propel your team to a victory.

Well, unfortunately for Rajon Rondo and the Boston Celtics, that was not the case in Game 2 against Miami, dropping the game 115-111 in overtime. 

For Rondo, Game 2 was about showing that not only is he one of the most dynamic passing and driving point guards in the league, it was also about proving his jump shot should also be respected. 

Not only did Rondo do that, he single handily kept the Celtics in the game until the final buzzer. Except, even a historic performance wasn't enough for Boston to pull off a victory.

Kevin Garnett, to his credit, is playing at an extremely high level in these playoffs, but beyond his and Rondo's production, the Celtics are tempting fates by never knowing where the rest of the production is going to come from.

Paul Pierce's play has been sporadic at best and Ray Allen's legs are, literally, giving out on him at the worst possible time. Pierce even walked away from the team bench with a few minutes left in overtime, just as Rondo continued to work his tail off to get the Celtics within striking distance, shrinking their deficit to three in the closing seconds.

Without Rondo, Boston would have been eliminated already. Luckily for them, Rondo is playing at the highest level of his career, but none of his teammates are going along for the ride.

Unless Pierce, Allen and the rest of the Celtics pick up their slack, Rondo could have the greatest performance in playoff history only to be swept in the Conference Finals.

Role Players Stepping Up at Right Time

Miami has been known as a three-man team for the past two years. It wasn't until Bosh went down with the injury that that stereotype was proven wrong.

When Bosh went down, it forced players such as Ronny Turiaf, Udonis Haslem, Mike Miller, Shane Battier and Joel Anthony to step up their game a couple notches.

Turiaf and Haslem don't have a size advantage, but they battle their way into the paint and make Garnett's life a little less relaxing, forcing him along the perimeter more often than he would like to. Turiaf is a journeyman big who has never really felt comfortable in any organization he has been with, but seems to have found a nice place in Miami. Haslem likes to be physical as well as show some finesse, which bodes well with Wade and James' drives to the hole.

Miller and Battier were brought in to shoot the three, something the Heat lacked greatly last season. In Miller's defense, he battled injuries for most of the 2010-2011 season. With Miller battling the injury bug, Miami recruited veteran sharpshooter and defensive wizard Battier to join the group, providing another punch from beyond the arc.

Unfortunately, much of the year Battier could not seem to find a rhythm with his shooting stroke. During the final few games in the Pacers series and continuing into this series against the Celtics, Miller and Battier have been firing on all cylinders, draining threes as they were expected to do when they were brought in.

Miami is a good team with three guys contributing most of the production, but when the role players step up as they have in this series they are even better.

Sense of Urgency

One thing that has really stood out for the Miami Heat is that they are more focused than they were a year before.

Their entire team is chipping in this year, as opposed to relying solely on James, Wade and Bosh as most expect them to do on a game-by-game basis.

The entire starting five just looks to be clicking at the right times, especially the outstanding play by Mario Chalmers who continues to prove his worth in the starting rotation.

Combine Chalmers' play with that of James and Wade in the absence of Bosh and you have one very lethal group of players on the court at one time.

Not only are all the Heat players playing at a high level, but they appear to be more determined than ever before to bring home the championship. Whether it be for silence their critics to do it for themselves, they are a very hungry team and it shows with their aggressive style of play.

Miami Is Just Better Than Boston

Simply put, Miami is just the superior team to Boston. Even without Bosh playing, Miami has proved they have more talent, more energy and more enthusiasm to win this series.

The Celtics may still have very talented players, but as it has been stated before, Rondo and Garnett are really the only players for Boston playing at a high level on a consistent, game-by-game basis. Pierce and Allen have really fallen on hard times with their play as age may be creeping up on them. Beyond that, you'd have a difficult time finding consistency from any player on the Celtics' roster.

Having only two players producing regularly for Boston does not bode well as Miami has two players that are all but guaranteed to produce in LeBron James and Dwyane Wade. Given that those two alone are two of the top players in the entire league, the Celtics aren't going to fair well unless they can find a way to make everything click.

Miami's entire roster is ready for another Finals appearance and, by the looks of it, there is nothing the Celtics can do to stop them.

Conclusion

Miami and San Antonio is almost a perfect match as it pits a Spurs team that works best when all players working for the same goal while Miami relies on two guys to do most of their damage, but their role players are just as good as the Spurs.

Before we can get to the Finals, however, we must first get past the conference finals. However, with both the Spurs and Heat being up 2-0 on the Thunder and Celtics, respectively, it appears to only be a matter of time until we see these two match in for the NBA Championship.