NBA Playoffs 2013: Picks and Predictions for Heat vs. Spurs Finals Matchup

The 2013 NBA Finals begin on Thursday and project to be nothing short of an incredible showcase between the two best teams the league has to offer.

This year’s thrilling championship will pit the old guard San Antonio Spurs against the dominant up-and-coming Miami Heat, who are looking to establish a dynasty of their own.

After a 66-win season that included an epic 27-game string of victories, the Heat are clearly the favorites in this series.  However, that’s not to say they are invulnerable, as the Indiana Pacers just provided a blueprint on how to beat this club in the Eastern Conference Finals.

Expect nothing less than a back-and-forth affair with neither side wanting to concede a single point to the other.

With that said let’s make some bold predictions on what could happen in this series and how it may pan out, plus take a look at the complete schedule for your viewing needs.

Game	Date	Away Team	Home Team	TV Network	Time (ET)
1	Thursday, June 6	San Antonio Spurs	Miami Heat	ABC	9:00 p.m.
2	Sunday, June 9	San Antonio Spurs	Miami Heat	ABC	8:00 p.m.
3	Tuesday, June 11	Miami Heat	San Antonio Spurs	ABC	9:00 p.m.
4	Thursday, June 13	Miami Heat	San Antonio Spurs	ABC	9:00 p.m.
5*	Sunday, June 16	Miami Heat	San Antonio Spurs	ABC	8:00 p.m.
6*	Tuesday, June 18	San Antonio Spurs	Miami Heat	ABC	9:00 p.m.
7*	Thursday, June 20	San Antonio Spurs	Miami Heat	ABC	9:00 p.m.

Bold Predictions

Tony Parker Shines in Shocking Game 1 Win

After resting for 10 days—due to their mildly surprising sweep of the Memphis Grizzlies in the Western Conference Finals—the Spurs will be primed to dominate a weary Miami opponent that just ended its troublesome seven-game series with Indiana.

Tony Parker, the team's best player and main superstar, will put himself in the discussion for best point guard in the NBA with a virtuoso performance against a vulnerable and penetrable Heat defense.

With Dwyane Wade clearly hobbled—although able to shake it off for a solid Game 7 showing—and Mario Chalmers a decent defender at best, the two players Parker will match up with most often pose little threat on the perimeter.

Once Parker drives inside, he’ll be hard-pressed to find the same rim protection he faced against Memphis—courtesy of Marc Gasol and Zach Randolph.

TP should be able to light up the Heat with a stunning display of interior scoring and pinpoint passes to open shooters, allowing his Spurs to steal this initial contest.

While Miami coach Erik Spoelstra is adept at adjusting and making the proper defensive switches—which he will certainly do in later games—it will be too late before the defending champs figure out how to guard Parker in Game 1.

 

LeBron James Drops 50

As one of the more unselfish superstars this game has ever seen, James hasn’t been in the business of scoring eye-popping amounts of points.

That’s not to say he isn’t capable, as the future Hall of Famer has nine 50-point games under his belt—although eight of them came with his former club, the Cleveland Cavaliers.

He’s simply more willing to pass and tends to facilitate when defenses double him, which helps his team win as open treys and shots at the rim are much more effective than contested jumpers over two defenders.

However, with his teammates struggling throughout the series with the Pacers, James seemed poised to go off for a huge scoring bonanza. Many thought he would put the squad on his back and will it to victory in Game 7, but Wade stepped up and Bosh wasn’t terrible in the blowout.

If James’ sidekicks slump again, expect him to immediately pick up the slack and shoulder the scoring load. If he can get to 50 points, he’ll join an elite fraternity of players that have scored at least 50 in an NBA Finals contest:

As you can see, this hasn’t been done since Michael Jordan pulled it off 20 years ago, the only time the feat has been accomplished since 1969.

It would be a truly historical performance for the four-time MVP who will find his name littered throughout the record books by the time his career is over.

 

Heat Win in Five

After possibly losing Game 1, the Heat are going to have all the motivation they need to destroy the Spurs and defend their championship.

This team is simply too good to suffer another Finals heartbreak, as it did in 2011 against the Dallas Mavericks.

LeBron James will put together a performance for the ages and could average a near triple-double over the course of these five games—on top of potentially eclipsing 50 points in one of the rarest performances on the biggest stages of all.

Parker, Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili and the rest of the San Antonio role players will put up a valiant effort and will be brilliantly coached by Gregg Popovich, but talent trumps all in basketball.

The Heat are just the better team and will walk away victorious after being humbled a single time in the Finals.