NBA Playoffs 2013: Biggest Questions Going into NBA Finals

Thank goodness the Miami Heat prevailed over the Indiana Pacers in the Eastern Conference Finals.

No offense to Pacers fans as it would have been fun to what that team in the NBA Finals, but the Heat and the San Antonio Spurs are a much more entertaining matchup.

You've got one team that assembled and built around its three stars, and the other epitomizes the team ethos. It's fundamentals vs. flash.

As with any playoff series, there are some burning issues fans are dying to have examined. This isn't a finals where one team is really ahead of the other. There are plenty of arguments to be made that the Spurs or Heat will be NBA champions.

Here are three of the biggest questions going into the 2013 NBA Finals. 

Which Dwyane Wade Will Show Up?

Dwyane Wade was conspicuous in his absence in the Eastern Conference Finals. It's kinda been his story the entire playoffs.

During the regular season, Wade averaged 21.2 points. That has dropped to 14.1 in the postseason. He hasn't been awful, but he also hasn't been putting in the kind of star-level performances you would have thought he would.

This is not to let Chris Bosh completely off the hook. He's culpable in the Heat's underwhelming showings against Indiana. When LeBron James references his days of single-handedly carrying the Cleveland Cavaliers, you've got a problem.

It's different with Wade. He's not going to get as much leeway as Bosh when he fails to perform.

In Game 7, Wade was back to his old self. He finished with 21 points and nine rebounds. ESPN Stats & Info put the game into perspective with the rest of his series:

If he carries that level of performance into the NBA Finals, then the Heat will be golden. The Spurs don't have the kind of player who can match up with Wade on his best day.

If he crawls back into his shell, James will have a hard time overcoming what will be an organized San Antonio. You can only expect LBJ to do so much on his own.

Can Kawhi Leonard Contain LeBron James?

Speaking of James, Gregg Popovich has a real question on his hands as to what he'll do to stop LeBron James.

The Spurs are so good at rotating their defense that they might try to do that more than lining up one certain player against him. Against the Golden State Warriors, though, San Antonio was only able to shut down Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson when Kawhi Leonard and Danny Green were the primary defenders.

Leonard would be the one who matches up much better against LBJ, leaving Green to go after Wade. It doesn't hurt that Leonard's a very good perimeter defender. Jeff Van Gundy is a very big fan of the forward (h/t Jay Posner):

James won't be stopped in this series, but Leonard can make his life very difficult. If he can simply slow LBJ down, then it's a job well done. LeBron has been so otherworldly over the last couple of seasons, and his importance has not been so evident until this postseason.

By making James a very good player rather than a transcendent player, the Spurs will have a great chance to win, especially if Miami's supporting cast plays like it did against the Pacers.

Can the Heat Count on Its Three-Point Shooters?

Few teams can spread the floor like the Heat. They've got three-point specialists like Mario Chalmers, Ray Allen, Norris Cole, Rashard Lewis and Mike Miller. While that group of players isn't prolific in its scoring, it has more than enough to keep opposing defenses honest.

As a defense, you can't cheat toward the lane to try to stop Wade and James. If you give Miami's shooters space on the three-point line, they'll kill you. Unless they perform like they did against the Pacers.

As a team, the Heat have shot much worse from long range in the postseason. During the regular season, Miami made 39.6 percent of its shots from three-point range. That has dropped to 35.6 in the playoffs, although it increased a little to 38.0 percent in the Eastern Conference Finals.

San Antonio did a good job against the Warriors shutting down the three-point shooters, but Golden State didn't have scorers like James and Wade with which to counter. The Spurs will really have their hands full if Allen, Chalmers and Cole are hitting their shots.