NBA Finals Preview

The San Antonio Spurs will face the defending champion Miami Heat in the NBA Finals in what should be a great series that may very well go the full seven games.
The action gets started Thursday night (June 6th) in Miami in the best-of-seven series with the 2-3-2 format coming into play.

The Heat won their second championship last year in five games against Oklahoma City as LeBron  James was named the Most Valuable Player. Along with Chris Bosh and Dwayne Wade, James forms the "Big Three" for the Heat while the Spurs, winners of four NBA titles over a 15-year span, have their version of the "Big Three" with Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili. The Spurs last title was in 2007 in a four-game sweep of  James and the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Both teams boast good defense and have deep benches as well as key role players to compliment the stars of their squads.
Miami went 66-16 in the regular season, including a 27-game winning streak while the Spurs finished 58-24 before rolling through the Western Conference playoffs, including two four-game sweeps. Miami had a struggle getting past the Indiana Pacers in the East Finals, winning in seven hard fought games.
There is no doubt James is the top player in the league, evidenced by his fourth MVP Award this past season. But the Spurs play a relentless team game on both ends of the floor and in spite of their top players' advanced playing ages, cannot be taken lightly by the mighty Heat.
Point guard Tony Parker plays a fast, slashing style on offense and lit up the Memphis Grizzlies in the four-game sweep by the Spurs in the West Finals. Add in Duncan and Ginobili as well as young role players such as Kawhi Leonard, Danny Green and  Gary Neal and big man Tiago Splitter, and you know why the Spurs are a team to be reckoned with.
Oh yeah, Spurs Head Coach Gregg Popovich is no slouch either, regarded by many as perhaps the best coach in the entire league.
The Heat have James, Bosh and Wade and also can go to veteran three-point sharp shooter Ray Allen and Shane Battier. Udonis Haslem is another key role player for Miami while Chris Andersen (The "Birdman") is more well known for his freakish tattoos and spiked mohawk hair cut, but can get after the rebounds on both ends of the floor.
Heat Head Coach Erik Spoelstra doesn't get the respect he deserves coaching the talented Miami squad, but remember he had been in the shadow of coaching legend Pat Riley when he took over the duties.
The Miami Heat rate the edge overall based on their regular season record (they went 2-0 against San Antonio in regular season) and the fact they will have the home court advantage. It should be noted, however, that neither team was playing with their full rosters in either game this past season.
All in all, throw out the rest of what has happened leading up to this NBA Finals and just go with your gut feeling. With that being said, Heftyinfo picks the San Antonio Spurs to win the championship over the Miami Heat in seven games.
No matter what the outcome really is, it should be a fun and entertaining NBA Finals for the next two weeks.