by David Zizmor

San Antonio vs. Miami: At the beginning of this season we were all talking about that great finals last year between the Spurs and the Heat that went seven games and saw the Spurs lose it on a missed shot by Tim Duncan with only seconds left in game seven, giving the Heat their second title in three years for back to back titles.

It was a fantastic series the best in years and the same two teams are back again. The whole season long we thought that the Spurs and Heat were on a collision course and low and behold here they are facing each other again. This should be a great match, you have the Heat’s LeBron James the best player in the game.

You have the Spurs head coach Grep Popovich the best coach in the game and you have one of the best teams in NBA history in the Spurs a team that made the playoffs for 15 straight years. The Spurs have won four titles and they just keep putting together great runs. This is a team that everybody would have thought would have faded by now as Tim Duncan got older.

Just because Duncan is older doesn’t mean he’s not effective and that’s what we’ve seen so far. Popovich has done a great job managing Duncan’s time and allowed him to rest as much as possible for a 39 year old. That has kept Duncan fairly effective here in the late going this season.

You would figure after 82 regular season games, 12 playoff wins, that Duncan, Tony Parker, and Manu Ginobili are all guys who have been around the block a few times. They might be a little bit tired but no, these guys are still playing great basketball and more importantly their getting contributions from other players on this team.

Most notably Kawhi Leonard who has just been fantastic for the Spurs, your really seeing him come into his own this year which is exactly what the Spurs needed to continue being one of the top teams this year. On the flip side of the ball the Heat what can you say about LeBron that hasn’t already been said. The guy’s the best player in the league, even though he didn’t win the MVP this year.

The Heat’s Dwayne Wade has been very good, Chris Bosh has been coming on as of late, and they have a great supporting cast that really knows their role and Heat head coach Eric Spoelstra doesn’t get the high praise that Popovich does but you don’t make four finals in the row without being a good coach. It’s be a series of strategy and skill and Spoelstra and Popovich will be those wizards behind the Heat and Spurs curtains.

David Zizmor is covering the NBA Finals for http://www.sportsradioservice.com