The one word you can use for this year’s NBA Finals matchup between
the Miami Heat and the San Antonio Spurs?
Electric.
This series lived up to the extreme amount of hype and then some.
Even with a couple of games being blowouts. It’s the first Finals to have
gone seven games in three years, and only the third Finals to go the
distance dating back twenty years. You had records set, like Tim Duncan
being the only one to have played in an NBA Finals in three separate
decades. The Miami Heat got their second championship in three years
with Lebron James in back-to-back fashion. That hasn’t been done
since the Los Angeles Lakers did it three years ago. You can spend a
few minutes rattling off stats about this series. But the biggest point
to be made about these NBA Finals is, this is the series where the eras
of the NBA have met with supreme force once again. And it’s one where
you have to ask certain questions about just what lies on the horizon
for the champs and the league.
This kind of sea change is normal in sports. Legends rise, establish their
greatness, and fade away. Last night reaffirmed that to a degree. The
changing of the guard was set in place. The San Antonio Spurs have
molded themselves into a model franchise to rival the Lakers, Celtics
and Bulls as true dynasties. Consider Duncan’s emotion after losing
last night as he pounded on the hardwood. This is a player who had
NEVER lost in every trip he’s made to the Finals. Lebron on the other
hand, has had his share of Finals heartbreak to the point where if he
hadn’t gotten his chip last year, we would’ve been referring to teams
he led to the Finals as the Buffalo Biills of the NBA. The Spurs are a
team of finesse and fundamentals. The kind of ball you see played by
the older heads on the court with pocket passes and bank shots. The
Heat have grown into a hyper-athletic style of basketball, one that
demands elevated court vision, and a lot of running. It’s as if their GM,
Pat Riley, decided to take his old ‘Showtime’ Lakers formula and laced
it with premium octane. Those two styles met, and Miami won out in
a hard-nosed contest of attrition.
With that, we’re now in a new era where front-loaded teams like the
Heat are the standard. And other teams have followed suit, like the
New York Knicks and the Los Angeles Clippers. The Lakers and the
Boston Celtics initiated this trend, but Miami went big. And set a tone
that will only last due to two factors. One of them being their team
going forward. There’s already buzz that one of the ‘Big Three’, Chris
Bosh may be in another uniform. Dwayne Wade’s knees are a question.
And then there’s the rest of their roster. Which leads to the other
factor, player salaries and contracts. As far as the San Antonio Spurs,
this may be the sunset of their storied run. Four titles since 1999 is
not a bad result at all, greater when you consider they had to fight
the Kobe & Shaq led Lakers in their own conference for a number of
years. Manu Ginobli, whose play had bordered on atrocious, may hang
them up. Tony Parker gave it all he had, and it showed last night. The
same goes for Tim Duncan, who defied all expectations this season.
(marinate on this - the dude came into the league with David Robinson
in 1996. And he still put up All-Star numbers.) The Spurs have a rising
star in Kawhi Leonard, but their rebuilding process began at midnight
last night. A process that includes those same factors the Heat face
now.
Everyone’s trying to get to where the Heat are now. Like it or not,
they are the NBA standard bearers. Look at all the hoops the Clippers
are jumping through just to pry Doc Rivers, Kevin Garnett AND Paul
Pierce away from the Celtics. Just so they have a shot at keeping
high-priced free agent point guard Chris Paul. Who was blocked from
joining the Lakers in a mega trade by David Stern. Teams are going
to do their damnedest to follow that formula. People speak of leagues
wanting parity among all of their franchises. The commissioner does
want parity, or at least the appearance of it. Because that way, the
dollars keep coming in. Stern wants the New Orleans Pelicans to feel
like they can be the Heat in a year or so. Even if they’re struggling
with arena funding. It’s good business, even if it may be bad business
for some cities(ahem, Atlanta). And when you break it down, only a
handful of franchises have won multiple championships. 
The Heat have done somthing respectable in establishing consistency
through adversity. Of course, plenty will point to bad officiating, as
they should. And the incessant fawning. But they PAID with pain in
these Finals. The bandwagon fans even got exposed during a thrilling
Game 6. Stern got razzed for the officiating, tainting his pristine image
even more. But NBA champs these days get that. Lebron James isn’t
Jordan as outlets like ESPN would have you believe with their constant
barrage, but he’s on the way in terms of his elevation of play. He’s got
the ‘not clutch’ argument struck down. The true test will be long term.
It will be about trying to create their own dynasty in a shifting league.
The Indiana Pacers gave them hell in the conference finals. The Knicks
were an irritant. Then you have the Chicago Bulls and the Brooklyn Nets
and their teams. Factor in the changing of the guard in the West with
Oklahoma City, Memphis, Houston and Denver and we could see an era
not unlike the late 80’s through mid 1990’s. Miami passed a big test
last night and had a torch passed to them. Will they be able to hold onto
it and deliver on that boast in 2009 of multiple championships? Anyone
that can give you a definitive asnwer now is lying to you. With eras, you
are able to spot when one ends more than when one begins in earnest.
The 2013 NBA Finals are a bonafied example of that. 2014 is going to be
highly interesting.