...NBA Finals Preview: The Uncrowned Kings Against the Spoilers...

The Miami Heat are back in the NBA Finals for the first time since the Big Three era of Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh, and LeBron James.

I've followed the team since Wade's rookie playoff run (didn't really watch much regular season games then), but I'm not going to say I saw this coming or that I am an "OG fan" of the Heat. 

Still, I do believe I have followed them enough to make a case for them to actually have a chance against the mighty Los Angeles Lakers, who are incidentally being led by the same guy who carried Miami in its last trip here. 

Let me offer my thoughts on the upcoming Finals: 

The Lakers Looked Destined to a Crown

Every Laker fan would tell people that they are defying odds by being in the Finals because people "counted them out" in favor of the Clippers.

Truth be told, the Lakers were a title favorite at the start of the season, especially after the Anthony Davis acquisition. I'm not buying that "underdog" mentality.  

They are top-heavy with LeBron and AD, but their supporting cast is so underrated that some analysts believed that they were inferior to the Clippers in terms of talent. 

Danny Green's shot has been on and off, no one can still figure out what Kentavious Caldwell-Pope really is, Kyle Kuzma's a suspect third option scorer, JaVale McGee is, well, JaVale McGee, and for all his brilliance, Alex Caruso does still flash some immaturity in his game. 

However, the bubble experience and their run to the Finals have reminded us of two key players that happen to be in their roster: Rajon Rondo and Dwight Howard.

Who would have thought these two would be key players today?

Both were instrumental in dispatching a resilient Denver Nuggets squad and exposed the youth and inexperience of the young team. 

People always had the idea that Playoff Rondo is a thing, but man, did anyone see Playoff Dwight coming?  

After winning the West through only 15 games, it seems that the Kobe tribute title is well on its way. 

The Heat Don't Care About Narratives

Before the start of the playoffs, Rachel Nichols asked Jimmy Butler just how far does he think Miami can go. 

(Jump to 1:32 mark for the clip)

Jimmy: We can win this.
Rachel: You know you're not favored to, right?
Jimmy: I don't give a... I don't care. Speaking for myself, I don't care what anybody says. 

The Heat knocked off the top seeded Milwaukee Bucks in five games, snapping what could have been a historic season for MVP and DPoY Giannis Antetokounmpo.

In the Conference Finals, they upset a healthy Boston Celtics in six games despite trailing in five of those games heading into the fourth quarter.

They looked like a team that was good enough to make the playoffs, but certainly not in the same breath as the Celtics, the Bucks, the Sixers, or even the Raptors. 

And yet, here they are.

If there's any team that has the balls to go off-script and change the expected outcome of anything, it's got to be this Jimmy Butler-led Miami Heat team. 

The Coaching Edge

The true coaching matchup of the series

Many believed that Erik Spoelstra was merely a placeholder for the superteam of Miami until Pat Riley ultimately decided to take the reins again, much like what he did to Stan Van Gundy back in their maiden championship run. 

However, Spo has since become one of the longest-tenured coaches in the NBA - next only to Gregg Popovich and a month longer than Rick Carlisle - because he has proven that he's not just a superstar coach.

The Heat's current run is another testament to Spo's abilities. 

With no superstars at the level of his former Big Three, the Heat conquered the East with innovative defensive schemes against two title favorites in Milwaukee and Boston - both of which arguably had better talent across the board. 

Meanwhile, the Lakers are being carried by the brilliance of LeBron and AD, and Jason Kidd clearly being a huge influence on Rajon Rondo's shooting mechanics.

Their coach is relegated to leading the "Mamba on three" pre-game hype and the "that's Mamba right there" on winning plays. 

I don't think Frank Vogel is a bad coach, but I don't think he's at the level of Spo in terms of skill and leadership. 

While the East Finals looked like a battle of adjustments between coaches, this Finals matchup will look more like a battle of Spo's coaching brilliance and LeBron's on-court mastery.

Small Ball and AD

Lakers' unfair advantage

As effective as Howard and McGee were in limited minutes against Denver, they were rendered unplayable in the Houston series. 

Not Anthony Davis. 

At nearly seven feet tall, Davis can run with guards, has impeccable timing on the defensive end, and has a decent jumper that can stretch the floor. 

He's a unicorn that thrives against tall trees of the past and the small ball era of today.

Against the Heat, the Lakers are going to go against a team that has some of the good components of the teams that they have already faced.

Bam Adebayo may not have the size and range of Nikola Jokic, but his playmaking abilities could be at par with the Joker, and he's definitely an athletic freak that poses a defensive presence that you get if Robert Covington and PJ Tucker were combined. 

Jimmy Butler may not have the range of Damian Lillard or James Harden, but he has a clutch gene that rivals Dame Time and can create shots for himself and for others.

Tyler Herro has elevated his game throughout this Bubble, and has proven that he could wax hot from inside and outside with a very imaginative arsenal reminiscent of Jamaal Murray. 

The Heat can play small to relegate Howard and McGee back to the bench, but they have the personnel to make Lakers bigs work if the situation calls for it. 

X-Factors 

The Heat use danced their version of the zone extensively against the Celtics because Boston stubbornly stuck to their game instead of breaking the zone. 

The most success that the Celtics had were when Jason Tatum and Jaylen Brown were attacking the basket and Marcus Smart was hitting timely shots on the kickout. 

Apart from the expected production of LeBron and AD, the Lakers could make Miami change up the zone if Kuzma and Caruso can create their own shots either by driving the ball or finding the open spots in the corner much like the Boston duo did, and if Rondo can consistently bury his outside shots. 

KCP and Danny Green will always be threats, but they've been too erratic in these playoffs to trust in big moments. However, they can make an impact on the defensive end especially against Herro and Duncan Robinson.

More than anyone though, Kuzma is the guy that needs to elevate his game if the Lakers want to assert their dominance in this series.

The guy the Lakers need, not the blonde dude who showed up at the start of the season

Meanwhile, the most success teams had in defending LeBron and AD in the paint were through secondary defenders. 

The Heat can replicate this by re-introducing of one of the key players in the Miami rotation throughout the season - Meyers Leonard. 

The forgotten one

Leonard was the starting center of the Heat before being re-assigned as the top cheerleader on the bench through these playoffs. 

The seven-footer can take a few minutes away from Jae Crowder or Andre Iguodala to become the primary defender against Davis so that Adebayo can be the designated secondary defender where he can be at his most dangerous, and can stay away from foul trouble. 

The Matchups

Bottom Line

The easy answer is for the Lakers to take this in five games. 

They have the talent, the experience, the confidence, and even the feel-good story to make this a special run at a championship.

In any normal circumstance, the Lakers are going to win this. 

However, we're in the bubble - nothing is normal.

Which is why I'm going to go with the Heat in seven.

The great equalizer - The Bubble

There's no homecourt advantage for the top team, which makes this a level playing field in terms of crowd energy - something that worked to the advantage of the Denver Nuggets in coming back from two 3-1 deficits. 

The added pressure of the crowd could rattle the young guns of the Heat, but in the bubble, they can focus on basketball. 

In a battle of attrition, the Heat have a better chance of outlasting the aging, veteran crew of the Lakers in a game or a long series.

...LeBron James, Two-Time NBA Champion...

I never thought I'd see the day when I am actually rooting for Kobe to come back, and I'm making a blog dedicated to freakin LeBron James. I have always claimed to be a Wade-era Heat fan. It was a crappy few years after the '06 championship, but I stuck with them, hoped that Micheal Beasley would be a nice second for Wade, and was excited that Chris Bosh signed with the team in that big 2010 free agency.

And then came "The Decision". I hated the fact that LeBron joined the Heat. It meant the LeBron fanboys were going to join the bandwagon. It meant the public was going to be expecting nothing less than a championship, much like people expected nothing less from the '08 Boston Celtics. And that stupid "welcome party" they threw for the ONLY three guys who had active contracts for the Heat did not help endear themselves to the rest of the league.

They lost to Dallas in their first year; they were probably a bit too overconfident. They won against Oklahoma last year, but they never really got tested in the East after Derrick Rose had that freak injury, and Oklahoma was just too young. This year, they were dominant in the season, looked vulnerable against the Bulls, looked beatable against the Pacers, and had just an amazing, amazing series against the Spurs.

For all the criticism I think he deserved quite a bit, I think LeBron desreves a lot of credit for his accolades over the past two seasons. Let this non-LeBron fanboy try to defend our team's MVP by pointing out some criticism hurled against him.

He' a Choker

He probably still is. He had some bad end games in the Spurs series. But he is clearly trying. I'm not a professional athlete. Chances are, you aren't too. However, at one point in our lives, we probably had to take an important shot in a game. We may have missed some. Imagine doing that at the grandest stage of basketball, in front of thousands of people.

We make some, and we miss some. That's just how the ball rolls. He probably is making up for his "choking" by putting his team in a position where they could win it. He made plays to bring the team back when they were down in Game 5, but just couldn't do much in the 4th. He got lucky in Game 6 because they had the offensive rebound for that three pointer to bring them within two, but he had some pretty awful misses late in that game. 

If you're not a shooter, you improve your slashing ability. If you suck in the paint, you practice your shooting from the perimeter. For LeBron, if he is indeed a choker, he's doing his best to put his team in the position to have a chance to win, even if he's ultimately not going to be the guy to hit the winning shot.

He Took a Shortcut to Success

By joining Wade and Bosh in Miami, LeBron took the fast route and somewhat "cheated" success because the three of them in one team immediately made them contenders.

On the flipside, did you ever think that he would win titles in Cleveland where the second best player in the team is either an aging Zydrunas Ilgauskas, an ACL injury-recovering Mo Williams, a washed-up Shaquille O'Neal or Antawn Jamison?  It's not like he didn't give Cleveland a chance. He was drafted in 2003, and through those 7 years, Cleveland built around him. The pieces just wouldn't fit together well enough. In that 2007 Finals run, it was more about LeBron than anyone else. Who was the next threat? Old Z? No-offense Varejao? Donyell Freakin Marshall? Not-all-there Larry Hughes? Heck, John Snow would've helped them more that Eric Snow. 

If LeBron stayed in Cleveland, they'd have to pay him 100-mil or more. They will lack financial flexibility, and Cleveland just isn't too attractive of a place to go to, unlike Chicago, or Boston, or Los Angeles. Bosh and Wade already signed with Miami by then, and most of the big names already signed with teams. He'll probably get lesser stars to play with him again, at the level of Larry Hughes (good, not great) and he'll have to stay in a team that'll be good enough to win games in the regular season, but not good enough to win it all.

Would the Cavs be an attractive team with Kyrie Irving there? I think not as much as when LeBron was there. But the Cavs have Kyrie precisely because they sucked bad enough when LeBron left that they got a gem in Kyrie. If LeBron does come back to Cleveland to try and fulfill his promise of a title, he'll be with Kyrie at the point, and not some unknown ball player. 

Everyone needs a good second at least. He wasn't getting that in Cleveland during his stay.

He will NEVER be as Great as the Other Legends

Why didn't Kevin Garnett or Ray Allen have this much hate for this long when they bolted out of their teams to "win titles" in Boston? I read somewhere that KG actually said that if given another chance, he would love to have moved to a contender earlier in his career. Would Garnett NOT be considered one of the all-time greats because he moved to Boston?

LeBron is doing what Garnett wish he could've done earlier in his career. When KG and Allen joined the Celtics, they knew their window wasn't too big. LeBron's window is as wide as a door when he joined the Heat. 

Now, talking about other greats; Bill Russell had Bob Cousy in his team, and I won't even pretend I know the other guys in his team or how good they were because I don't. I just know the name Bob Cousy well enough to know that he was one of the all-time greats.

Magic Johnson had Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, James Worthy, Kurt Rambis, and MIcheal Cooper. They weren't called "Showtime" for nothing.

Larry Bird had Kevin McHale, Robert Parish, and Dennis Johnson. 

Micheal Jordan had Scottie Pippen (who I think was LeBron before LeBron, big, athletic, can carry a team on his back) in his first championship, after years of working with the guy to become the player that he was by 1991. Who would that have been to LeBron?

Tim Duncan had Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili. 

Kobe Bryant had Shaquille O'Neal, and wouldn't win another title until Pau Gasol came along.

Looking at the Cavs roster through 2010, did you even tremble at any of the remaining players on the Cavs roster if LeBron stayed? Anthony Parker? Jamario Moon? Sebastian Telfair?Daniel Gibson? Leon Powe? Old Z?

Every great player played with another great player to win their championships. It didn't seem that LeBron was going to get it in Cleveland with the way things were going for them at the time, and I couldn't blame LeBron for not wanting to waste his youth and energy in mediocrity in Cleveland.

How will he not end up as one of the greats? He has a freakish body with basketball skills to match, he is an unstoppable force on a fastbreak (apparently, unless your name is not Danny Green), and he can fill the box scores with his all-around game. How many have come before him who had all these? Are you not impressed watching him play like he was straight out of a video game? 

Conclusion

Should he have not left Cleveland? I think like every one of us who want growth professionally, he needed to move on from Cleveland as well. Like in our own professional careers, we can choose not to move out of the company that honed us to be who we are, and still achieve sufficient financial gains for "utang na loob" or loyalty.

However, sometimes we want more. We need to grow more because we feel unfulfilled where we are. LeBron was the hometown kid and the city built their team around him, kind of like a company providing you with all the training you need and promoting you when you deserved to be promoted. He had stability and a huge influence in the franchise. He was going to be what Karl Malone and John Stockton were for Utah or Patrick Ewing for New York or Reggie Miller for Indiana; beloved by the city, they defined their franchises. 

LeBron James didn't want to end up like them, or Alonzo Mourning or Gary Payton or Jason Kidd or this generation's Mitch Ritchmond who had to ride a powerhouse team late in their careers just to win a ring. It was the one thing he couldn't achieve in Cleveland. He wanted multiple championships while he can still play for it, and by staying another three to five years in Cleveland, he's wasting precious time making rivalries against Gilbert Arenas or Deshawn Stevenson rather than competing for the big prize in the Finals. 

I hated him while he was in Cleveland because of the hype he generated and just the thought that he seemed like a video game character brought to life. I still don't like him now, but "hate" is too strong of a word to describe my feeling for him now. I respect his game, but I still hate his shenanigans leading up to "The Decision" and the stuff they did after. If he never left, people would probably still hate on him. Because he left, people hate him immensely.

Either way, though, I think leaving turned out better for him. At least he has a couple of rings now, unlike being proclaimed "The King Without a Crown" in Cleveland. For all the shit thrown at him, he couldn't throw anything back when he was in Cleveland because apparently, winning the MVP trophy wasn't enough for people to consider him one of the best. Now, he can let his critics throw all the shit they want, while he fortifies his house with his two MVP trophies and two championships. 

While we see them as sports icons, remember that to them, basketball is their job. Given that fact, consider that they need to make the same decisions that you are going to make in your own professional career. No growth? File a resignation, and apply for another job. Would you not take a faster route to the top of the corporate ladder if the opportunity was given to you early in your career? Would you speak perfectly in front of an audience at all times while presenting a concept or report? Do you need to live up to those who preceded you, or do you have to be your own man or woman?

As douche-y as LeBron did what he did, it was a professional decision that he had to make, moving out of Cleveland. He chose not to be a hero of the masses because he wanted more for himself. At the end of the day, we make decisions that we think are best for ourselves, and not what other people might think.