The San Antonio Spurs find themselves in an enviable position and the best odds can be found as low as 2-1 favorites for the NBA Finals as the Miami Heat and the Indiana Pacers fight out a seven-game series to determine the other Finals slot.
The Spurs are not only on a high after returning to the Finals for the first time in six years, but they will have the advantage of having a much longer rest period than their opponents after quickly wrapping up their series win against the Memphis Grizzlies.
Just a week ago, you would have found the majority of opinion in favor of a Heat victory in the NBA Finals with LeBron James providing the spark to give them the edge over whoever they face. At the start of the season in fact, you wouldn’t have thought it likely that the Spurs would make it this far.
But as the season has gone on, and with head coach Gregg Popovich, center Tim Duncan and point guard Tony Parker there, they’ve continued to get stronger and gain momentum, taking and edge into the playoffs that could make the ultimate difference. Players like Manu Ginobili or Duncan need some rest. The season has taken its toll on their bodies and their clean sweep over Memphis has ensured that is exactly what they’ll be getting.
Rest could be the key factor in making the San Antonio Spurs the favorites going into the Finals. A lesser team could find themselves affected by a nine-day rest by losing their sharpness and getting distracted by the hype surrounding such a huge series of games. But the Spurs have enough in their locker room and between their ears to ensure they make the most of their rest period and come back at full throttle, fresh in the mind and body to be ready to fight for victory.
If it is the Miami Heat who makes the Finals, there could be an argument that they come in not only with the better roster -- and, of course, with LeBron James on their side -- but battle-hardened and game-ready. Many will have them down as favorites, but maybe that shouldn’t be the case.
If they are to go into it in top form, they’ll hope that Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade get more touches of the ball than they have been recently and pick up their own personal form. It’ll be difficult to mentally stay on top for such a prolonged period. Their bodies will also start to suffer a little. Not everyone can be seemingly superhuman in the way that James or others seem to be physically, so the rest of the Heat may struggle to keep up.
The Spurs have only lost twice in the postseason, and whoever they face in the Finals will have lost one more than that in the past few weeks alone. When you put that together with the team-ethic and the fact they have a much longer rest than whoever their opponents end up being, you’d have to say they will be favorites, even against the Miami Heat.
Written by Ari Rose
