Tuesday, June 17, 2014

Post NBA Final Takeaways


The NBA season is over. Talk about a spanking. The San Antonio Spurs defeated the two time defending champions, the Miami Heat, four games to one and it wasn't even close. In the Spurs four wins, they won by 15 or more points each game. The question now is, what will LeBron James do? Will he opt out and leave Miami or will he stay in Miami? Of course this is the first question that people think of. But lets just talk about how good the San Antonio Spurs are. The word dynasty doesn't get tossed around too much, but it's safe to say the Spurs are a dynasty and as long as Coach Popovich is coaching, the Spurs will continue to be competitive. Five championships in 15 years is remarkable but we are too busy trying to keep up with the "superstars". The Spurs are not flashy and they wear boring colors and that is a reason why not many people talk about them. Tim Duncan is a legend, but we rarely hear about him. Had it not been for Ray Allen last season, we're looking at six championships in 15 years. Here are some things to takeaway from these NBA Finals.

LeBron James will always be public enemy number one. It is so easy just to blame everything on him for the Heat failure, but it is not fair to him at all. He had almost no help this year as only Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh averaged more than 10 points in the finals, and they barely did. It seems like Cleveland all over again when he had no supporting cast. It isn't fair to LeBron but since he is the best player on the planet, he will always get scrutinized. We should be praising the Spurs, but instead we blame LeBron.

The San Antonio Spurs have a legit shot at defending the title next year. That is if Tim Duncan returns of course. They are not losing any key pieces to the team, the only notable free agents this year are Boris Diaw and Patty Mills. It will be fun to see them make another run at the title next year as "The Big 3" (Duncan, Ginobili, and Parker) are all under contract for one more season. Talk about breaking out, has anyone stocks gone up more than Kawhi Leonard? Being only 22 and winning the NBA Finals Most Valuable Player is a good way to break out. He is set to takeover the Spurs once "The Big 3" move on and he is more than capable of it. Fitting in with the team, he isn't flashy as Coach Popovich even mentioned he has never run a play for him speaks volumes about how he can just adapt to the game.

Tim Duncan is one of the most under appreciated and underrated players ever to play in the NBA. Known as "The Big Fundamental", Duncan was never flashy or had crazy athleticism. But five NBA titles, two regular season MVP's and three finals MVP's can speak for itself. Tim Duncan is one of the greatest players ever to play in the NBA yet he is not talked about as one.

Is it time for the Miami Heat to shake the team up and go in a different direction? LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh all have options to opt out of their contract and sign with a different team. It is clear that Dwyane Wade's best years are past him but will these three want one more shot at another NBA title? There are rumors that Carmelo Anthony would be interested in teaming up with these three and that will be interesting to follow. With that being said, this is going to be a fun offseason to follow so fasten your seat belts.

Oh and the NBA draft is only nine days away.

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Alan Liang is a senior Drexel Sport Management major with minors in Marketing and Business Administration from West Windsor, NJ. Alan scores baseball games for Baseball Info Solutions and is currently on co-op with the Philadelphia 76ers in the camps department. Follow Alan on Twitter @AlanLiang29. 

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