NBA Finals Prediction: The Rematch We All Wanted (well, some of us)

This NBA season will conclude with the exact same two teams competing for a title that took seven games last year. For me, it's what promises to be a riveting conclusion to a third meeting between two all-time great players, LeBron James and Tim Duncan. It's also what I predicted last round and anticipated pretty much all throughout the playoffs (although I admittedly had the Clippers getting here at the beginning of the year).

In the Spurs, we have a franchise that's been a model of consistency, four titles in five Finals appearances over the last decade and half. The Heat, meanwhile, are looking to threepeat and secure what would be that team's fourth overall title. One club is going to tremendously solidify its dynasty credentials.

Of course, the matchup is also bound turn off a few people who either find San Antonio "boring" or simply hate Miami (or in my wife's case, both). I can partially understand those who might have preferred to see one of the younger West teams like the Thunder or Clippers to get to the Finals, but there really wasn't much question as to whether the Heat is the best team in the Eastern Conference this year. The only question remaining is whether the Spurs are the one team that can beat them.

After getting both series correct last round, that brings me up to 10-4 in these NBA Playoffs (and getting the six-game length of the Eastern Finals right marked the only time I've had the winner and number of games correct this postseason). That's certainly a lot better than I've done in the NHL picks this year, and here's my last prediction of this basketball season:

San Antonio Spurs over Miami Heat in seven games

This is the fourth straight year Miami has made it to the Finals, and I've picked against them every single time. And this is despite the fact that I've also picked the Heat to win the title at the beginning of this season as well as last season. And while the talk all year long was that the Indiana Pacers could finally be the team to derail the defending champions by securing home-court, it instead turns out that those San Antonio Spurs so frequently dismissed as being "too old" went out and finished the regular season with the best record in the league. Unlike Indiana, that should prove pivotal here. Yes, the Heat have yet to lose at home, but they also have yet to host a team as complete as San Antonio. While the health of Tony Parker is certainly a concern, Manu Ginobili has performed much better than last year, even at the point. Danny Green is bound to go off for at least one night of near-record three-pointers during the games at AT&T, Tim Duncan may be more motivated than anyone else to avenge last year's heartbreaking loss, and there's an entire Spurs bench that is capable of stepping in not missing a beat. LeBron will continue to be LeBron, but San Antonio has answer for whatever Miami might try to do lineup-wise. Duncan and Tiago Splitter can challenge the Heat if Eric Spoelstra goes big up front, or the Spurs can rely on their wing depth if Miami plays small ball. If this were still the old 2-3-2 format we were talking about, I'd be tempted to take the Spurs in six. However, the 2-2-1-1-1 format makes me think that this one's bound to go the distance again. Rest assured, I'm preparing for another compelling and memorable finish, as hard as it might be to top last year's conclusion.