Thoughts on Your 2012-2013 NBA Champion Miami Heat

"It's back to back titles for the Heat!!!  The 2013 NBA Championship resides once again in Miami!!!" And with those words, uttered by ESPN play by play commentator Mike Breen, the Miami Heat had defeated the San Antonio Spurs 95-88 in Game 7 of the 2013 NBA Finals to claim their spot on top of the basketball world for a second straight year.  It was a fitting end to an incredible NBA season as well as one of the all-time great NBA Finals series every played.  7 hard fought games and the best of the best slugging it out for all the marbles.  Does it get any better than that? And now that the smoke has cleared, it's time to say hello to the 2012-2013 NBA Champions, the Miami Heat.

I, for one, have spent most of the last 20 hours in jubilation mode and I'm a little too airy to organize my thoughts into one coherent piece so I'll just be giving my take on Miami Heat's championship-clinching Game 7 victory in little random thoughts/tidbits.

First of all, my hat goes of to the entire San Antonio Spurs organization: Peter Holt, RC Buford, Gregg Popovich and that entire coaching staff (Sidenote: I gained so much respect for Gregg Popovich last night, even more than I already had for him.  Seeing him at the end embracing LeBron James, embracing Dwyane Wade, embracing Erik Spoelstra, he was grinning ear-to-ear.  You could see that he was genuinely happy for the Heat for their victory and was just grateful for the opportunity to have competed against them.  Gregg Popovich, you are a true class act and a model of sportsmanship and the NBA is lucky to have you, one of the greatest coaches in the history of professional sports, as part of its family.  I'll also really miss your press conferences in the offseason.) Here's to the Spurs players as well who played their hearts out, left it all out on the court, and gave the Heat everything they could handle.  Kawhi Leonard played beyond his years and from his lockdown defense on the King forcing steals left and right to clutch threes and crashing the glass, he should have been Finals MVP had the Spurs won.  Danny Green came in and set history with a shooting performance for the ages.  Both youngsters have very bright futures.  Credit to the Spurs Big 3 of Duncan, Parker, and Ginobili (three future Hall of Famers) for giving everything they had left in the tank for a final championship run, coming within a fingernail of knocking off the mighty Heat.  They've been a model of consistency, leadership, class, experience, and winning for many years and they definitely gave us a series to remember.  (Sidenote: I do think that with this defeat, the Spurs championship window is now closed.  They'll be another year older and OKC will have a healthy Westbrook, all indications are that Houston will land Dwight Howard, the Clippers are hot on the trail of Doc Rivers, and Memphis and Denver are no pushovers.  But hey I could be wrong.  People have been writing off the Spurs for years and they still keep defying the odds and finding a way to win.  So you never know.)

Now a few notes about the game itself:

Holy Shane Battier! That's what you call a big-time performer!  He came into this game shooting something like 16% from the field on the series as a whole.  And on the biggest stage, Game 7, he came alive with not 1, not 2, not 3, not 4, not 5, but SIX three-pointers.  The Heat's ball movement, spacing, and penetration allowed for a lot of open looks for Battier both in the half-court and and in transition and Battier, in a performance reminiscent of Mike Miller's Game 5 against the Thunder in last year's Finals, cashed in with clutch shot after clutch shot finishing with 18 much needed points.

It was only a matter of time before Miami exposed the one flaw in San Antonio's defensive scheme: sagging too far off Dwyane Wade and LeBron James and daring them to shoot from the perimeter.  The mid-range jumper, abandoned for most of the year by pretty much every Heat player not named Chris Bosh (after all, it is the least efficient shot on the court), was finally taken advantage of the super duo of Wade and James.  For the entire series to that point, Kawhi Leonard, Danny Green, Boris Diaw, or whoever else was guarding the two played off them on the perimeter and operated with the mindset of "They're gonna have to beat us from out there." For most of the first six games, Wade and James would still try to attack the rim and often they would be met by Tim Duncan patrolling the paint or another defender (usually Leonard) providing the weak side help to force a turnover.  When the duo tried to adjust and shoot from out there, they appeared hesitant and sometimes, that indecision would be enough to for the defender to close out and force a miss.  At some point, Wade and James would just say "screw it" and revert back to attacking the rim but with the Spurs "pack the paint" defense, they weren't always successful.  Well Game 7 came around and guess what? Wade and James decided that the best way to counter the "They're gonna have to beat us from out there" defense was to start beating them from out there.  Eventually, those shots were gonna start falling.  And they did at the best possible time for the Heat and the worst possible time for the Spurs.  LeBron and Wade got the jumpers falling early and once that started happening, there was almost nothing the Spurs could do on the defensive front.  In fact, for the first time in who knows how long, LeBron attempted a double-digit amount of threes (10; he connected on 5 of them, many without a defender even a mile away).  Erik Spoelstra recognized that the two were heating up from the perimeter and started calling plays (some nifty double screens and isolations) for the sole purpose of creating jumpers for D-Wade and LeBron.  In fact, up by 2 with 30 seconds left and a championship on the line, Spoelstra called for Chalmers-LeBron pick that led to (you guessed it) a LeBron James midrange jump shot (which of course, he nailed in one of the clutchest shots you'll ever see.  Let's see Skip Bayless call LeBron a choker now).  Yep, once the dynamic duo got hot from the perimeter it was the death certificate for the San Antonio Spurs.

How on earth did Tim Duncan miss that little bunny hook over Shane Battier with one minute remaining that would have tied the game at 90?!?!?!? There are probably 19 other parallel universes out there where that possession ends with Duncan making the shot.  And we just happened to live in the 1 out of 20 in which he missed it (Sidenote: that's reason #8219647 to love sports.  You never know, as a sports fan, if your universe is one of the 19 or if it's that fateful 20th).  But then again, when Mario Chalmers (an 85 percent free throw shooter) clunked two straight free throws in the last two minutes (in a sequence that nearly had me pull my hair out), it accounted for the two points Duncan blew a minute later.  Things have a funny way of evening themselves out.

Each time we thought that we had delivered a knockout blow to the Spurs late in the contest, they kept clawing back with a timely 3 or an "and one," just refusing to go down quietly.  A true veteran bunch that kept getting back up and swinging even after we thought we had them on the canvass for the final time.

Chris Bosh nearly single-handedly cost us the game.  He had easily his worst game of the season putting up a goose egg in the scoring category and committing some ill-timed fouls on Duncan (he finished with 5 more fouls than points) plus one incredibly stupid decision to take a 3 with the game on the line (doesn't he remember why we lost Game 1?!?!?!?) But since he came up big in Game 6 and his performance didn't cost us Game 7, I'm willing to give him a pass.  Nonetheless, the "trade Bosh" chatter is sure to intensify this offseason after a performance like that.

Gary Neal hit a ridiculous off-glass three-pointer with the shot clock expiring (he had no idea until there was about one second left) in the first quarter that was the complete epitome of luck.  But in the words of Shaquille O'Neal, "One lucky shot deserves another" and Mario Chalmers hit an improbable buzzer-beating 3 off glass to give the Heat the lead going into the 4th and ultimately swinging the momentum to the side of South Beach.  Sometimes, it is better to be lucky than good.

Some thoughts on the implications and aftermath of the Heat's victory:

LeBron James now has as many Finals MVPs as Kobe Bryant.  Go figure.

D-Wade and LeBron are superstars.  And what do superstars do? They come up big and win Game 7s.  LeBron with 37-12 and D-Wade with 24-10.  We are witnessing what greatness is all about.  After all, there's something to be said about being able to lead your team to victory despite a combined zero points from Chris Bosh, Ray Allen, Mike Miller, and Udonis Haslem.  (Sidenote: only 5 Heat players scored in this one.  Throw out 3 points from the Birdman and you still would have had enough to beat the Spurs despite having only 4 players score)

Let's welcome our three newest members in the NBA Club of Champions: Chris Andersen, Rashard Lewis, and Jarvis Varnado can now call themselves champions!  Well done.  And while we're at it, let's welcome the 10 newest members of the Two Rings Club: Ray Allen, LeBron James, Shane Battier, Mike Miller, Mario Chalmers, Norris Cole, Juwan Howard, James Jones, Joel Anthony, and Chris Bosh.  And finally, the newest inductees into the Three Rings Club: Dwyane Wade and Udonis Haslem.  A round of applause for all!

The Miami Heat are only the second team (along with the Los Angeles Lakers) to win back-to-back championships in the 21st century.

D-Wade pouring champagne on his bad knee.  Straight up stud.

I think I can tie this series in with a boxing analogy (because after all, in the words of Erik Spoelstra after the Heat won the championship last year, "Everybody here knows I'm a big Manny Pacquiao fan!").  When you have a talented, young up and coming prize fighter that's just starting to make a name for himself but still hasn't quite made "The Leap" yet, he'll often get a fight with a grizzled journeyman, a tough veteran that's won and lost before, one that has seen it all.  It's a rite of passage of sorts: if the up and comer can defeat the seasoned journeyman, that's when you know he has arrived as an elite fighter.  For Pacquiao, it was the first Barrera fight.  For Ali, it was the first Sonny Liston fight.  For Tyson, it was the Trevor Berbick fight.  For De La Hoya, it was the Macho Camacho fight.  For Holyfield, it was the Foreman fight.  And for the Miami Heat, it was the 2013 NBA Finals against the veteran journeymen San Antonio Spurs.  Watch out everybody because the Miami Heat have officially arrived.

Though I was obviously rooting for them to lose, I was also kind of expecting the Spurs to lose.  When a team so close to winning it all chokes it away in Game 6 so incredibly, it's almost as if it's a done deal that they'll lose in Game 7.  This is a common occurrence in baseball.  Take Game 6 of the 1986 World Series.  Up by two runs in the bottom of the tenth, the Red Sox, needing just three outs to win it all, get the first two and then have an epic meltdown culminating with Mookie Wilson of the New York Mets hitting a little roller down the first base line that goes through the legs of Bill Buckner allowing the winning run to score (Sidenote: Buckner gets too much of the blame for this.  Calvin Schiraldi, Bob Stanley, and John McNamara all had equally horrendous gaffes.  Just that Buckner's came at the worst possible time.) And of course, the Mets would take Game 7 to win it all.  Or how about Game 6 of the 2003 NLCS?  5 outs away from a trip to the World Series, the Chicago Cubs collapse after the infamous Steve Bartman play and allow the Marlins to steal Game 6 and then the Cubs go on to lose Game 7.  Or my personal favorite.  The 2002 World Series Game 6.  The San Francisco Giants take a 5-0 lead into the 7th inning needing nine outs to win it all.  But the Anaheim Angels score 3 times in the 7th on a huuuuuugeeee Scott Spiezio home run and then 3 times again in the 8th to steal Game 6.  Do I even have to mention that the Halos went on to win Game 7? (BELIEVE IN THE RALLY MONKEY BABY!!!) So though I had my doubts that this model only applied to baseball, the Spurs proved last night that this can and does happen in basketball as well.

My favorite quotes from the Heat's post-game celebratory press conferences? LeBron James' "I ain't got no worries" (concluding an amazingly well-worded and comprehensive mini-speech where he remembers his roots, talks about how blessed he is, and gives a big eff you to all the haters.  Add eloquence to the many talents of LeBron James) and Dwyane Wade's drunken "My name's 3.  Not Dwyane. Alright?" (to signify three championships and his jersey number).

Hi haters.

Credit to Coach Erik Spoelstra for balancing the line between sticking to his guns and trusting his rotations along with making the proper adjustments to win when necessary.  He called for plays that fed to his players' strengths and he realized when he had to get his team to raise their intensity level.  He even did the impossible and out-coached who many see is the best coach in the league in Gregg Popovich.  That's two championships he's brought to South Beach thus far and he's now officially the greatest coach in the history of the Miami Heat.  Way to go Coach Spo! Pinoy ako! Pinoy tayo!!!! Also, his coaching staff, one of the best in the business, deserves some love too.  We couldn't have done it without you Bob McAdoo, Ron Rothstein, David Fizdale, Keith Askins, and Chad Kammerer.  Thanks for helping put us over the top.  And of course, we couldn't have done it without Pat Riley, the mastermind whose vision and actions to make that vision come true made all of this possible, as well as Micky Arison and the Arison family.

Can we please stop talking about LeBron's legacy now? At least for a little bit? Let's just enjoy what we have in front of us and talk about his legacy once he's retired.

Dwyane Wade once said that his gauge of success would be if he won at least three championships.  If he won three, then he could look back and say he had an amazing career.  Well Flash, looks like you've accomplished your goal.  But don't stop there! Rest those knees this offseason and let's have a quest for four next year! In the words of Mark Madsen, "Cuatro! Cuatro! Cuatro!!"

Reports came out today that there is mutual interest between Greg Oden and the Heat.  Let's go out and do it.  Low risk, high reward and it will be for the mid-level exception at the most.  A legitimate 7 footer would do wonders to improve an already beyond stellar Miami Heat team.

While D-Wade, LeBron, CB, and most of the rest of the gang hit up the Miami nightlife and celebrated at some local clubs till 5:30 in the morning, Shane Battier celebrated at Denny's.  Respect.

Really digging the Red Auerbach-like victory cigars there.  It was a nice touch.  Now if only we had Darko Milicic, it would be perfect.  (I'm just kidding! I don't want Darko!!!!)

Kudos to Ray Allen for single-handedly saving our asses with "The Shot" in Game 6.  Now you have twice as many rings as Kevin Garnett and twice as many rings as Paul Pierce!! Yeahhh!!! Also kudos to the Birdman who spread his wings and signed with us at a 99 cent store salary.  He wound up being a huge difference maker for us down the stretch with his energy and never say die attitude.  He also showed us that redemption and second chances still can and do happen.  Also, major props to Udonis Haslem, the heart of this team, and Mike Miller whose sniper-ous abilities really helped us down the stretch.  And really the entire 15 man roster.  We really wouldn't have been able to do it without every single one of you and each individual player was vital to the identity of this magical 2012-2013 championship season.

Finally, I'm pretty sad that this is the end of the NBA season.  What am I going to do with myself? Well at least the draft is next week and training camp is a mere 3 months away! Basketball never stops!

MIAMI HEAT 2012-2013 NBA CHAMPIONS!  BACK TO BACK! YEAH! YEAH!!!