Last year’s classic NBA Finals between the Miami Heat and San Antonio Spurs had the requisite amount of respect but this year’s rematch, which starts on Thursday, appears to have added a healthy amount of hatred.
Led by LeBron James, the Heat are trying to become just the fourth franchise in NBA history to win three straight championships.
Standing in the way are the Spurs, who were seconds away from their fifth title a year ago but had it snatched away.
“We were ready to win last year,” Spurs center Tim Duncan said.
“We’re happy it’s the Heat again. We’ve got that bad taste in our mouths still.”
“They wanted us. They got us,” James responded. “They don’t like us. I can sense that from Tim’s comments the past couple days.”
James and the Heat were expected to return to the Finals, given the weakness of the Eastern Conference. But no one knew what to expect from the Spurs, with a trio of aging stars carrying the psychological burden of having given away a championship.
San Antonio had a league-best 62-20 record and dispatched rivals Dallas, upstarts Portland and nemesis Oklahoma City in the play-offs to reach consecutive Finals for the first time in franchise history.
Blocking their path are the Heat and James, who are trying to join the Boston Celtics of the 1960s, the Chicago Bulls of the 1990s and the Los Angeles Lakers of 2000-02 to win three consecutive championships in the shot-clock era.
Both the Heat and Spurs rely on spreading the floor and ball movement to get open shots. But Miami uses smaller lineups while San Antonio relies on the inside presence of the 7-foot Duncan.
