2014 NBA Finals preview: Three areas where San Antonio Spurs can lose the series

The San Antonio Spurs have been a model of consistency for the last 15 years.

No team reaches the NBA Finals by fluke. At some stage of the Playoffs the lesser known team’s luck will run out and nine times out of 10 we are left with the two best teams, one from either Conference, battling it out for the gold. This season it is the San Antonio Spurs and the Miami Heat meeting for a second consecutive time in the Finals after last year’s dramatic seven-game affair.

Although the Heat were the second seed in the East, they always had the upper hand against the Indiana Pacers with their championship experience and battle tested roster. Meanwhile, the veterans San Antonio were pushed to seven games in the first round by the Dallas Mavericks but ever since then they have been playing at the level one tends to expect from them at this time of the year.

Looking at their play over the course of the season, both teams are so well-balanced on both ends of the floor that there is no definitive weakness which can be pointed out. Having said that, there are a few questions that both the teams face before the Finals tip-off.

Without going too deep into strategies and tactical changes the teams would make, here are three areas where the Spurs could lose the series:

1. Tony Parker’s health

Tony Parker

The Spurs are a well-balanced and well-coached team who are very capable of being competitive and winning games with a player sitting out. They have done so in every round of the Playoffs this season when Parker has had to head to the locker room in order to give his tired body some rest.

With Parker, the Spurs can create problems for the Heat because he is too quick for Mario Chalmers and is too smart for a Norris Cole, thus forcing the versatile LeBron James to guard him. And that causes mismatches on the floor which the Spurs are quite smart at utilizing.

Parker is a threat at not only scoring himself in the paint and outside but also at getting shooters in his team like Danny Green and Marco Belinelli into good rhythm, which can shift the balance of the game in favour of the Spurs.

But with his current health condition, Head Coach Gregg Popovich has to alter his playing minutes to lesser than they already are to make sure he does not aggrevate any of the minor injuries he is battling.

San Antonio are a smart veteran team and should make the right kind of changes to adapt to Parker’s limited minutes. But what chance they stand then against the two time defending champions will be seen only once the series is under-way.

2. Turnovers

The Spurs average only 12 turnovers in the post-season but they must make sure they keep that number in check, especially against the team they are playing in the Finals. The Heat have players on their roster who can win the game all by themselves, making ridiculously tough shots, but turnovers feed them with opportunities of easy points and the Heat are naturally equipped to make the most of these opportunities.

In the Playoffs so far the Spurs have had stretches of sloppy play against mediocre teams like the Dallas Mavericks and the Portland Trailblazers in the first two rounds who failed to make the most of San Antonio’s lapses. But expecting the Heat to do the same will be a big mistake.

3. Lack of athleticism

Kawhi Leonard

Father Time has caught up with the Big 3 of the Spurs, but their style of play has allowed the team to prosper and finish the regular season with the best record in the league. Given the balance of old and young players that the Spurs have, they still fall short in the athletic ability category against the Heat.

Gregg Popovich and the Spurs have battled the Heat before and have neutralized their opponents, preventing them from imposing their will on the game with their athleticism. But they must do it for four good games in this series for the Spurs to win their fifth franchise title.

While their lack of athleticism does not hinder their defense because of the system Popovich has installed, often times it is their offense which takes the hit. Barring Kawhi Leonard, the team lacks players who are quick on their feet and who can make their opponents pay for their over-aggressive defense. And the Heat are exactly that kind of team, with athletic wing players on their roster capable of turning on the over-aggressive button on their defense when the moment calls.