Nothing against the Indiana Pacers or anything—they're a great team. Paul George is a stud, Roy Hibbert has his moments and Frank Vogel is the perfect balance of conceited and resilient. But the Pacers aren't the Heat.
Admit it, a Miami-San Antonio matchup is among the most intriguing of possibilities there ever was.
The Heat are seeking their second consecutive title while the Spurs are lusting after their fifth of the Tim Duncan era and fourth of their Big Three dynasty.
Seeing their paths cross with so much on the line is an opportunity too fascinating to trivialize. If the Pacers must become collateral damage en route to fate actualizing what we (should) want to watch, then so be it.
Star Power
Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports
How many future Hall of Famers would this potential matchup have? Four? Five? Six?
Duncan, Ray Allen, LeBron James and Dwyane Wade are virtual locks, and one can (and should) easily argue that Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili will eventually belong in there as well. Hell, Chris Bosh believes he's guaranteed a spot in the Hall of Fame, too (he's not).
The NBA can market around that. Easily. These two teams had five All-Star representatives between them this season. Allen and Ginobili are no strangers to those festivities, either.
Given the option, why would we want to watch anything else?
There would be plenty of stars to go around in this one.Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images
George is a rising young star for the Pacers (Hibbert, too), but they don't house the perennial All-Stars Miami does. They simply don't compare. Not to mention that we're just dying to see the Heat and Spurs face each other at full strength.
Gregg Popovich sent five of his best players home before their first game of the season against Miami (andwas subsequently fined), and neither LeBron nor Wade played when they met for a second time in San Antonio.
Barring any unforeseen injuries, or the most ignorant form of ostentation ever, neither coach will be sitting any of his key players on account of opening tip coming past their bed times or as part of a maintenance program.
They will play. All seven of them. There will be plenty of Chris "Birdman" Andersen bird-dogging his "bird box," too. And Kawhi Leonard baseline drives. And Norris Cole two-way outbursts. And LeBron transition dunks. And Duncan bank shots. And a potential flop-off between Ginobili and Wade. And everything else in between.
Now tell me again, why would we want to see anything else?
New vs. Old
Spruce Derden-USA TODAY Sports
Yes, the Spurs are old, but that's not with this is about. This is about how damn smart they are.
Against what some considered better judgment, San Antonio stayed together. Some new players were ushered in via the draft and all that jazz, but the core of Duncan, Ginobili and Parker remained the same.
At their ages, that was a mistake. The Spurs needed to rebuild, to restructure. They were simply attempting to prolong what couldn't be perpetuated. Their championship window had closed.
Only it didn't. The Spurs have done what the Boston Celtics have not—stayed together and won.
This is San Antonio's fourth Finals appearance since 2002, each of the previous three having culminated in a championship. Chasing a fourth ring with the Big Three, the Spurs are the only existing dynasty in the NBA. Their regime has found unparalleled success, failing to make it out of the first round just twice over the last 11 years.
Dating back to Duncan's 1997 debut, the Spurs have reached the playoffs for 16 consecutive seasons, an incredible streak. Four (potentially five) of those 16 postseason quests resulted in a title, and winning a championship 25 percent of the time is quite the accomplishment.
Imagine that type of historical precedence going up against LeBron and the Heat, the new kids on block.
The Chosen One made a promise upon his South Beach arrival. I won't put an exact number on his promise—alright, eight—but he vowed to begin a dynasty with Bosh and Wade.
Could the new-age Heat unseat the seasoned Spurs?USA TODAY Sports
"It's gonna be easy," he said back in 2010.
It hasn't been, and the Spurs aren't going to make it any easier. The Heat are, however, right there. They've made it through to the Finals in each of their first two postseasons together and already have one championship to their credit.
Now they want another. Back-to-back championships won't necessarily make the Heat a dynasty, nor will three Finals appearances in three years, but it's a start. And a damn good one. A second straight title may even be all they need.
Bragging rights wouldn't be the only thing at stake in this matchup. San Antonio is hoping to extend the shelf life of its dynasty even further, and Duncan is looking to strengthen his case as the best player of his generation. Miami, meanwhile, is preparing to take another step forward in its attempt to succeed the Spurs as the NBA's next great dynasty.
If these two distinct paths toward validation were to lead through each other, well then that would be just perfect.
Uncertain Futures
What's next for the Heatles?Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports
Both the Heat and the Spurs have some questions that need to be answered.
Ginobili is set to become a free agent at the end of the season, and while Duncan is under contract for another two years, retirement talk will follow him into the summer.
What's next for the Spurs?USA TODAY Sports
We'd like to believe that both Manu and Timmy will be back, but what if they're not? What if Ginobili leaves or Duncan retires, or both? What if this is their last stand as a triumvirate? Why not go out with a bang against the very team trying to follow in their footsteps?
More than a few will deem the Pacers a more vulnerable adversary (though Indiana's defense would beg to differ), but it's not solely about winning that fourth title.
San Antonio prides itself on being the best. To be the best, you have to beat the best. There is, then, no better team for the Spurs to square off against than Miami, a supposed dynasty-in-the-waiting.
And for what the Heat are attempting to do, there is no better opponent than the Spurs.
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