Henrik Lundqvist Stands Tall As Rangers Force Game Five

Heading into game four, the Los Angeles Kings had the champagne on ice, getting ready to celebrate a second championship in as many years. After the way things look in game three, the Kings were riding high and the Rangers looked a little deflated. When the night was over, and all was said and done, the champagne remained chilled and had to be sent back to Los Angeles for a game five. The Kings went for the kill but couldn't get enough past Henrik Lundqvist, who stood on his head, turning in an outstanding performance, to help power the Rangers to a 2-1 victory. The Rangers offense got what they needed and Hank held the fort down to keep the Rangers in the series. Game four was almost a complete role reversal from what we saw in game three.

In Game Four, the Kings played with a desperate intensity, looking to go for the kill and end the series in four games, something that hasn't been done in the finals since the Detroit Red Wings swept the Washington Capitals in 1998.  The Kings got a little bit of "puck luck" in their game three win. This time in game four it kind of bit them in the rear end.

The opening period was a pretty even one, with shots favoring the Kings 11-7. The lone goal of the opening period came at the 7:25 mark and looked a little something like this:


The beautiful deflection was made by Benoit Pouliot, the goal being his 5th of the playoffs. This was a huge goal for the Rangers for a couple of reasons. First, the goal was the Rangers' first since the second period of Game 2, snapping a drought of 123:01. Second it helped infuse life into both the team and the fans, both of whom seemed down after what happened in game three.

Shortly after the Rangers scored the goal, they got a little bit of a lucky break on a Kings powerplay:


Anton Strallman made one of the most heads up plays of the playoffs, somehow being able to keep that puck out of the net at the last moment. So the goal and the big save had the Rangers taking a little momentum with them into the intermission. When the 2nd period got going, that's when both teams really started to step up their pace. Shot totals in the middle period when 15-11 in favor of the Kings, with both goalies, Henrik Lundqvist and Jonathan Quick, having to stand on their heads and be sharp.

New York would strike again, at the 06:27 mark of the 2nd, Martin St. Louis buried his 8th of the playoffs and 2nd of this series. The ironic thing about the St. Louis goal was it was scored the same exact way he had scored his goal in game two of this series. So now the Rangers had a 2-0 lead, something that had to be festering in the back of Rangers fans head. It came to the forefront a few minutes later. Los Angeles got back into the hockey game when, at the 08:46 mark of the 2nd, Dustin Brown scored a beautiful goal on a breakaway, his 6th of the playoffs. When Brown scored, it got most thinking that this could happen to the Rangers again. If you remember the first two games of the series, the Rangers had two goal leads in both games and lost both of those games. The goal by Brown really made you think that this could be happening to them again.

Thankfully, for the Rangers sake, that didn't happen. Once the 3rd period rolled around, the Kings totally dominated the Rangers, outshooting them 15-1 during the final twenty minutes of play. This was an exact role reversal from game three, which saw the Kings get dominated by the Rangers in the final period. In this case, in game four, Henrik Lundqvist played outstanding, even getting a little bit of help late in the game:


That one lucky bounce really saved the game for the Rangers, along with the fact that Hank played out of his mind late in the game. Quick had an OK night in net for the Kings, stopping 17 of the 19 shots he faced. Meanwhile Henrik Lundqvist faced a barrage of rubber, stopping 40 of the 41 shots that he faced.

So now the series heads back to Los Angeles for game five Friday night. From a Kings perspective, they were hoping to have put this series away in four, but now they have the chance to do it in five games. This could be a potential deja vu for the Kings. When they were in the finals in 2012 against the Devils, the Kings held a 3-0 lead in the series, lost games four and five, before closing it out in game six. I don't think the Kings want to come back to New York for a game six, they are going to try and finish this series off in game five in LA.

Meanwhile the Rangers are looking to become the 5th team in playoff history, the 2nd in the history of the finals, and the 2nd team in this years playoffs alone (Kings in round one) to come back from down 3-0 and win a series in seven games. They are one step closer to doing just that.

Game five takes place Friday night at 8PM at the Staples Center in Los Angeles!

Record Setting First Half Powers Spurs To Game Three Win

For the San Antonio Spurs, game three was a night to remember. For the Miami Heat, it was a night they might want to try and forget. The Spurs had one of the single greatest shooting nights in the history of the finals. San Antonio made a Finals-record 75.8 percent of their shots in the first half in a 111-92 victory over the Miami Heat on Tuesday night that gave them a 2-1 lead. The previous record had been 75 percent, which the Orlando Magic posted in game three of the 2009 finals against the Los Angeles Lakers.

To start game three, San Antonio came out red hot, hitting 19 of their first 21 shots, and by the time the first half ended, the Spurs were 25-for-33. San Antonio led 71-50 at halftime, making this game the 70-point first half in the finals since the Lakers scored 75 against Boston in Game 2 in 1987. Yeah the Spurs had a big night in the shooting game.

Powering the Spurs high powered offense was Kawhi Leonard, who dropped down a career-high 29 points. In game three alone, Leonard scored more points than he had in the first two games of the series combined. In games One and Two, Leonard dropped 18 points total, while going 6 for 14 from the floor. In Game Three, he dropped the 29 points on 10 of 13 shooting. So yeah Leonard had hit a groove in game three. It wasn't just in the scoring department that Leonard produced, as he also did a fine job keeping the leagues best player in Lebron James in check.

Sure Lebron had a good game, he finished with 22 points on the night, same as Dwyane Wade, but Lebron had a rough night. King James turned the ball over seven times and looked about average, if that, on defense. The Heat, as a whole were kept in check the whole night. James and Wade were the only Heat players to score more than 20 points on the night, and along with Rashard Lewis (14 points) and Ray Allen off the bench (11 points) were the only ones on the Heat who had double digit performances in game three. After the Spurs totally dominated in the 1st half, Miami finally showed some signs of life in the 3rd quarter, running off 10 straight points to cut a 17-point deficit to 81-74. That was as close as Miami would get, as the Spurs pulled away in the fourth.

There were a couple things that really stood out to me on this night. Form a Spurs perspective, the move to put Boris Diaw into the lineup, countering Miami's small lineup, worked out great. He had a solid night,  creating more ball movement that clearly helped Leonard. And Leonard wasn't the only Spur to hit double digits in scoring, as Tim Duncan dropped 14 points, Danny green and Tony Parker had 15 points each and Manu Ginobili had 11 coming off the bench. The Spurs got their role players involved in the game, forcing the Heat into making mental mistakes.

Miami looked out of sync the entire night. You knew something had to be off if Lebron James turned the basketball over seven times in one game. That is so un-Lebron-like in a big game. I know he had the 22 points but still the number of turnovers has to be a little concerning. A lot of that had to do with how ell Kawhi Leonard defended the King, not giving James very many good looks at the rim, just making it a tough night for Lebron, which caused the turnovers.

Facts are the spurs were in a big shooting groove and the Heat didn't have an answer for it. Now the Heat find themselves down 2-1 in the series, looking for answers. They better have things worked out by game four, otherwise this could be a quick series. Game Four is set for Thursday night June 12th from American Airlines Arena in Miami, with tipoff scheduled for 9PM!

Jonathan Quick Shuts The Door As Kings One Win Away From Championship

During the first two games of the Final, the Los Angeles Kings have never held a lead. They have had to come back in both games, before coming away with overtime victories. That took place in Los Angeles. Now the scene shifted to Madison Square Garden in New York for game three. Many Rangers fans were hoping that if the Kings jumped out to the lead, it would be a spark plug to get the Rangers going to pull off a win and get back in the series. Well the Kings did get a lead all right, but they were able to hold on to that lead and come away with a 3-0 lead in the game and a 3-0 lead in this final series.

New York and Los Angeles had chances in the opening period. Mats Zuccarello had a golden opportunity for the Rangers a little more than halfway through the frame but was shut down by this phenomenal save by Jonathan Quick:


That stop seemed to get the Kings rolling again. Late in the opening frame, the Rangers had a good chance but the door was shut again by Quick, who really seemed on his game on this night. Henrik Lundqvist had the same chances to deal with coming off the sticks of the Kings shooters. The difference is, Quick got solid support from his defense, where as Lundqvist had a few bad breaks. It all started with the opening goal of the hockey game which looked a little something like this:


For Carter, the goal was his 10th of the playoffs, coming on just the fifth shot of the night for the Kings. This was a wicked shot that just clipped the skate of diving defenseman Dan Girardi in front and caromed inside the right post with 0.7 seconds left. This would become sort of a recurring theme on the the night for how the Kings scored their goals. Los Angeles scored their final two goals in the 2nd period, and much like their first goal, came off bad deflections. Jake Muzzin made it 2-0 at 4:17 of the middle period, as the puck worked out to Muzzin at the point, who took the shot that struck New York's Martin St. Louis and found its way past Lundqvist. Then, Mike Richards finished a 2-on-1 with Trevor Lewis when his attempted pass across bounced back to him off McDonagh and was put it with 2:46 left in the second. That was all the scoring Los Angeles would need.

Los Angeles finished the night with a total of 15 shots, including just two in the final period, but that's really all they would need. The Rangers seemed to carry the play in game three, but the bounces just would really go there way. Now Henrik Lundqvist has played great all playoffs long, more often than not being really able to keep the Rangers in the game. Even on nights when Hank wasn't getting much offensive support, he still managed to keep the team in the game and get help from his defense. This night, however, it came back to bite them. It's nothing that Hank did wrong, he played a great game. Its just his defense was a little out of position that lead to the bad bounces that allowed the three pucks to hit the back of the net. So the Rangers defense, which is normally good, looked a little off in this contest.

Offensively, the Rangers played a good game, but they just weren't able to bury the puck in the back of the net. They had plenty of firepower, sending 32 shots on Jonathan Quick, all of which he got. There were a few saves he had to make, including the video above, that were big stops, but otherwise there weren't too many shots that had to test Quick. He didn't have to really make to many hard saves in game three.

An interesting note about this series is that the Kings have scored 11 goals in the series, all coming from 11 different players, none of whom are named Anze Kopitar. The fact he hasn't scored a goal in the finals is a little surprising. He is getting his assists of course but the goal department for Kopitar is empty. But I don't think he minds it. As for the Rangers, they have scored six goals in the finals, each coming from six different players. Martin St. Louis has one of the six goals, but Rick Nash and Brad Richards, the other two big guns in the Rangers lineup, have been really held in check in this series. Sure Nash had a few chances in Game Three, but again, he just could not finish the job. That's been a big difference in this series. Sure both teams have their role players doing their job. The Kings big offensive weapons have had an impact on this series, where those of the Rangers have been quite. The Rangers really haven't been able to establish their system like they did in the first three rounds.

For the Kings, being up in the series 3-0 in the finals is nothing new. They also had a 3-0 lead back in 2012 against the Devils before dropping games four and five, before finishing the series off in six games. So there is that ray of hope for the Rangers. Also it has happened once in history where a team has come back from down 0-3 in the finals, the Toronto Maple Leafs came back from down 0-3 to win the Stanley Cup in 1942. So it is possible for the Rangers to come all the way back and win the series, but it looks like a real long shot.

Game Four takes place Thursday night at Madison Square Garden. Game will be televised on the NBC Sports Network with the puck scheduled to drop just a little after 8PM!

Lebron James Returns To Form As Heat Take Game Two

During game one of the NBA Finals, the story was the busted AC at the AT&T Center and the play of Lebron James. Game two saw both return to normal. No cramps, no problem for Lebron, as he dropped 35 points and 10 rebounds in a powerful comeback statement game, as the Heat tied the NBA Finals with a 98-96 victory over the San Antonio Spurs in Game 2 Sunday night.

When the game started, it looked like it might be another route by the Spurs. San Antonio seemed to pick up right where they left off near the end of the opener, as they hit 10 of their first 15 shots in the game. Early on in the 2nd quarter, the Spurs had opened up an 11 point lead on the Heat. At that point, it got most fans and observers thinking that this could be a repeat of what happened in game one. Then Lebron took over the court. James had three straight Miami baskets, and a follow shot later in the period gave the Heat their first lead at 34-33. The two teams went back and forth, leading to a 43-43 tie at halftime.

Coming out of the break, Miami and San Antonio continued to go back and forth in the third quarter. James scored 14 of his 35 points in the 3rd quarter alone. However, Patty Mills became a spark off the bench for the Spurs, hitting two three pointers late in the quarter as the Spurs took a 78-77 lead heading into the fourth quarter. The game continued to be close in the final period, going down to the wire. With the Spurs leading by 1 with about a minute and a half left to play, Chris Bosh hit the go-ahead three pointer, putting the Heat up by 2. Manu Ginóbili committed a crucial turnover on the Spurs' next possession before James hit a split on the line to put the Heat up by 3. After a Ginóbili miss on the other end, Bosh found Dwyane Wade for an open layup with 9 seconds remaining to put the Heat up by 5, essentially icing the win for the Heat.

Lebron had a solid night once again, dropping the 35 points to go along with those 10 rebounds. He personally erased a 62-56 San Antonio lead by scoring eight points in less than a minute, and his 14 points in the third quarter had Miami down only 78-77 heading to the fourth (ESPN). That's not all. Sure Lebron had the big game, as he always seems to do come this time of the year. That's what makes Lebron the best player on the planet right now. Lebron didn't do it alone, he did have his supporting cast step up and have an impact. Besides hitting the go ahead three pointer, Chris Bosch finished with 18 points on the night, to go along with three rebounds and two assists. Dwyane Wade also chipped in with 14 points four assists and seven rebounds. Lebron was the only one on the Heat to finish with more than 20 points on the night. The Heat have now won 13 straight following a loss in the postseason, something that is incredibly tough to be able to do.

The Spurs didn't really look too in sync tonight. Sure their big three were pretty productive. Tim Duncan finished with 18 points and 15 rebounds, Tony Parker managed to drop 21 points  to go along with seven assists and Manu Ginobili finished with 19 points. San Antonio had been in a pretty good spot late in the game, withstanding James' assault long enough to lead by one with under 2 minutes to play. But they were shut out from there until Manu Ginobili's 3-pointer as time expired. That wasn't the only thing that did damage to the Spurs. San Antonio could have come away with the win, and the Spurs missed a chance to seize control when Parker and Duncan missed four straight free throws when they had a two-point lead. Those missed opportunities set up Bosch's three pointer near the end to ice the game away.

So now the two teams get to regroup and get ready for the next matchup. Game three takes place Wednesday night at the American Airlines Center in Miami. Game is set to tip off at 9PM on ABC!

Dustin Brown's Heroics In Double Overtime Lifts Kings To Victory

For the 3rd year in a row, the first two games of the Stanley Cup Finals need multiple overtimes to decide games. In 2012, the Kings and Devils went to overtime in the first two games, last year the Blackhawks and Bruins had to go to triple overtime in game 1 and overtime in game two. This year, the same sort of thing happened. The Kings took game one in overtime 3-2. Then game two required double overtime, after a ton of drama and combacks during regulation, to decide the game. This one took half of the 2nd overtime to decide a winner, and when all was said and done, the Los Angeles Kings came out holding a 2-0 lead in the finals series.

For the 2nd game in a row, the Kings found themselves down, and for the 2nd game in a row they had to come back to pull out the victory. The start of game two really saw both teams kind of feeling each other out. Once we hit the halfway point of the opening period, the Rangers really started to carry the play. New York got on the board first, when at the 10:48 mark, Ryan McDonagh scored his 4th of the playoffs on a blast from the point. This goal was set up thanks to Derick Brassard setting the screen in front of Jonathan Quick. When the shot came through, Quick had Brassard right in front of him and never saw the puck at all till it was coming out of the net. The Rangers would increase their lead to 2-0 at the 18:46 mark thanks to Mats Zuccarello 5th of the playoffs on a good shot that beat Quick. So now the Rangers head into the intermission with a two goal lead.

To the middle period we go, and the Kings jump right back into the hockey game. It takes 1:46 into the frame for Jarret Stoll to score his 3rd of the post season. With this goal, the Rangers just simply missed their assignments. Justin Williams made a great play to pull Henrik Lundqvist out of the net and nobody on the Rangers were able to get to Stoll when he buried the puck into the open net. So now the lead was cut in half. The Rangers would re-establish their two goal lead with a powerplay goal, a rarity I know. But at the 11:24 mark of the middle frame, Martin St. Louis scored his 7th of the playoffs to build the Rangers lead back up to 3-1. This goal was a sweet shot by St. Louis, scoring from one knee to roof the puck over a sliding Quick. I've seen St. Louis score goals like this all the time, so it seems like nothing new for Marty to score that way. Los Angles wouldn't go away quietly, as at the 14:39 mark of the period Willie Mitchell scored his 1st of the playoffs on a blast from the point on the powerplay. This goal again cut the Rangers lead to one, and much like the first goal of the game by McDonagh, the goalie never saw the shot. Dwight King set up a screen in front of Lundqvist, not allowing him to see the shot that beat him high over the glove.

So now the Kings are showing a little more life. The energy wouldn't last very long though. The Rangers would yet again as at the 14:50 mark of the period, just 11 seconds later, Derick Brassard scored his 6th of the playoffs on a wraparound to pull the Rangers up to a 4-2 lead. This was a broken play behind the net with Quick and Dwight King both mishandling the puck and Brassard being left alone in front to jam home the lost puck.

So now going into the 3rd the Kings went back into desperation mode to try and pull even. Here is where the controversy started. It took 1:58 into the 3rd period for the Kings to again get within a goal. Most people were talking about this goal as being a point of argument for the Rangers. Judge it for yourself:

Dwight King got credit for the goal, his 3rd of the playoffs. But lets be honest here, the Rangers do have a gripe, as it was goalie interference. Lundqvist had no way to really be able to make the save on that shot and there was a legitimate argument there. The officials have been calling that most of the playoffs, but in this case they didn't. It's obvious that the Rangers do have an argument here, but it went for nothing as the goal did stand.

At this point, the Kings showed life and jump, clawing their way back into the hockey game. Los Angeles was able to pull even, when at the 7:36 mark Marion Gaborik scored his 13th of the playoffs, on a solid individual effort to get the loose puck and whip it past Lundqvist.

The game would remain deadlock at four through the rest of regulation and all of the first overtime. Then in the 2nd overtime, at the 10:26 mark of the frame, this happened:

Dustin Brown got his stick on the point shot, for his 5th goal of the playoffs. The win gave the Kings a 2-0 lead in the final, heading back to New York for games three and four.

This has become a startling trend for the Rangers here in the finals in the fact that they haven't been able to hold on to a lead in a game. They need to be able to keep their foot on the gas pedal. Sure they have had their scoring chances late in the game, but they have to be able to finish. Now the scene shifts to Madison Square Garden in New York, a place that has been very kind to the Rangers, they always seem to play better at home than they do on the road. But there is something that needs to be looked at going into game three and that has been Lundqvist. In the first three rounds, Henrik has played outstanding. In the first two periods of each of the first two games of this series, Hank has looked good. It's the 3rd period where he has folded and looked below average. This is making me wonder if fatigue is starting to set in with the Kings. Whatever it is, he has to get it together before game three.

Another interesting stat to look at. In every Stanley Cup final since the 2004 lockout, the series has started out 2-0, except for last years finals. In those series, the team that has taken the 2-0 lead has held on to win the Cup five of the seven times. So if you have a 2-0 lead in the finals, the odds are in your favor to win the championship.

Game Three is tonight at 8PM on NBC from Madison Square Garden in New York City!

Spurs Too Much To Handle For Heat In Game One

The Heat was on in the opener of the NBA Finals, and the Heat took on a whole new meaning in this ballgame. A fault in the air conditioning system at the AT&T Center in San Antonio caused problems on the court in game one of the finals, leaving the temperatures on the court rising up to close to 90 degrees during the game. Those temperature caused problems for players on both teams, but the Spurs handled the conditions, and the Miami Heat, which got a little help when a suffering LeBron James couldn't make it to the finish. All things thrown into the mix, the Spurs pulled away with a 110-95 win, to take Game One of the finals.

The Spurs said an electrical failure for the power that runs the air-conditioning system had occurred. They apologized for the inconvenience but also seemed to poke fun at it, playing songs with "hot" in the lyrics over the sound system. Fans were trying to cool themselves on the hot night, a reminder of what it was like in the old Boston Garden when the Celtics and Lakers got together. So yeah, the Heat in the building was playing a big factor on this basketball game, for not just the Heat but the Spurs as well.

The AC not working seemed to have more of an impact on the Heat than it did the Spurs. Sure King James finished with 25 points but played only 33 minutes, having to leave the game early because of cramps. Going into the series, King James has had a big impact for the Heat in the playoffs, almost carrying them to the finals on his back. But on this night, he got the Heat going, but once he left the game, the Heat began to wilt, allowing the Spurs to pull away with the game.

Lebron came out with 3:59 left to go in the ball game, just after hitting a layup, the cap of his 25 point night. Once Lebron hit the last shot, he couldn't move his left leg, thus forcing him to come out of the game. James tried to go back into the ballgame, but Heat Coach Erik Spoelstra told him not to move from the bench cause he couldn't even move. I'm sure this was something Lebron was dealing with the entire night, but for some reason I felt the Heat medical staff couldn't seem to figure out how to fix it. Cramps is a tough thing to deal with, but for some reason the Heat training staff weren't able to get a jump on it around halftime, which lead to Lebron being forced out of the game.

Once the King left, the Spurs really took over. When Lebron left the game, the Heat were trailing by two points. Afterwards, the Spurs outscored Miami by 13 points to take away the victory. Sure Lebron had a big night, and yes he got help from Dwyane Wade (19 points), Chris Bosh (18 points), Ray Allen (16 points)and even Rashard Lewis (10 points). But once Lebron came out of the game, and the Heat's unquestioned leader came off the court, it really seemed the Heat lost their heart. San Antonio took full advantage, all of which started when Danny Green hit a 3-pointer to trigger what became a 16-3 run to end the game. This was all coming after the Heat really started to fold late.

San Antonio started the game off a little sloppy, turning the ball over nine times, which is very rare for how good this Spurs basketball team is. Not only that, but the Spurs managed only 20 points in the 3rd quarter, as they had been outplayed by the Heat, as Miami held the 78-76 lead going. San Antonio came back strong in the final quarter, pulling away with the victory. With the win, the Spurs ended up extending their NBA-record streak to eight straight home playoff wins by 15 or more points

Tim Duncan led the Spurs with 21 points and 10 rebounds. Tony Parker added 19 points and Manu Ginobili finished with 16 points and 11 assists for San Antonio, which improved to 10-1 at home in the playoffs.

Heading into game two, things may look a little better for the Heat. Game Two is on Sunday, which will in all likelyhood have cooler, more comfortable conditions for the Heat to try and pull even in the series. Tipoff is set for 9PM Sunday night!

2014 NBA Finals Preview

The time has arrived. After six long months of hard fought battles, the big dance finally has its partners. We started this journey way back in October with 30 teams all keeping their eye on the prize. Now we are down to the final two, with a chance to walk away with the Larry O'Brien trophy as the NBA Champions. This years matchup is an exact repeat of last years championship tilt.

That's right its an exact replica of last season as the Western Conference Champions the San Antonio Spurs get set to take on the Eastern Conference Champions the Miami Heat. This marks the 12th time we will see a rematch in the finals, the last one being in 1997 and 98 when the Utah Jazz took on the Chicago Bulls. this year, the format for the finals has changed. in the past it would be a 2-3-2 set up, where the higher starts the series at home, then plays three on the round and finishes up the series with two more at home, should it go the full seven games. Now this year, the format changes to what we see with hockey and baseball in the 2-2-1-1-1 format for a full seven games. This marks the 12th time in league history, the fifth since the NBA-ABA merger of 1976, that we have had a rematch in the finals. The defending champion has gone 6-6 in those 12 matchups.

This is Miami's fourth straight appearance in the Finals, becoming the first team since the 1987 Boston Celtics to make it to four straight NBA Finals, and only the fourth team in NBA history to achieve that goal. The other teams to do it were the 1960 Boston Celtics, the 1985 Los Angeles Lakers and the 1987 Boston Celtics. Miami is looking to become the first NBA team to three-peat since the 2002 Los Angeles Lakers. In order to get to this finals, Miami eliminated the Charlotte Bobcats in a sweep, following it up by eliminated the Brooklyn Nets in five games. In the Eastern Conference Finals, they would once again play against the Indiana Pacers in a rematch of last year's Conference Finals, winning in six to reach the finals.

As for the Spurs, this is their sixth appearance in the NBA Finals. San Antonio was dominant heading into the postseason, going on a 19-game winning streak, ending with a 21-4 record their last 25 games. In the first round, they faced their rivals, the Dallas Mavericks, beating them in seven games. In the Conference Semifinals, they eliminated the Portland Trail Blazers in five games. In the Conference Finals, they eliminated the Oklahoma City Thunder in six games, and for the first time, having back-to-back Finals appearances, as well, ending a 9 game losing streak at Chesapeake Energy Arena in Oklahoma City. This is an opportunity for the Spurs tow in their fifth title in franchise history.

Here are the date, time and TV channels for every game in this series:
June 5 9:00 pm Miami Heat vs. San Antonio Spurs AT&T Center, San Antonio, Texas ABC
June 8 8:00 pm Miami Heat vs. San Antonio Spurs AT&T Center, San Antonio, Texas ABC
June 10 9:00 pm San Antonio Spurs vs. Miami Heat American Airlines Arena, Miami, Florida ABC
June 12 9:00 pm San Antonio Spurs vs. Miami Heat American Airlines Arena, Miami, Florida ABC
June 15 8:00 pm Miami Heat vs. San Antonio Spurs* AT&T Center, San Antonio, Texas ABC
June 17 9:00 pm San Antonio Spurs vs. Miami Heat* American Airlines Arena, Miami, Florida ABC
June 20 9:00 pm Miami Heat vs. San Antonio Spurs* AT&T Center, San Antonio, Texas ABC

So now that we know how they got to where they are, and when they are going to play each other, lets take a look at what each team is going to have to do to pull this series out.

For the Spurs this is not only a shot at redemption against the Heat, its also a chance to submit a legacy for one of the great teams and franchise of this generation. San Antonio still feels a bit haunted by what happened last year, being 5.3 seconds away from a fifth crown only to have it slip through their fingers. Gregg Popovich has his club ready and raring to go in this finals. Some thought the Spurs would be down after last year, but they pulled it together and had the best record in the entire league, seeming ready to go for it again this year with the Heat.

This years Spurs club has somewhat rebuilt their team from a year ago. They still have their big three of Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili. That big three was given more rest during the regular season than it was a year ago, a move that is starting to pay off here in the playoffs. Manu Ginobli has returned to form so far in this year's playoffs. Manu, in this playoffs alone, is averaging 14.3 points, 4.1 assists, 3.3 rebounds and 1.7 steals a game. This coming from a guy who had little confidence a year ago, and at one point was considering leaving the game. But he is back, healthy and back to his old form. Manu isn't the only one who has had a solid playoffs, Tony Parker has been on his game this year too. He, along with Tim Duncan, have been working the pick and roll almost to perfection in this playoffs. San Antonio has made more improvements over last years club.

They have stock loaded their roster with shooters as well. Parker, Ginobili adn Duncan have all been having great palyoffs. Now throw in the mix the roll players like Kawhi Leonard, Tiago Splitter, Boris Diaw coming off the bench, and the big surprise of the playoffs Danny Green. Green, alone, has been shooting 48% in this years playoffs, meaning that the Spurs have another clutch shooter to go to if the big guys aren't cutting it.

As good as the Spurs offense has been, their defense has been almost as good. San Antonio has been able to mike life miserable for the big stars on the opposition, guys like Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, LaMarcus Aldridge, Damian Lillard and Dirk Nowitzki. All of those guys were held below their season averages in scoring against the Spurs defense. San Antonio not only managed to pull that off, but they did so with little effort, they made it look so easy. Splitter and Leonard have been a driving force behind that, helping put the Spurs in the finals, coming out of the very tough Western Conference.

Miami is looking to do something that hasn't been done in ten years, win three straight titles. They have also become the fourth team to make it to four straight finals. The Spurs had a tough trip through the West, while the Heat seemed to have an easier path. It's been pretty well documented that the East is the weaker of the two conferences, and the Heat handled it as such. Miami managed to go 12-3 during the playoffs against the East, but now they have a tougher test against the Spurs. Right now the Heat really look like a beast just waiting for a true test.

Miami has been scoring at a pretty clip in this years playoffs, posted a league-best +9.4 net rating during the second half, a figure powered by an excellent 119.9 offensive rating. Yeah that's dominate. There have been two real big reasons for that, Lebron James and Dwayne Wade. With Wade, there were times last year and earlier in this playoffs, when he looked a little off his game. But there is an encouraging sign for Heat fans with the way Wade has played lately. Wade is averaging 18.7 points and shooting 51.9 percent in the playoffs, both way up from last year, which is a really good sign. Here's another example of a good sign for the Heat, during all 15 games the Heat have played in this years playoffs, Wade has scored in double digits in each of them.

While Wade has managed to turn his game around, the Heat still have the best player on the planet in Lebron James. Sure there is a good supporting cast on the Heat, but lets face facts, the team can really only go as far as their 29 year old star is going to carry them. Lebron is shooting at about 56.2% during this years playoffs, which is going to be a handful for the Spurs defense. The Heat have the talent to score, but their defense and depth might be a tad bit of a problem. When they lost the two games to the Pacers, the Heat were outplayed and you could see the lack of depth. That could be a problem in the finals.

Prediction:
This is shaping up to be another solid matchup and will most likely be as entertaining as last years meeting was. There are a few notable differences between this years matchup and last year. The Spurs will be coming into this finals a little more rested than a year ago. San Antonio is a deeper team than the were last year. They are more battle tested than Miami is. Lets face facts the West in the NBA is almost leaps and bounds better than the East this season. The fact that the Spurs are still standing at this point proves that this could be their year.

Home court advantage is going to play a factor again this season, just like it did a year ago. San Antonio has home court this year, a place they have been so dominating this season its not even funny. Miami will put up a good fight but the Spurs will be too much.

Spurs in 7!