After six crazy weeks the NBA has provided the Finals matchup that all fans wanted to see. In a repeat of last year’s Finals, the Miami Heat and the San Antonio Spurs will go head-to-head on Thursday in the first of a potential seven-game series.

This is a very tough series to call and either team has the potential to sweep the other. Conversely, it could very easily go to seven games. What we do know however is that there will be battles on and off the court. Aodán Mitchell is here to discuss the five key battle that could determine the destination of the Larry O’Brien trophy for 2014.

1. Who Wins Small Ball?

The Spurs played with two bigs in Tiago Splitter and the ageless Tim Duncan all season long until they ran into a brick wall named Serge Ibaka in the Western Conference finals. The Spurs started the ‘Red Rocket’ Matt Bonner in his place and won two straight.

The Heat on the other hand went big at the start of the Eastern Conference Finals against the Indiana Pacers but they eventually dusted off the seldom used Rashard Lewis and found a happy medium between going big and going small.

The Spurs will likely have to go small against the Heat as the Heat are virtually unbeatable when they have 4 shooters surrounding LeBron James. If Lewis gets going early then the Spurs are in trouble, if the Spurs continue to go big then poor Tiago Splitter will be run in to an early grave.

Splitter really does not want to be closing out on corner three’s all series long or chasing Ray Allen around screens, just ask David West how difficult that is. The Spurs do have the options to go small and one of the main keys is Boris Diaw. Diaw’s passing and three point shooting could cause as many matchup problems for the Heat as Lewis does for the Spurs.

Advantage: Miami

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2. Gregg Popovich vs Erik Spoelstra

Let’s make this clear; you do not win a coaching battle against Pop, it is really that simple. But what coach Spo needs to do is keep this battle close. Pop is the master, he’s been there done that, got the rings. But Spo should not be overlooked. We cannot forget that this is his fourth Finals appearance in row also so there is not be much he has not seen either.

Both these coaches have their players’ trust. When the coaches talk the players listen, it does not matter if you’re Patty Mills, Tim Duncan or LeBron James. Pop has a résumé of titles and seasons of winning 50 plus games and Eric Spoelstra is only in the midst of building his résumé.

The years of experience create a convincing argument that Popovich still maintains a coaching edge over Spoelstra.

Advantage: Spurs

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3. The Winners Of The Individual Battles

There are always games where a role player steps up a big way but when it comes to the NBA Finals it’s the stars who make the real difference. If Tim Duncan establishes himself in the paint against Chris Bosh, this has a rippling affect. The Heat will be unable to send double teams at Timmy if the wing players are making threes.

On the other hand if Bosh can play like he did in the final three games against the Pacers then this spaces the floor better for LeBron James. Speaking of which, if he can dominate his matchup against Kawhi Leonard more than Tony Parker can against Mario Chalmers/Norris Cole then this is a huge advantage for the Heat.

We cannot overlook the fact that Dwyane Wade was rested during the regular season for this specific time of the year. Wade and Manu Ginobili may not spend much time guarding each other but whoever outplays the other will go a long way to determining the outcome of this series.

Advantage: Too hard to call.

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To Sum Up…

There are plenty of other matchups to look out for. Both these teams love running plays to get an open three-pointer and whoever can get their three point specialists going quickest is in with a great shot at winning it all.

These teams are not great rebounders, so the battle of the boards could be key. The Spurs bench has been fantastic, if the Heat can’t keep up they’re in trouble.

If the Heat are going to win then they’ll do it in 6. The Heat have won a game away from home in every playoff series since the big three came together. The Spurs will have a possible game 7 on their home floor, which will be huge.

All this writer can say is sit back and enjoy the ride that is the NBA Finals.

Aodán Mitchell, Pundit Arena

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