Hate is a strong word, so let’s just say the San Antonio Spurs really, really, really don’t like the Miami Heat.
Or that LeBron James is really, really, really delusional.
Talking with reporters ahead of Game 1 of the 2014 NBA Finals, which will take place Thursday night, LeBron concluded that the Spurs have no love for the Heat, per USA Today‘s Jeff Zillgitt:
The Miami Heat heard San Antonio Spurs star Tim Duncan loud and clear.
“They don’t like us. They don’t,” LeBron James told news reporters Monday in Miami. “I can sense it from Timmy’s comments over the last couple of days. … They want us, so they got us.”
Being the fan of perspective that I am, it’s only right that we take a look at what Tim Duncan has been saying over the last couple of days—mainly what he told TNT’s David Aldridge following San Antonio’s Game 6 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder—courtesy of ESPN’s J.A. Adande:
“It’s unbelievable to regain that focus after that devastating loss that we had last year,” Duncan said. “But we’re back here. We’re excited about it. We’ve got four more to win. We’ll do it this time. We’re happy it’s the Heat again. We’ve got that bad taste in our mouths still.”
If that’s hate, well, then I’m pretty sure my two sisters hate me at least five days out of the week.
Timmy D’s comments were tame, though they were also probably about as animated as the stoic legend can offer. Fueling the fire isn’t his style. If the Heat are looking for instigators, they left them behind in the Eastern Conference Finals. The Spurs are not the Indiana Pacers. Duncan is not Lance Stephenson.
Sure, the Spurs have every reason to hate the Heat. They stole last year’s title from them. Stole it, I tell you. The Spurs were seconds away from their fourth championship of the Big Three era, and fifth of the Duncan era, when Chris Bosh nabbed an offensive rebound off a missed LeBron three and dished it to a waiting Ray Allen, who drilled a right corner trey to force overtime. The rest is history. Literally. The Heat went on to beat the Spurs in overtime, and then proceeded to win Game 7, arming themselves with a second straight championship.
Does this mean that Duncan throws darts at polaroids of Allen’s face during down time? Or that he tapes pictures of Bosh to his punching bags at home? Obviously…not.
There is clearly no love lost between these two teams, but let’s not start gassing a heated rivalry. This is purely a good, entertaining matchup that we should all be dying to see. It’s the Spurs’ chance at redemption vs. the Heat’s shot at immortality. Hate isn’t a word or feeling associated with this clash.
Why bullshit if you’re LeBron?
Motivation.
Winning three straight titles should be enough of an inspiration, but complacency remains an ever-present danger. Capturing three consecutive championships is difficult. That’s why few teams have done it. The dynastic Spurs haven’t even done it. Fires are extinguished. Energy is curbed. Weaknesses are exploited.
Ferocious edges are lost.
LeBron is merely trying to ensure this doesn’t happen; he’s trying to safeguard himself against losing that already modestly espoused killer instinct. And who are we to argue with King James? Whatever works for him sure as hell works in general.
If he wants to believe Duncan and the Spurs are practicing voodoo at the Heat’s expense, then by all means, let LeBron ship them the dolls, needles and ceremonial Miami-hating speeches.
Dan Favale is a firm believer in the three-pointer as well as the notion that defense doesn’t always win championships. His musings can be found at Bleacherreport.com in addition to TheHoopDoctors.com.
