After three grueling rounds, the Miami Heat and San Antonio Spurs are once again the last two teams standing in the NBA Playoffs. The Heat prevailed in dramatic fashion last year, but the Spurs will be desperate to win what must almost certainly be Tim Duncan’s last best chance at a fifth title.
We’ve compiled picks from some of the leading hoops experts and analysts to see who they think will win this Finals rematch. For an in-depth analysis on who will win Game 1, check out our Heat vs. Spurs Game 1 preview.
Should these experts’ opinions be enough to convince you on the eventual 2014 NBA champion, create a betting account today and follow their sage advice.
[sc:NBAArticles ]Experts Predictions for the 2014 NBA Finals
ESPN
Finals Prediction |
Expert |
|---|---|
| Heat in 6 (3) | Chris Broussard, Israel Gutierrez, David Thorpe |
| Heat in 7 (3) | Chad Ford, Bradford Doolittle, Tom Haberstroh |
| Spurs in 5 (2) | Kevin Pelton, Benjamin Morris |
| Spurs in 6 (2) | Ethan Strauss, Henry Abbott |
| Spurs in 7 (8) | J.A Adande, Kevin Arnovitz, Amin Elhassan, Ramona Shelburne, Marc Stein, Michael Wallace, Brian Windhorst, Royce Young |
The Worldwide Leader’s army of hoops experts have come out with their Finals picks, and only six out of the 18 are picking the Heat to three-peat, with the other dozen siding with the Spurs to get the job done this time around. Eight of those 12 who did pick San Antonio figure this to be another epic seven-game war, with the Spurs emerging this time around with their fifth NBA title.
We agree that it likely will be another long series, especially if both teams hold serve at home. Remember, the Spurs haven’t lost at home since Game 1 of the first round, while the Heat are unbeaten in South Beach throughout the playoffs. Unlike last year when the Spurs lost Game 7 on the road, San Antonio will now hold homecourt advantage in this series, which could be a decisive edge.
USA Today
Expert |
Finals Prediction |
|---|---|
| Sam Amick | Spurs in 7 |
| Jeff Zillgitt | Heat in 6 |
| Kevin Spain | Spurs in 7 |
| Adi Joseph | Heat in 6 |
The four experts at USA Today are split at two apiece, but they are in agreement on the two possible outcomes: Spurs in 7 and Heat in 6. Sam Amick and Kevin Spain are in agreement with most of their ESPN counterparts in that the Spurs will prevail in Game 7 at home. Meanwhile, Jeff Zillgitt and Adi Joseph are more confident in the Heat’s ability to win in San Antonio, which will allow them to close out in Game 6 in Miami.
Both Zillgitt and Joseph just can’t look past the greatness of LeBron James, which is pretty hard to do. James’ playoff averages of 27 PPG on 56% shooting are nearly identical to his regular season numbers, but you feel he can still take it to another level in the Finals.
TNT
Expert |
Finals Prediction |
|---|---|
| Shaq | ? |
| Kenny | Miami Heat |
| Charles | Miami Heat |
Former Miami Heat center Shaquille O’Neal is unsure if his old team can outlast Tim Duncan and the Spurs this time around, but his other two TNT analysts, Kenny Smith and Charles Barkley, had no such qualms in declaring the Heat as their pick to win the title. Barkley also sides toward LeBron as his main reason, while Smith stated that the uncertain health of Tony Parker and the improved health of Dwyane Wade swayed him toward Miami.
Dwyane Wade has certainly picked up his game in the playoffs, increasing his scoring average in each of the first three rounds. While James is capable of single-handedly deciding a game by himself, the Heat need Flash to be on his A-game if they’re to topple the Spurs again.
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