The stage is set and the San Antonio Spurs and Miami Heat will meet in the 2013 NBA Finals. Miami has a young core with LeBron James, Chris Bosh and Dwayne Wade which got them to the Finals for a third straight time while San Antonio relies on their veteran core of Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, and Manu Ginobili which battled their way in the West playoffs for a shot at title No. 5.
Of course the running question for the Spurs since their last title in 2007 is whether thier aged "Big 3" were past their primes and their title hopes all but dashed. Fast forward to today and the Spurs are once again in the NBA Finals.
But do not discount age. It is the Spurs' experience that makes them such a perennial contender.
In an interview with French site Sports.fr, Boris Diaw credits the team's experience which enabled them to get to the 2013 NBA Finals.
No, it's been a few years now people say that San Antonio is aging and in the end, it turns out that this is not really the case. On the contrary, I think it's a bonus for us because it is precisely that experience that helped us to be as regular this season and we climb to the finals.
The Spurs do come into the series against the Heat with tons of postseason experience but Miami also does as well. It may not compare to San Antonio's but as stated before, this is their third straight Finals appearance, James has been on the big stage four times (3 with Miami and 1 with Cleveland) and Wade has won a couple before.
But in this series, it may come down to the role players. We know what the Heat's and Spurs' "Big 3" can do but guys like Danny Green, Kawhi Leonard, Mario Chalmers, Norris Cole, and others will have to step up.
If experience is the greatest teacher then this series may come down to which team has learned the most.
