After San Antonio clinched the Western Conference with an OT Game 6 win in OKC, it set the stage for a rematch of the 2013 NBA Finals between the Spurs and Heat. Tim Duncan informed everyone, “we’re happy that it’s the Heat again,” which — if it wasn’t Duncan and the Spurs — might have been considered disrespectful to the back-to-back champs. LeBron James responded yesterday.
Here’s more from Duncan: “We’ll be ready for [the Heat]. We’ve got some experience, obviously, from last year against them, and we’ll go back and look at some film. And we’ve got that bad taste in our mouths still. Hopefully, we’ll be ready to take it this time.”
LeBron said, by way of Bleacher Report’s Ethan J. Skolnick, “They don’t like us.”
LeBron on Spurs: "They don't like us. I can sense that from Tim's comments the past couple days."
— Ethan J. Skolnick (@EthanJSkolnick) June 2, 2014
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As for the direct challenge Duncan lobbed by saying the Spurs wanted the Heat, James answered that, too:
LeBron on Spurs: "They wanted us. They got us."
— Ethan J. Skolnick (@EthanJSkolnick) June 2, 2014
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The Spurs are right where they’ve wanted to be since losing last June, and with 12 months to ponder what could have been, you know they’ll be itching to go.
If Duncan’s words were directed at MJ or Kobe’s team, we’d all be writing about how both players are planning to eviscerate the Spurs. With James, it’s a little different, regardless of how things finished last time around — specifically because James respects the Spurs organization.
Still, oddsmakers favor the Spurs heading into the series, and the teams split their pair of regular season battles with their stars missing some action in both contests. There’s just no telling how things will go starting on Thursday night.
One thing we do know, though, is Tiago Splitter should stay earth-bound as much as possible over the next couple weeks.
Will Duncan’s comments motivate James and the Heat?
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