I'm starting to get the feeling that this NBA Finals hinges on two players: Lebron James and Tony Parker. Yet, this defies everything we know about how NBA Finals are won.
It has always been the role players that make the difference in the past. Steve Kerr, Robert Horry, Derek Fisher. These men cemented their legacies in basketball lore as role players who came through when they were needed most.
When the Spurs faltered in the last few playoffs it was the role players that struggled: DeJuan Blair, George Hill, Danny Green and others. When the Celtics won their Championship in 2008 some of the biggest shots were hit by P. J. Brown and Eddie House, and Leon Powe had a huge impact. Two years later, in the 2010 Finals, it was Nate Robinson and Big Baby that had Celtics fans planning to call in sick for the parade after Game 4, and it was Ron Artest that his the two biggest, most back-breaking shots at the end of an ugly Game 7. Last year, Mike Miller exploded for seven 3's in Game 5 of the Finals.
This is what we relearn year after year. We spend so much time talking about the superstars on each team and how they match up. But the superstars are superstars because they come out and amaze, compete, and produce every single night. They are almost givens, and it is the role players that often are the difference. It's why experts spend so much time talking about X-Factors, as if they know who will step up.
Yet again, with this series, I can't help but shake this feeling. This feeling that Tony Parker and Lebron James are both playing at the highest level in their career. Parker critics often point to his sub-par fourth quarters. They claim he can't be trusted when the game is on the line. They were a millisecond from being validated after he dribbled the ball off his own leg at the end of Game 1. But that shot.
I can't help but feel like these are two very good teams, each with their own advantages against the other based on the match ups. I can't help but feel that each team is going to have to rely on their own Superstar heavily and with all due respect to Dwayne Wade and especially Tim Duncan, I'm not talking about them. I can't help but feel that whichever Superstar can come through for their team in the toughest of situations, Tony Parker or Lebron, will be holding one more NBA Finals MVP trophy.
