Cue Cards is a series designed to assist with the common small talk about high-profile recent sporting events that is so omnipresent in the workplace, the bar, and other social settings.
Sport: Basketball
Teams: Miami Heat vs. San Antonio Spurs
When: Thursday night, 6-20-13
Context: Game 7 of the NBA Championships. The seven game series was tied 3-3.
Result: Heat win 95-88
Sports Fans will be Talking About:
- Legacy. The word on everyone’s lips will be legacy. Two championships in a row and three straight trips to the finals cements the records and vindicates the choices of many of the Miami Heat players, coaches, and executives. It puts LeBron more firmly on the podium as one of the greatest players of all time and it makes the Heat’s GM Pat Riley and coach Erik Spoelstra look brilliant for embracing his unique talents and building a team around them.
- Lovable losers — in a way that the Spurs completely failed to do in any of their previous four championships or many playoff runs, this Spurs team in what was probably their last trip to the finals with this group of players was completely admired and appreciated and loved by NBA fans.
- Big How Many? The storyline of the Miami Heat since 2010 has been about the union of three great stars: LeBron James, Dwayne Wade, and Chris Bosh. James had a great game; Wade did his valiant best but was clearly injured as he has been for large parts of the last two years; and Bosh was absolutely wretched. Because looking forward is always interesting, people will be talking about the future make-up of the Heat — will LeBron stay past next year (he’ll be a free-agent) and if he does who will his supporting cast be?
- Rising star Kawhi Leonard? One of the youngest players on the court in a series of aging stars, Kawhi Leonard played a great game with 16 rebounds and 19 points and a handful of great defensive plays. Could he be the future for the Spurs?
What’s Next: It’s over! No more NBA basketball until the fall.