You can completely sense an attitude from the San Antonio Spurs entering the NBA Finals against the Miami Heat. Tim Duncan explicitly said the team wants the Heat to avenge last year’s loss in the Finals, and you can tell that they are on a mission.
Though LeBron James has a response for San Antonio, it doesn’t quite feel like that “bring it on attitude.”
Here’s what James said of the Spurs Monday after practice.
“They don’t like us, they don’t. I can sense it from Timmy’s comments over the last couple of days. They wanted us and we’ll be ready for the challenge,” James said calmly.
“We’re confident. We’re not shying away from them. We want them too. They want us, they got us.”
Though the Spurs want the rematch with Miami, James doesn’t think it’s a rivalry rooted of hatred.
“I don’t think it’s personal. They said it — we left a sour taste in their mouth because of what happened.”
If James has a lot of confidence going into the series, he sure didn’t express it Monday.
“For us, all we can ask for is an opportunity. That’s all we ask. We ask for an opportunity to represent the Eastern Conference and we worked our tails off to get back here. Whatever happens happens. We play our game, we give ourselves a great chance to win. Win, lose or draw, we’ll be alright with it.”
I’m sure the Heat will play with much more attitude than James expressed on Monday, but I definitely feel like the Spurs are the hungrier team that wants it more. That’s just one of the reasons why I’m picking them to beat Miami.
Video via GIFD Sports
