NBA Finals Preview: Why the Miami Heat Will Three-Peat
Jun 4, 2014; San Antonio, TX, USA; Miami Heat forward LeBron James (6) shoots the ball during practice before game one of the 2014 NBA Finals against the San Antonia Spurs at the AT&T Center. Reuters

June is the season for brides and sacred unions. For the Miami Heat, it's that time of the year for them to be re-united with their two-time partner, the NBA championship.

The 2014 NBA Finals is full of drama and stories that every sports enthusiast is creating an angle for, but no other subplot goes over the aging Spurs last hurrah versus the potential last game together of the Superfriends. For the Spurs, the heartbreak of their runner-up loss to the Heat in dramatic seven games will replay in their heads over and over again, as agonizingly painful as that Ray Allen three in Game 6. For the Miami Heat, LeBron James and company will breathe a sigh of relief by getting over the hump over a well-coached and experienced San Antonio Spurs team.

Both legacies are at stake here. For Duncan, Parker, Ginobili and Popovich, a fourth ring would bookend a remarkable run from 1998 to 2014 wherein a tried and tested veteran team competed day in and out despite being marked old, slow and diminished in the tail end of their career. For LeBron, Wade, Bosh and Spoelstra, a third ring would put them in rank with other legendary teams such as Russel's Celtics, Chamberlain's Lakers, Bird's Celtics, the Showtime Lakers, Jordan's Bulls, and Shaq and Kobe's Lakers.

So in this preview, the question begs, why will the Miami Heat Three-Peat?

1. LeBron James

If you are looking for any reason to win, there is no other place to look into than The King. He is the be all and end all of the defending champs. A Terminator like machine who goes full zero dark thirty mode during the playoffs, LeBron has shown a firm resolve to be placed in the conversation of Mt. Rushmore players such as Bird, Magic and Jordan. He can go a full forty-eight minutes without showing an ounce of fatigue. One of the best two-way players of the game, LeBron is expected to go full beast transformation with the underdog tag given to the Heat this time.

With their off-season experiments of Greg Oden and Michael Beasley gone awry, the departure of ever-reliable Mike Miller, and the claiming of Father Time of Shane Battier and Udonis Haslem, the four-time MVP recipient must dig deep to claim a third straight title. He has to guard bigger players (Diaw, Duncan on switches, Splitter), neutralize quick forwards and guards (Ginobili, Leonard), facilitate, rebound and score on jump shots and on post-ups. He is the greatest Swiss army knife the NBA has seen and he is the main reason why the Heat will three-peat.

2. Wade is healthy

The success of the Spurs of almost winning over the Miami Heat last year is their blatant disregard for Dwayne Wade as a superstar. They dared him to shoot the mid-range. They hid Tony Parker on him. They allowed him to go on isolations. They even at times forgot he was there.

This year, he has shown signs of life. He is utilizing his cutting skills that defenders must account for him at all times. His facilitating skills are opening up opportunities for shooters during drive and kicks. And he has shot respectably well from the outside, that the Spurs would have to guard him and not double off of him. If the Heat even gets a 70% 2006 Wade, they have a chance to have the last dance again.

3. The will to win a third

As the cliché goes, never under estimate the heart of a champion. Better phrased, never ever under estimate a champion going for the legendary three-peat. Three-peats are rare as they come.

This version of the Heat, while diminished in stature and strength, has lots to prove:

They're out to prove that last year's win was not out of luck.

They're out to shut up detractors that they come out every year of a weak conference and they always face a tired Western contender.

They're out to prove that they deserve to be mentioned in the same breath as the great teams that won three-peats such as the 1991-1993 Bulls, 1996-1998 Bulls and the 2000-2002 Lakers.

4. Any role player might just have that Ray Allen moment

The great thing about the big stage is that once in a while a supporting actor hogs the limelight. Jason Terry did that for the 2011 Mavericks. Steve Kerr launched a barrage of threes for the Bulls and the Spurs. The Heat had a few of those the past years - Mario Chalmers, Mike Miller, Shane Battier and Ray Allen.

It is hoping to have lightning strike thrice for all of their unheralded bench guys, the likes of James Jones, Battier, Allen, and even Rashard Lewis who was utilized in the Indiana Pacers series. An out-of-his-mind game or two from one of these players would go a long way in stretching the chore of LeBron James and company to eke out four wins.

5. LeBron

Did I already mention Lebron?

When legacies, hall of fame careers, and NBA annals are at stake in a seven-game series, the viewers are the sure winners. But for the Miami Heat, it is the will and superhuman effort of the so-called Michael Jordan of his time who will determine if the Heat becomes the bride again this June and if the Spurs are relegated to the bridesmaid, yet again.