The NBA Finals are finally here!

This week's podcast is all about the San Antonio Spurs' matchup with the Miami Heat for the 2013 NBA title. Trevor Zickgraf (@yowhatupt) and Project Spurs' newest member Aaron Preine (@DukeOfBexar) join me for previews, analysis and predictions. 

We also talk about the legacy of the "Big 3" and much more.

The Spurscast. The first and original Spurs podcast.

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Music: Modest Mouse - Float On

Send me your Finals predictions or anything else you want us to talk about during the rest of the postseason on Twitter (@KyleBoenitz) or at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

The NBA Finals match is finally set between the San Antonio Spurs and Miami Heat. Much has already been hyped for the matchup: The Spurs returning to the finals in six years, the Heat playing in their third straight finals.

Pushing out all the dramatic storylines, it’s time to see what the numbers tell us about these two teams and how things could play out on the basketball floor both from a quantitative and qualitative perspective.

Without further ado, here is your Spurs vs. Heat mega NBA Finals preview. All stats used courtesy of NBA.com/Stats.

Offense and Defense

Points Per Game – Spurs 101.6, Heat 97.2  

Points allowed – Spurs 91.5, Heat 87.6

Offensive rating – Spurs 106.5, Heat 108.4

Defensive rating – Spurs 95.4, Heat 97

The stage is set and the San Antonio Spurs and Miami Heat will meet in the 2013 NBA Finals. Miami has a young core with LeBron James, Chris Bosh and Dwayne Wade which got them to the Finals for a third straight time while San Antonio relies on their veteran core of Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, and Manu Ginobili which battled their way in the West playoffs for a shot at title No. 5.

Of course the running question for the Spurs since their last title in 2007 is whether thier aged "Big 3" were past their primes and their title hopes all but dashed. Fast forward to today and the Spurs are once again in the NBA Finals.

But do not discount age. It is the Spurs' experience that makes them such a perennial contender.

During the NBA Finals, John Karalis of Red's Army will be contributing to Project Spurs during the San Antonio Spurs' chase for title number five.

During the NBA Finals, Philip Rossman-Reich of Orlando Magic Daily will be contributing to Project Spurs during the San Antonio Spurs' chase for title number five.

In Orlando, Grant Hill’s retirement this weekend served as a major reminder of what could have been. And that would have been the Miami Heat before the Miami Heat.

In July of 2000, Hill and Tracy McGrady stepped off a plane in Orlando and were greeted as heroes, signing multi-million dollar deals that would almost assuredly make the Magic the East’s elite team for the better part of the next decade. There was not a giant stadium celebration or promises of “not three, not four . . .”

Hill, of course, found it difficult to shake an ankle injury and five surgeries later he was not the same player and rarely contributed to the Magic. McGrady became a superstar, but disgruntled quickly with the Magic’s inability to build a strong team around him.

And then there was the player that was not there. The player who decided not to join this endeavor and shift the balance of power in the NBA (with or without Hill).

I joined A.J. Speier and Aubrey Gilbert on the Sports Reporters Radio Show (WBNY) on Friday afternoon to talk about the Spurs and the NBA Finals, which will be starting later this week.

The guys asked me about the biggest difference between this team and the team that lost four straight to the Oklahoma City Thunder in last year's Western Conference Finals. We also talked about the loss of coach Mike Budenholzer, the Heat-Pacers series, who I thought would meet the San Antonio Spurs in the Finals and my prediction.

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Tony Parker's journey from relatively unknown 19-year-old point guard to now being considered one of the best point guards and players in the league didn't come without it's bumps and bruises.

The San Antonio Spurs' selection of Parker in the 2001 NBA Draft signaled the end of the Avery Johnson era in San Antonio, which didn't make it any easier to transition into one of the league's best teams.

Don Harris of News 4 San Antonio sat down with Parker after the Western Conference finals to talk about his NBA career.

"Avery Johnson was a great point guard and he was loved here. It’s always tough to come after somebody like that so it takes time," Parker said. "I think at the end of the day I paid my dues."

On this episode of the Project Spurs-News 4 San Antonio, Spurs Roundtable, Jeff Garcia, Jesse Blanchard and Paul Garcia discuss if the Pacers or Heat will be a more favorable matchup in the 2013 NBA Finals.

Jesse brings up how Miami could help Tim Duncan receive more attention if this is indeed if final shot at an NBA title, Paul talks why Indiana might be a better matchup while Jeff says "bring on the Heat."

All this and much more including a discussion of whether this is San Antonio's last shot at an NBA crown.