Jun 5, 2013; Miami, FL, USA; Miami Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra speaks to the media after practice for game one of the 2013 NBA Finals against the San Antonio Spurs at American Airlines Arena. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports

Both teams dispatched of their respective conference’s most thug-loved squads. So you can make a case that each will gladly welcome a new defensive scheme to, uh, scheme against. Anticipating their adjustments, you can weave a potential scenario wherein each coach opts for a small lineup and draw out the adjusted match-ups accordingly. There are many interesting angles to the NBA Finals matchup of the Miami Heat and the San Antonio Spurs.

Tony Parker has been the NBA’s dark horse option for MVP the last few years, and for good reason. The Spurs have transitioned to a Tony Parker-centric offense for awhile and almost made it to the finals with it last year. Whereas LeBron James is the focal point of Miami’s offense, picking apart a defense and hitting open shooters or driving all the way to the rim, Parker is the Spurs engine doing the same.

Whether Dwyane Wade or Chris Bosh are healthy enough to support James the way Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili will Parker almost doesn’t matter — the fact Bosh won’t be tangling with Indiana’s Roy Hibbert will make him feel fresh as a daisy. Tiago Splitter, for all his defense, rebounding and opportunistic scoring isn’t Hibbert or David West. Bosh will be resurgent against San Antonio.

Wade could have the biggest opportunity to shine, as James, Mario Chalmers and Norris Cole will switch off defending Parker, Wade will most likely draw Danny Green or match up with Ginobili and the Spurs second unit. Kawhi Leonard has shown himself to be a player worthy of hype (tremendous! outstanding!) but hasn’t lined up against LeBron but one time. I have a hard time believing that matchup won’t end up benefiting the Heat more than Parker and whoever ends up checking him.

The Spurs have the personnel to make the Heat’s aggressive defense pay for loading up on pick and rolls, but Wade and LeBron are two of the best off-the-ball perimeter defenders in the league and the fast break points could pile up. If Bosh performs like he’s had a Hibbert-sized weight lifted off his shoulders and all the 40% 3-point shooters come back to their average, Miami could roll in 5.

That’s right. I said it. Miami in 5.

Apr 17, 2013; San Antonio, TX, USA; San Antonio Spurs guard Tony Parker (9) is checked by trainer Will Sevening after he hurt his knee during the second half against the Minnesota Timberwolves at the AT

The NBA got its wish when the Utah Jazz and then the Houston Rockets wet the bed on the final day of the regular season, opening the door for the surging Lakers to leapfrog the Rockets — and the certain playoff doom of an OKC matchup — in exchange for a bout with their old old nemesis, who find themselves limping into the playoffs, the San Antonio Spurs.

Spurs probable starting lineup:

PG Tony Parker

SG Danny Green

SF Kawhi Leonard

PF Tim Duncan

C Tiago Splitter

Jettisoning Stephen Jackson just days before the playoffs began in exchange for Tracy McGrady would seem a questionable move by most clubs, but for the continuity-based Spurs it could be suicidal. Whether hyperbole or not, the Spurs are in a bit of trouble. Dealing with injuries up through the last week of the season to Parker, Leonard, Ginobili and others – they’d be in quite a bit more trouble if their MVP wasn’t lining up against an old-as-dirt sieve like Steve Nash.

Lakers probable starting lineup:

PG Steve Nash

SG Steve Blake

SF Metta World Peace

PF Pau Gasol

C Dwight Howard

The injury to Kobe Bryant seems like a fitting consequence to the league’s shameless attempts to drag the Lakers kicking and screaming into the playoffs — if only the Rockets could have finished off the Suns before losing to the Lakers, OKC would be throttling them in the first round instead of giving the Lakers a shot against a not-quite-healthy Spurs squad that was the only Western Conference qualifier to finish the final 10 games of the season under .500.

Nevertheless, the Spurs will need to get a more than solid performance from its bigs to contend with the Lakers twin towers and a return to form by Ginobili and Parker if they wish to make it a quick series. With their superior depth and coaching, I have no doubts they will.

Prediction: Spurs in 5.