Heat and Spurs will meet in NBA Finals, majority of SheridanHoops.com predicts

It really all comes down to two questions as we look ahead to the Eastern and Western Conference finals:

_ Do the Thunder have the Spurs’ number?

_ Do the Pacers have any kind of chemistry whatsoever remaining, despite what that photo would suggest?

You may remember the regular season. It ended a month ago, it was 82 games per team, and a couple of noteworthy things happened: Oklahoma City swept San Antonio, going 4-0; and the Pacers stood atop the Eastern Conference standings for all but a couple of days, earning themselves the right to host a Game 7 if there is one against the Miami Heat.

Which of those two things still matters?

Depends on your perspective. If you are the Spurs, you look yourselves in the mirror, you tell yourselves you are opening at home for a reason — because you are the better team — and you remind everyone that Brooklyn’s 4-0 sweep over Miami in the regular season didn’t amount to much in the postseason.

If you are the Pacers, you regather yourselves, you try to forget the trials and tribulations of the past two months, and you look yourself in the mirror and repeat the phrase “It’s zero to zero right now. And we were better than them this season.”

We’ve waited a long time to see who the NBA’s Final Four would be, and we got what should have been expected: A pair of No. 1 seeds facing off against a pair of No. 2 seeds.

The MVP will be playing in the West finals; the runner-up will be playing in the East finals. The defending champs are trying to get one step closer to a repeat, the defending runner-ups are trying to get a shot at redemption after a championship of their own was squandered on the edge of Biscayne Bay in Game 6 of the NBA Finals last June.

If the Heat get through this stage, they are one step closer to a dynasty. If the Pacers knock them off, they are one step closer to the first championship since the franchise played in the ABA.

If the Spurs get through this stage, they get the opportunity to atone for the sins their coach committed in Miami a year ago; If the Thunder get through, they get a chance to makeup for the moment they were not ready for two years ago when they lost in 5 games to the Heat.

This is the time when it gets good, folks.

One game per night nearly every night. (Guys, there are no games Thursday or Friday of next week. Make your date night plans now.) The four best teams, and no more Donald Sterling; no more Kevin Garnett; no more David Stern; no more 2-3-2 format in the next round, when it’ll be 2-2-1-1-1 just as it is now.

Who will win?

Who knows?

But our esteemed panel of columnists all have their opinions, which are listed below. And for those who wonder if any of these folks have any idea of what they are talking about, here is a link to our second round predictions.