“Our guys, they actually grew from the loss last year. I call it fortitude. I think they showed an unbelievable amount of fortitude, if I can complement my own team humbly, to have that tough loss, especially Game 6, and not have a pity party. To come back this year, get back to the same position, that’s fortitude. I’m really proud of them and even happier for them.” – Popovich
With Game 3 of the 2014 NBA Finals shifting venues from San Antonio to Miami, the Heat will be on a high after beating the Spurs in San Antonio in Game 2. Miami’s basketball mental toughness will also receive a further boost from playing in front of the American Airlines Arena faithful.
The Spurs could have easily collapsed after last year’s Finals loss, blowing a 5 point lead with 20 seconds to go before they would have been crowned Champions, could have left any team feeling hurt and sorry for themselves during the next season. Instead, the Spurs have battled their way to the Finals for the second time in a row. Popovic successfully managed to rally his troops, make the necessary changes to the roster and flexed the Spurs mental game muscle. All of this has helped the Spurs accept and put the past behind them, allowing them to focus solely on their current season.
With the series split at one game apiece and both teams being physical powerhouses in their own right, this year’s Finals could end up going down to the wire. Each team possesses the physical abilities to potentially cancel each other out on any given day, making it tough to predict the outcome of this match up. Most likely the determining factors will end up being intangibles one, such as the state of each team’s mental game. Basketball tends to be a game of momentum, forever shifting in the favor of one team at the detriment of the other. Whichever team keeps its composure long enough to gain and then successfully control the momentum should come out on top.
In terms of basketball psychology it is a publicly known fact that the Spurs are out seeking redemption for last year’s Finals defeat to Miami. Within the world of sports psychology for basketball, revenge can potentially be a powerful driving force when fuelling a team’s charge. If the Spurs can channel and then manifest these emotional thirsts into positives on the court, Miami could be faced with a formidable opponent. The Spurs also have the home court advantage up their sleeve, something that both coaches and teams will always be aware of as they formulate and then execute their battle plans.
This matchup is going to be physical and emotional, the hallmarks of a potentially great series. The team that will prevail will be the one that can demonstrate superior mental toughness during the crucial times of each game and manages to feed off their emotions in a positive way.
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