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The Miami Heat and San Antonio Spurs are no strangers to the NBA Finals. The Heat are returning to the championship for a fourth consecutive year while the Spurs are making their sixth trip since 1999, including last years matchup with the Heat. Both clubs are filled with All-Stars and future Hall of Famers. With so much talent and experience on the court, picking a winner isnt an easy thing to do. The question is, which player in the NBA Finals is most important to their teams success? Who needs to be on top of their game for their team to have a shot at the Larry OBrien Trophy? Lets start off with the Miami Heat. The obvious choice is LeBron James. The player widely regarded as the best in the world is a game-changer in every sense of the word. Hes taken home the Finals MVP the past two championship seasons for the Heat and is in the prime of his career. In Game 7 against the Spurs last year, James racked up 37 points, 12 rebounds and four assists. Not a bad performance for the biggest stage an NBA player could ever play on. If James is on his game, or close to it, are the Heat a lock to capture their third consecutive championship? Dwyane Wade played the 2013 Finals with a bad left knee and was still able to contribute to the teams success. Now in 2014, the 32-year-old has a clean bill of health (for his standards) and is ready to compete for his fourth title in a Miami uniform. Wade is averaging 18.7 points and close to 20 minutes of play per game throughout these playoffs. The knee doesnt seem to be an issue. Wades leadership and secondary scoring behind James may be integral to Miamis chances. The third wheel when it comes to the Miami Heat is Chris Bosh. The 30-year-old Dallas native doesnt seem to get the same respect as his fellow Heat All-Stars. But, the reality is, Bosh is a good player. The Heat probably wouldnt have been as dominant as theyve been over the past few seasons if Bosh had stayed with the Toronto Raptors. Does Bosh need to continue being effective for the Heat to be at the top of their game as a group? The Spurs have their share of talented players as well. The ageless Tim Duncan will be vying for his fifth championship with San Antonio. Even as a 38-year-old in his 17th season in the NBA, Duncan hasnt missed a step in these playoffs, averaging close to a double-double. Will Duncans leadership and flawless fundamentals on the court be the difference-maker in a Spurs series victory? Last year it was Wade hobbled with an injury in the Finals, now its Spurs point guard Tony Parker stricken with the bug. Parker is dealing with a lingering left ankle problem that forced him to miss the second half of Game 6 against the Oklahoma City Thunder in the Western Finals. Hes expected to play in Game 1. Even with the wonky ankle, the 32-year-old is leading the team in points (17.2) and assists (5.7) this post-season. If Parker can stay healthy enough to contribute on the court, San Antonio might be able to figure out Miami. Manu Ginobili is arguably the most reliable bench player in the Association and is a major key to the Spurs success. If San Antonio is going to beat Miami, will Ginobili be a major reason why? And then there is Gregg Popovich. The four-time NBA champion and three-time Coach of the Year (including this season) knows the game like the back of his hand. Will his fiery intensity be enough to help dethrone the Heat? So there you have it, the main characters of the 2014 NBA Finals. It was a great seven-game series last June and theres no reason the same wont happen this time around. With these teams being so evenly matched, its hard to predict a winner and one player could be the difference. So, which player is most important to their team winning the Larry OBrien Trophy? As always, its Your! Call. 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First reported by FOX Sports Ken Rosenthal, its unknown if the impetus for the deferral proposal came from players or management, but it never left the preliminary stages.CHICAGO -- The title was right there, across the front of the soaked grey T-shirts that each of the Atlanta Braves wore. "WE OWN THE EAST," it read. The Braves wrapped up the NL East crown, and then rode two homers by Andrelton Simmons to a 5-2 victory over the Chicago Cubs that touched off a wild party in the cramped visitors clubhouse at Wrigley Field. The game was in the sixth inning when Washington lost 4-2 to Miami, giving the Braves their first division championship in eight years. There were a few high-fives in Atlantas dugout when the Marlins won, and a couple of Braves fans did the tomahawk chop in the stands. Manager Fredi Gonzalez high-fived a fan as he made his way to the dugout after a lineup change, and the celebration really picked up when Craig Kimbrel finished for his major league-best 49th save. The Braves poured out of the dugout and bullpen and jumped in a circle near the mound at the 99-year-old ballpark. "What a great feeling," Gonzalez said. "It really is a great feeling to realize weve played 150-some games to get to this point. We knew early on that the Nationals had lost but we still wanted to be able to celebrate and come out with a win. And we did." The Braves sprayed bubbly and doused each other with beer in the clubhouse. Cigars were passed around, and the smoke quickly filled the small room. A couple of players took a quick break to check on their fantasy football teams, and then re-joined the party. "This is only one celebration of four, hopefully," slugger Freddie Freeman said. Simmons hit a solo drive in the fourth and a two-run shot in the eighth, giving him 17 homers on the year. Simmons second career multihomer game was more than enough run support for Julio Teheran (13-8), who struck out seven over six innings of one-run ball. The Cubs had a chance to tie it when they put runners on second and third with two outs in the fifth, but Teheran managed to escape the jam despite a solid at-bat by Starlin Castro. Teheran needed 11 pitches to get Castro for a swinging strikeout, preserving Atlantas 3-1 lead. "We have a lot of close games and we just havent been able to come back or rally at home," Cubs manager Dale Sveum said. Freeman also hit a two-run homer for the Braves, who have won three of four. Freeman went got three hits and is batting .356 (26 for 73) with six homers and 17 RBIs in his last 20 games. Freeman went deep in the first against Edwin Jackson (8-17), who allowed three runs and eight hits in six-plus innings. The right-hander leads the majors with 17 losses in his first season with the Cubs. "I kind of feel like I got beat with two pitches," Jackson said, "moreso the slider 1-2 (to Simmons) than the fastball by Freeman." Atlanta is headed to the playoffs for the second straight year and third time in four seasonns.ddddddddddddBut its the first division title for the Braves since 2005, when they won 90 games and then lost to Houston in the division series. The Braves were the NLs top wild card a year ago, trying to make one more playoff run for Chipper Jones in the third basemans final season. Those hopes were quickly dashed when they committed three errors in a 6-3 home loss to St. Louis in their only game of the 2012 post-season. "We know last year what happened," Simmons said. "We played pretty good but not good enough and we had to deal with a one-game playoff thing. Its definitely a different feeling. "Now we know weve got some time, weve got some games to work with. Weve got a little bit of time to rest our players." The only question now is home-field advantage throughout the NL playoffs, with Atlanta, Los Angeles and St. Louis in the mix for the leagues best record. Its quite the accomplishment for Gonzalez and the Braves, who were beset by injuries for much of the year. Veteran catcher Brian McCann missed the first month following off-season shoulder surgery. The outfield of Jason Heyward and brothers Justin and B.J. Upton all missed time. Second baseman Dan Uggla had eye surgery and pitcher Tim Hudson broke his right ankle in July, shelving the right-hander for the rest of the season. Atlanta kept going the way it often does -- with outstanding pitching. Teheran, Mike Minor and Kris Medlen helped anchor the rotation, while Kimbrel led the Braves shutdown bullpen, which overcame injuries to left-handers Jonny Venters and Eric OFlaherty to once again be among the majors best relief corps. Of course, the lineup had its share of key performances. Freeman blossomed into one of the majors best first basemen, unheralded rookie Evan Gattis stepped up and Chris Johnson proved to be a more than adequate replacement for Jones at third. The free-swinging Braves lead the NL with 177 homers and are among the league leaders in strikeouts as well. Long after it was over, Gonzalez took his cigar out to the field and took some pictures of the scoreboard. The sprinklers came on as he walked back to the dugout, but he didnt seem to mind one bit. It was quite a fun day. "You want to clinch at home in front of your fans, but if you cant I think clinching in one of these stadiums -- Wrigley or Fenway -- one of those old traditional-type ballparks would be second-best," Gonzalez said. NOTES: The Braves went 5-1 against the Cubs this season ... Minor (13-7, 3.19 ERA) is slated to face Milwaukee RHP Marco Estrada (6-4, 4.26 ERA) when the Braves return home to open a three-game series against the Brewers on Monday. ... Cubs RHP Jeff Samardzija (8-12, 4.42 ERA) faces Pirates RHP Charlie Morton (7-4, 3.35 ERA) on Monday in the opener of a three-game series at Wrigley. ' ' '