2013 NBA Championship: Highlights Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		2.5
Audio		2.5
Extras		1.5
Overall		2.5

2013 NBA Championship: Highlights Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Martin Liebman January 30, 2021

2013 was probably the peak of the Miami Heat's competitive dominance over the league. The season would see the Heat win 66 games, most in franchise history. The team was coming off a championship season and was in the finals for the third year in a row. The trio of Lebron James, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh was dominating the league. It was a good time to be Heat fan, just like it is today (a slow start in 2021 is coming on the heels of a finals appearance in 2020, showing that the team is back in a big way, even in a now less dominant Eastern Conference landscape). 2013 NBA Championship allows fans the opportunity to relieve what is arguably the best season in Heat history. It's a few years old now in 2021 but, really, championship seasons just don't go out of style.

The film begins with a look at the team’s China excursion to start the season. It explores how the league views defending champions and examines the club's early season struggles and the lengthy midseason winning streak that the Chicago Bulls interrupted; it was the second longest such streak in NBA history. The film transitions to the playoffs, which began with a 4-game sweep of the Milwaukee Bucks and, then, a rematch against the Bulls in the second round; the Heat would drop game one at home but move on to win four consecutive to advance to the Eastern Conference Finals. There, the Heat faced the 49-win Pacers, a club the Heat believed to be one of the elite in the East. The teams literally traded wins throughout the series. Miami took game one. Indiana game two. Miami game three. Indiana game four. The Heat game five. The Pacers game six. Miami would put the Pacers away in game seven with a resounding 99-76 victory to move on to the NBA finals for the third consecutive year.

The Heat entered the Finals against the Spurs in a series fielding several future hall-of-famers on both teams and a star-studded cast all across the court. Tim Duncan and the Spurs were no strangers to high intensity playoff basketball, but neither were the Heat. The back-and-forth series began with the Spurs taking game one, 92-88, with Tony Parker leading the way with 21 points. Miami's balanced game two attack which saw five players score double digits -- led by Mario Chalmers' 19 -- propelled the team to even the series at one. In San Antonio, the Spurs took game three in a blowout, 113-77, but the humiliating defeat only lit a fire under the Heat which rebounded to take game four, 109-93, spurred on by Lebron's 33-point attack. Game five saw the pendulum once again swing to San Antonio. Tony Parker's 26 points helped the Spurs win the game 114-104 and take a 3-games-to-2 lead in the best-of-seven series. The Heat would take game six 103-100 in a classic overtime affair, setting the stage for the team's series win on home court in game seven with a 95-88 win. Lebron would score 37 in the game and was named Finals MVP.

The film, narrated by Ahmad Rashad, is a capable if not generically structured retrospective that explores the Heat's regular season in fleeting fashion; even the lengthy winning streak is only given a little more than cursory examination with a highlight on the game that snapped it. Much of the runtime is dedicated to the playoffs and even then only a fraction to the Eastern Conference rounds. Much of the story rightly centers on the matchup with the Spurs. Through unique footage not seen on television, sideline and locker room access, interviews, and other behind-the-scenes moments, the film capably recounts the core story and captures all the action and drama of Miami's championship run. Fans familiar with Team Marketing championship season recaps will feel right at home. It would be nice if there was a release that included all the games in their entirety -- this was a classic series -- but this ~hour-long program does a fine job presenting the highlights along with some added substance.

2013 NBA Championship: Highlights Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

2013 NBA Championship arrives on Blu-ray with a 1080i transfer framed at 1.78:1, completely filling the standard HD display. The picture is serviceably clear and detailed. Interviews and other opportunities to see more or less static facial and clothing elements prove the image is well capable of revealing good essential textures, though certainly there's a limit inherent to the various video sources (whether the interviews, on-floor footage, or behind-the-scenes) and the 1080i resolution. Viewers will find various examples of source noise in addition to a slew of other problems, such as jagged edges, banding, and macroblocking. These issues are generally not a serious distraction but the image, at a few junctures, borders on crumbling. Color output is similarly limited. The image delivers adequate core tonal output, particularly as it's seen on the various NBA uniforms, paint on the floor, and the like, but don't expect to find pro-level tonal nuance and lifelike fidelity. This is very watchable, but audiences will not find anything remotely resembling a high end Hollywood digital shoot.

2013 NBA Championship: Highlights Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The lossy two channel Dolby Digital 2.0 soundtrack cannot match similarly configured lossless presentations for fidelity, but it does deliver a perfectly serviceable listen. The track stretches the front side with authority, pushing to the edges for music and effects, like crowd noise and light reverb around the practice floor, while on-court banter, interviews, and narration are perfectly clear and image well to a natural front-center location. There is nothing remarkable here, but Heat and basketball fans should find the presentation perfectly suitable for the material at hand.

2013 NBA Championship: Highlights Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

2013 NBA Championship includes a few supplements as outlined below. This release ships with a DVD copy and inside a DVD case. No digital copy code is included with purchase. This release does not ship with a slipcover.

• NBA Finals Game 6 - 4th Quarter and OT (1080i, 45:46): With the Spurs leading 3 games to 2 and leading the game 75-65 to start the quarter, the Heat fight to force overtime and, later, game 7.
• NBA Finals Game 7 - 4th Quarter (1080i, 27:43): Relive the final 12 minutes of game 7 action. The Heat enter the quarter up by 1, 72-71.
• Dwayne Wade Social Media Profile (1080i, 2:05): Wade shares his handle and the athletes he follows.
• Lebron James Social Media Profile (1080i, 2:05): King James reveals his handle, key NBA players he follows, and looks at some special moments and go-to moves in his career.
• Mario Chalmers Player Profile (1080i, 2:22): A quick interview with the Heat guard.
• Miami Heat All Access (1080i, 2:00): Quickly looking into practice.

2013 NBA Championship: Highlights Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The Spurs would exact revenge by beating the Heat in the following season's finals, which would be Lebron's last in South Beach. He'd return to Cleveland and make four straight finals appearances there after four straight with Miami. 2013 NBA Championship recaps the Heat's 2012-2013 season with a basic overview that spends the majority of its time on the playoffs and much of that on the seven-game finals series. It's a typical sports recap and, while aging a bit in 2021, it's still a nice little bit of NBA and Miami Heat history that fans will want to relive even years down the line. Team Marketing's Blu-ray delivers serviceable picture and sound and includes a few extras. Recommended to Heat and NBA fans.