WASHINGTON (Reuters):

THE TITLE-starved Cleveland Cavaliers know their chances of beating the San Antonio Spurs in the NBA finals rest largely on the broad shoulders of Drew Gooden.

Cleveland will get their scoring from LeBron James and their rebounding from Zydrunas Ilgauskas but it will be Gooden charged with containing Spurs' All-Star centre Tim Duncan.

The 25-year-old Gooden, a burly fifth-year player, is well aware of his mission when the best-of-seven series begins tonight in San Antonio.

"He's a tough guy and everyone knows that," Gooden said of Duncan, a three-time finals MVP. "He's a load inside. He's consistent throughout the game and he stays within himself.

"He's done it. He's been MVP and he has rings. He's the typical franchise building-block player that you want for an organisation."

While San Antonio are shooting for their fourth title in nine years, the Cavaliers are seeking the first championship in their 37-year history.

James is the cornerstone of the franchise, a 6-foot-8, 22-year-old scoring machine able to single-handedly wreak havoc on the Spurs.

During game five of the Cavaliers' six-game defeat of Detroit in the Eastern Conference finals, James scored his team's final 25 points during a 109-107 double-overtime win.

Cleveland won both meetings against the Spurs this season and while James said there was something to be learned from it, "At the same time you can't dwell on it".

"That's a very great team, they're very experienced, they've been to the finals before and they know how to handle adversity," said James, a hometown hero who grew up in nearby Akron.

"We have to just attack, attack, attack. That has to be our mindset and we give ourselves a chance to win."

Cleveland will have to play at their best to beat San Antonio, a methodical half-court squad that entered the season regarded by many as the third-best team in the Western Conference.

Even though several ofthe Spurs' younger players like Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili already have several championship rings, coach Gregg Popovich is not concerned about a lack of motivation.

"They're all competitors," he said. "I'm not sure how rare they think it is (making the finals) since they've been there quite often considering their young ages.

"But they know it's the finals and that will take care of any possible complacency I would think."