SAN ANTONIO — The King has been reduced to a pawn, so we will spare you another column devoted entirely to the troubles and travails of LeBron James. You can find that elsewhere. All you need to know about the king (lower case is intentional) after the Miami Heat’s 36-point blowout loss in Game 3 of the NBA Finals was that he put the blame squarely on his own shoulders and said “I’m not doing my part.” The eunuching of James
Where have you gone, LeBron James? Before getting into the search for the Bron who averaged 30-8-8 in February, looking like a full peer of Michael Jordan, I’d like to make clear that I have nothing against the guy. This is important with so many fans who hate Bron, and so many press people who alternate between savaging him when he loses and prostrating themselves before him when he wins. Even if it means savaging him Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday and prostrating
The San Antonio Spurs might be in trouble. On the surface, things appear to be OK. The Spurs have executed their defensive game plan, which is to turn LeBron James into a passer. They have prevented the Miami Heat from turning either game into an extended relay race. And most important, they secured a split of the first two games as the road team, which is practically mandatory in the 2-3-2 format of the NBA Finals. Beneath the surface, however, the Spurs
MIAMI — On Friday evening in South Beach, from about 8:00 to 10:00 PM, clouds covered the sky and rain flooded the streets. It was the typical tropical weather that Floridians are accustomed to; quick and power-packed storms that come and go with a minute’s notice. [Read more…]
MIAMI – The Miami Heat knew they could not go to San Antonio down 2-0, and as much as the Spurs wanted Game 2, once it started to get away from them it simply snowballed into a blowout. [Read more…]
Manu Ginobili MIAMI — Manu Ginobili walked to the podium and took a look around the room before he sat down. His shoulders slouched a bit, but he tried to remain upbeat. He sighed before he spoke. “After having played a great Game 1, you don’t want to come back and feel like this and perform this like,” he said. “In the second half, they ran us over.” LeBron James—despite a relatively poor showing through the game’s first three quarters—left
We know the Miami Heat have to be better in Game 2 of the NBA Finals on Sunday night. But can the San Antonio Spurs be better? The Heat’s issues have been well-documented. LeBron James needs to be more of a scorer. Role players such as Udonis Haslem and Norris Cole have to contribute more than the collective 6-of-15 showing they managed in the opener. [Read more…]
It’s a game of milliseconds, yes. Tony Parker’s clinching bucket with .0000001 seconds left on the shot clock in Game 1 of the NBA Finals proved that. But this game also comes down to sheer inches. And here, The San Antonio Spurs — like the Indiana Pacers before them — have a decided advantage. Granted, no way the San Antonio Spurs beat Miami 92-88 without the brilliance of 6-1 Tony Parker, or future star 6-8 Kahwi Leonard, who did just about as good a