The original Spurs championship team was based heavily on the frontcourt duo of David Robinson and Tim Duncan. Times have changed for San Antonio. While Duncan and Kawhi Leonard are integral parts of the Spurs’ team, of course, the team’s fortunes and outcomes in this year’s NBA Finals have been largely dictated by its backcourt. While Danny Green has had a sensational NBA Finals, and would probably be named MVP if San Antonio ends up winning, the story in Game 5
The NBA Finals are leaving the pizza oven of San Antonio and headed back to the cut-with-a-knife humidity of Miami with the Spurs holding a 3-2 lead. So which team faces more pressure entering Game 6 on Tuesday night? Are the Spurs – who absolutely had to win Game 5 and did – under the gun because they have to win Game 6 in order to avoid the specter of winning a Game 7 on the road, which no team has done
SAN ANTONIO — Whatever was said to Manu Ginobili by Gregg Popovich must have been one hell of an inspirational speech. It was a Lazarus speech, because it brought Manu Ginobili back from the dead. So what exactly was said in between Games 4 and 5 — a time when Ginobili was openly pondering retirement despite secretly knowing that he would be making his first start of the season. What stuck in his head? What inspired him the most? “That’s just family stuff,”
SAN ANTONIO — Manu Ginobili is so down on himself, he is actually considering retirement. Not that he is leaning toward retirement, but on Saturday at practice, the day before the Finals against the Miami Heat resume with the series tied 2-2, Ginobili sounded like a player who is ready to move on to the next stage of his life — maybe after one more year in the NBA, maybe sooner. [Read more…]
LeBron James hadn’t even attempted at least 25 field goals in a game since Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Finals against Indiana. You have to go back to March 18 against Boston for the last time James converted on at least 15 field goals. [Read more…]
SAN ANTONIO — They were a beauty to behold. They were a beast to behold. You sat there watching Game 4, a night of precision and perfection from the Miami Heat, and you couldn’t keep the thought out of your head — you were watching one of the greatest teams of all time. Except that they aren’t. Because this was the exception, not the rule. This was the Heat at their very, very best. Championship material. Dynasty material. “Not two, not three,
The San Antonio Spurs are crowding the paint and daring LeBron James to take jumpers. So why doesn’t he? Through the first three games of the NBA Finals, James has yet to score 20 points. It’s his longest such postseason streak since the 2011 Finals vs. Dallas, and we all know what happened there. If James doesn’t want that to happen again, he has to stop worrying about efficiency and start worrying about the Miami Heat falling into a 3-1 hole. He
With all the success LeBron James has had over the last several years, it’s only natural that he would be compared with the all-time greats, especially given the constant noise of the 24-hour news cycle. If LeBron James will ultimately go down as the greatest player who ever lived, that would mean (naturally) that he was better than Michael Jordan. After his performance over the last two games, especially in Tuesday’s 36-point defeat to San Antonio in Game 3 of the