There is no time to waste after the NBA Finals. Despite the brilliance of the San Antonio Spurs, just minutes after the NBA Finals concluded Sunday night began the talk of the Decision II. To credit the NBA, the league has always done a marvelous job of trimming the fat. The NBA draft is just eight days away, with free agency beginning just a week after that. There’s no time to waste, and thus never a shortage of headlines. Well, until
So now what for LeBron James? A miraculous Ray Allen 3-pointer helped King James eventually get to a second championship last season. This year, the Miami Heat never even put themselves in position to cut their deficit to single digits in the final three games. In fact, the San Antonio Spurs outscored the Heat by a jaw-dropping 70 points in five games in this year’s Finals – the biggest point differential in NBA Finals history. That means James lost to the Spurs
LeBron James and the Miami Heat were quickly dispatched by the San Antonio Spurs in five games in this year’s NBA Finals, so James is a pretty convenient scapegoat for his team’s failure to win a third straight championship. But LeBron is about as far from blame here as you can get. Just read James’ per-game averages in The Finals: 57.1 percent shooting from the field, 51.9 percent from the arc and 28.2 points, 7.8 rebounds and 4.0 assists per game. His
SAN ANTONIO — Before we get to the elephant in the room, it would be unfair to the San Antonio Spurs to not acknowledge their accomplishment and give you a little snapshot of what it was like in their locker room after they became NBA champions Sunday night. The champagne being served and sprayed was Dom Perignon, 2003. I’m told it tastes OK, but I don’t do champagne that costs more than my car. There was not a ton of Dom.
One of the obvious takeaways from the 2014 NBA Finals was that the San Antonio Spurs clearly have more good players than the Miami Heat. When the series began, it appeared to be a showdown of each team’s “Big Three” – Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker for the Spurs and LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh for the Heat. But as the Finals progressed, the talent gap separating the teams became evident. Spurs coach Gregg Popovich trusted his bench,
LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade entered the league as four of the top five selections in the 2003 NBA Draft. Now, 11 years later, they all could join forces in South Beach. With rumors swirling about a possible alliance in Miami, Phil Jackson and Derek Fisher will reportedly meet with Anthony this weekend to discuss the player option on his contract and how he can be a fit in the triangle offense with the Knicks going forward. Can Jackson
Lots of NBA news today, so let’s get right to the latest: FINALS WON’T DETERMINE LEBRON’S FUTURE Ramona Shelburne of ESPN.com The Heat’s success or failure in these Finals will not affect LeBron James’ decision on whether to opt out of his contract by the end of this month, according to a source with knowledge of the situation. James and the Heat would be the first team in NBA Finals history to overcome a 3-1 series deficit and come back and win a title.
To fill the time between now and what could be the last game of the 2013-14 NBA season, we bring you another edition of the Three-Man Weave. This time, we examine possible NBA Finals MVP candidates – none of whom are among San Antonio’s “Big Three” – and what Miami can do to get back into the series. 1. Who is the NBA Finals MVP thus far? [Read more…]