You may think that the story today revolves around the AT&T Center and its broken air conditioning in Game 1 of the NBA Finals. Perhaps the story is Miami Heat forward LeBron James succumbing to the heat—90 degrees—and falling victim to severe leg cramps only to watch his team give up a two-point lead and lose by 15 to the San Antonio Spurs. Maybe the story is Tim Duncan’s immaculate performance—scoring 21 points on 91-percent shooting. Or, perhaps, they’re all wrong. ESPN’s
It will be easy for Miami Heat fans to say that LeBron James’ absence cramped their team’s style. James sat for almost all of the last 7 1/2 minutes of Thursday’s NBA Finals opener, and the line of demarcation was too obvious. There was a 17-point swing following the moment when James first exited with leg cramps as a close game headed for a fantastic finish devolved into a 110-95 win for the host San Antonio Spurs. “With five and change (left),
SAN ANTONIO — Adam Silver was not convinced that the sauna-like conditions in the T&T Enter (get it? No AC) led to LeBron James’ cramps. “Did anybody else cramp up?” he asked me as he exited the arena. The new commissioner’s first game as David Stern’s successor is one that will live in infamy. It was sweltering inside the Spurs’ home arena on a day when the temperature reached almost 100 degrees outside and came close to that inside. How hot was it
Players were rolling ice bags on their neck and head during and after Game 1 of the NBA Finals. Tim Duncan said he hasn’t played in this type of heat since he left the Virgin Islands. The Miami Heat and San Antonio Spurs played under highly-unusual conditions, as the air conditioning in the AT&T Center stopped functioning due to electrical issues, according to Tim Reynolds of The AP: [Read more…]
How will the San Antonio Spurs guard LeBron James? Exactly one year ago, as the 2013 NBA Finals were about to tip off in Miami, the above inquiry was the question. After all, what is the most effective way to defend such a powerful, explosive, unselfish all-around threat? If you paid attention to the epic series as it unfolded last season, you are well aware of the San Antonio Spurs’ strategy: Make LeBron James into an indecisive player by sagging off of him. Force
Much has been made of Tim Duncan’s comments following a Game 6 victory against the Oklahoma City Thunder when he declared that his team would beat the Miami Heat this time. It’s understandable because the words came from Duncan, and he rarely ever says things that are headline-worthy. More importantly, LeBron James assumed that the Spurs don’t like the Heat based on Duncan’s comments. Still, Duncan and others on the team mostly believe nothing out of the ordinary was said. Tony Parker,
I am taking a lot of flack on social media today after I was the only voter to place LeBron James on his Second Team All-NBA ballot, and that’s OK. Everyone has the right to their own opinion. We have been over this before, since I cast my ballot in mid-April, wrote about it and went on the air with CineSport to explain my reasoning. In a nutshell, this is it: There were only two forward spots on the All-NBA ballot. I gave them to the players
Wednesday the All-NBA Teams were announced, and with them came a slew of congratulatory, confused and frustrated tweets. Oklahoma City Thunder forward Kevin Durant led all vote getters as the lone unanimous selection to the First Team, followed by Miami Heat forward LeBron James, Chicago Bulls center Joakim Noah, Houston Rockets guard James Harden and Los Angeles Clippers guard Chris Paul. Much to the chagrin of 124 NBA writers with voting privileges, Chris Sheridan, our esteemed Editor-in-Chief, was the lone vote preventing