Through the first six games of the NBA Finals, there was just one really important thing the Miami Heat just could not seem to accomplish offensively: successfully integrating Dwyane Wade and LeBron James together on the floor. Heat Coach Erik Spoelstra found the right group of players to pair with LeBron to succeed offensively against the stingy San Antonio Spurs defense. James was put at the power forward position and paired with Mario Chalmers (who can handle, shoot and ably execute
MIAMI — It was the Game 7 play that will haunt the Spurs throughout the summer, as much as their Game 6 collapse. And nobody will be more haunted than Tim Duncan. [Read more…]
Recent history has shown that when you have the chance to acquire proven winners at the highest level, you don’t hesitate over minor details. The Los Angeles Lakers acquired Pau Gasol for pocket change, a few picks and the draft rights to Marc Gasol. They may prefer to have the younger brother if you ask now, but netting Gasol won them two championships. The Boston Celtics gave up just about all the moving parts they could muster to acquire Kevin Garnett. The
Let’s forget about the adjectives, the cliches and the hyperbole. Tuesday night’s Game 6 of the NBA Finals was the best Finals game in a really, really long time for many reasons. Clutch shots, transcendental performances, controversial calls and decisions and several signature moments all factored heavily into Miami’s 103-100 overtime win over San Antonio to force Thursday night’s Game 7. Here are several things we can take away from this unbelievable basketball night. [Read more…]
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,”
Manu Ginobili, San Antonio’s super sixth-man, started his first game of the season Sunday night in Game 5 of the NBA Finals. Ginobili’s designated role off the bench for all these years has always been a mystery. He’s a three-time NBA champion, has averaged 15 points, five assist and three rebounds in limited minutes over the course of his career, and will one day be inducted into the Hall of Fame. [Read more…]