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.
The season could end Sunday night if the Miami Heat lose. And if the Miami Heat lose, all bets are off concerning what they might look like next season. LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh can all opt out of their contracts, and the Big Three could be scattered in three different cities by the time the 2014-15 season tips off. [Read more…]
You may not have noticed it, but Chris Bosh was perfect from the field in Miami’s Game 3 loss, going 4-for-4. Of course, that is a broad interpretation of the word “perfect” because Bosh only taking four shots is far from ideal. As the Miami Heat reviewed film Wednesday in preparation for Game 4, the need to get Bosh more touches was one of the paramount points. Also, Miami needs to get more efficient production from Mario Chalmers, whose nine assists
Everyone likes a good movie, and most movies serve as great distractions from life. They invite us into a new world where we are engrossed in the lives of fictional characters that have some linear story in which they experience various plot turns and twists before finding a resolution. It’s storytelling 101, and it captivates us all. NBA athletes are no less human and enjoy movies all the same. After suffering severe leg cramps and incapable of helping his team as the
SAN ANTONIO — Ball movement. Two words. It’s that simple. When the ball moves, good things happen. When the ball stops moving, bad things happen. “You move it or you die,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. If you want to break down Game 2 into the one big thing that separated the two teams, you don’t have to bring up LeBron James’ 35 points. They were needed, of course, but the three biggest plays that James made came in the final 1:43 —
Game 1 of the NBA Finals was Miami’s for the taking. That’s not indicative if you look at Thursday’s 110-95 final score, which looks like an easy romp of a win for the Spurs. But the Heat led going into the 4th quarter and forced 23 San Antonio turnovers in the sweltering, air conditioning-malfunctioning heat at the AT&T Center. How can Miami rebound and continue its streak of 12 consecutive wins after a playoff loss? Here are five easy keys for
In a very loose way, history repeated itself Thursday and it will be fascinating to see if the end result is failure – or perhaps another classic. A friend covering the NBA Finals called after Game 1 between the Heat and Spurs and asked for memories of the infamous Lakers-Celtics game in the 97-degree heat of Boston Garden. Other than a slight mix up on the year of the game (initially I thought it was 1985; it was ’84) and the