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…]
MIAMI — For basketball fans, Tuesday night’s Game 6 of the NBA Finals was nothing short of breathtaking. It was everything one could possibly want in a game: A championship and legacies on the line, elite performances by two living legends, a seesaw battle, an epic shot by the best shooter in history to tie the game with 5.2 seconds left, and an overtime session to sort it all out. For the Miami Heat, the performance thoroughly reinforced to everyone their will
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 San Antonio Spurs might be in trouble. On the surface, things appear to be OK. The Spurs have executed their defensive game plan, which is to turn LeBron James into a passer. They have prevented the Miami Heat from turning either game into an extended relay race. And most important, they secured a split of the first two games as the road team, which is practically mandatory in the 2-3-2 format of the NBA Finals. Beneath the surface, however, the Spurs
Even before a preposterous third and fourth quarter run, the Miami Heat had already gotten back into a great position in its NBA Finals series against the San Antonio Spurs. Through the changes and adjustments made by the Heat during the first three quarters of Game 2, they had already erased the bad mistakes and trends that ended up haunting them in Game 1. Sure, the result was a 103-84 blowout win for Miami over San Antonio, but margin of victory
MIAMI – The Miami Heat knew they could not go to San Antonio down 2-0, and as much as the Spurs wanted Game 2, once it started to get away from them it simply snowballed into a blowout. [Read more…]
It’s a game of milliseconds, yes. Tony Parker’s clinching bucket with .0000001 seconds left on the shot clock in Game 1 of the NBA Finals proved that. But this game also comes down to sheer inches. And here, The San Antonio Spurs — like the Indiana Pacers before them — have a decided advantage. Granted, no way the San Antonio Spurs beat Miami 92-88 without the brilliance of 6-1 Tony Parker, or future star 6-8 Kahwi Leonard, who did just about as good a
The leading men would never admit this, but is there any athlete in the world who is currently in a better position than 37-year-old Tim Duncan? You’ve got to think anyone would like to trade places with him, even LeBron James. And it has nothing to do with Duncan and the San Antonio Spurs having a 1-0 lead in the NBA Finals over James and the Miami Heat. [Read more…]