At least we don’t have to worry about an entire series without any interesting games. This Finals is anticipated to be a tightly contested affair and game one did not disappoint. The Spurs did what they needed to do and stole a game in Miami, I’m not going to go as far as to say they stole home court advantage because quite honestly I hate that term. When using the stolen home court theory, theoretically there could potentially be no end to the home courts stolen until game seven at which point Miami would have home court advantage. See what I mean? To assume that after one game we now know how this Finals will play out is a mistake. San Antonio was impressive and we learned a few things from game one, but rest assured this isn’t over by a long shot.
Dwyane Wade had a better game than expected, chipping in with 17 points. It’s kind of sad now that Wade putting up 17 is considered a good game for him, this is a player that has taken over entire Finals by himself, just ask Dallas. However, were it not for Wade, this game would not have been close. Sure Lebron probably would have stepped up more offensively, but against the Spurs the one man offense is not going to get it done. About that Lebron character, can you imagine putting up a tripple double with 18 points, 18 rebounds and 10 assists in the Finals and that not being enough? If Lebron isn’t going to score 30 a night, the Heat will be done very quickly. It isn’t as if the Spurs defended him so well that he was forced to become a distributor, this seemed to be one of those games where he decided he was going to get his teammates involved and play an all around game. That’s great Lebron, everyone knows you can do that, but it’s the Finals, put the ball in the bucket. It’s not selfishness, great players truly believe that their teams best scoring opportunity is when they have the ball, if anything him attempting a higher number of field goals is him being the best teammate he can be. You don’t change what got you here, Lebron’s teammates are expecting him to carry the bulk of the scoring load because that’s what he usually does. Game one of the NBA Finals might not be the best time to switch it up and see what the other guys are all about. Which leads us to the Bosh.
What are you doing?
In case you forgot you are 6’11”. As Jalen Rose said, there’s a reason you are wide open. San Antonio would like nothing more than for Chris Bosh to take that wide open three. Much has been said of Bosh’s improved three point shooting, much was also said about the Lakers being a lock for a Finals appearance this year, meaning? It ain’t true. Bosh, for his career and through this season is a 28% three point shooter. That’s not a good three point shooter. Renowned chucker, who never saw a shot he didn’t like Antoine Walker is a career 32% three point shooter. Get in the paint Bosh. You are seven feet tall, your place is under the basket getting rebounds and posting up, yeah yeah yeah, I know that’s not your game, but if you want another ring perhaps it should be.
The Heat did play excellent perimeter defense in game one. They consistently forced the Spurs to pass the ball along outside of the three point line, thus initiating their offense late in the shot clock. If Duncan is able to not get into foul trouble, as he did early in game one, his post up play can negate this to a degree, Miami will have to adjust for this in game two.
As for the Spurs, did we expect any less? There was no sign whatsoever of rust after having remained in a holding pattern for over a week. They played a terrific game, but there were a few things that could use improving. Turnovers definitely was not one of them. Four turnovers for an entire game is down right silly. This is a true mark of a playoff experienced team that is ready to win a championship. Miami only had eight, which is a very low number as well, but compared to four it might as well be the number of days until David Stern retires (a day that can’t come soon enough). I’d like to see Thiago Splitter do something when he receives the ball deep in the paint other than waiting for the double team before taking a bad shot. Splitter is nowhere near that player that Bosh was/is, but he has to come up with a little more than nothing when posting up with such excellent positioning. Speaking of posting up, I would like to see the Spurs attempt to get Duncan posted up a tiny bit deeper in the paint, it will lead to quicker shot opportunities and the double team will be slow in arriving. there really is no one on the Heat that can defend Duncan in the post.
Which brings us to three point shooting once again, Miami had it going. Ray Allen hit a few key threes that where very timely for the Heat, he is going to have to continue this trend. Hitting key Playoff threes is literally the only reason Miami wanted him so bad last offseason. The Spurs, however, need to reel in their urge to launch from deep. There was a stretch in the second half where San Antonio missed 6 in a row in a very short period of time, maybe after you miss 4 or 5 it’s time to consider driving the lane perhaps? Danny Green did give them 12 points, all from three point land, but any coach would rather have Allen’s 3-4 over Green’s 4-9. Manu Ginobili is another Spur that is going to have to control his shot selection, he can be a hindrance as much as an asset. With Manu, the good usually outweighs the bad, particularly in the Playoffs, but I’d still like to see him attack more than launch.
In the end this game was about Duncan and Parker though, San Antonio’s best players did what they always do. Duncan put up 20 points and 14 rebounds, and had he not been in early foul trouble it is safe to assume those numbers would be even higher. Parker added 6 assists and 21 points, none larger than his shot clock beating bank shot coming with just 4 seconds on the clock. An amazing shot that sealed the Victory for Popovich and his squad. This is the thing with the Spurs, they’re not going to bail out the Heat the way other teams have by making mistakes. If the Heat are to beat the Spurs they are going to have to do it all by themselves (unless of course the refs get involved, which they have been known to do when it comes to Miami).
One final note, not about the game itself but rather the broadcast. It is so unfortunate that TNT does not cover the Finals. Jeff Van Gundy is a great color commentator, but other than him ESPN/ABC/Disney’s NBA team is terrible. Breen is a company yes man who says nothing original or opposite of what is called on the court, he brings absolutely nothing to the table. Jalen Rose and Bill Simmons are fine when it comes to podcasts and internet shorts, but they don’t have “it” when it comes to TV. Mike Wilbon doesn’t offer much other than a prepared, slowly spoken, delivered line that is supposed to call everything into question. It doesn’t. Magic is… Magic was an incredible point guard. Television is not the place for Magic, he’s simply not good. Sure Shaq kind of sucks on TNT, but he does have an occasional joke or statement that gets a reaction out of Sir Charles. Someone needs to pull Shaq aside and tell him that simply yelling, “Birdman, Birdman,” in some kind of voice isn’t really funny. The broadcast of the NBA Playoffs as a whole is like sitting down for what you are told is going to be the best meal of your life. The appetizers are amazing, probably the best you’ve ever had. Everyone keeps telling you how great the main course is and how the appetizers were just the beginning, then it comes and… It’s a lightly boiled Timberland boot (ABC).
