Knotted up at two games a piece is where the Spurs and Heat now find themselves as the scene shifts West to San Antonio. Unlike the tense, down-to-the-last-second nature of game one, game two in the end wasn’t even close. For the better part of three quarters this was anyone’s game, until Miami emphatically pulled away, preventing an extremely rare two losses in a row. The Finals are all about adjustments, when playing an opponent a potential seven games in a row, by the end of the series there isn’t much of anything new to throw out there. This series isn’t at that point yet, in game two adjustments were made that forced San Antonio into positions they were not prepared for. The Heat dropped below the screens on Tony Parker, forcing him to take contested jump shots or attempt to drive into a collapsing defense. This was the major change Miami made and it proved to be enough to disrupt the Spur’s offensive game plan.
Parker had an off night, with only 13 points and 5 assists, he was never able to get into his usual stellar offensive flow. Having Parker come off of screens without the ball could be a way to get him going early in game three, it will require an extra pass, but it could serve to throw off the Heat. The Spurs can not afford to have bad games from Parker and/or Duncan and last night they got them both. Duncan only chipped in with 9 points and 11 rebounds, this simply isn’t going to get it done. Tim Duncan needs to be utilized in the post, far to infrequently was he in position with his back to the basket last night, Miami can not defend him straight up and this must be taken advantage of. Manu Ginobili had an abysmal game, adding just 5 points, he looked sloppy every time he touched the ball and either turned it over or came just shy of doing so with every posession. Turnovers were the key to the Spurs downfall, after committing just four in game one, they turned the ball over 17 times in game two. Four is obviously on the low side, and seventeen is on the high side, their true turnover tendency lies somewhere in between, but they need to protect the ball much better than they did in game two.
Danny Green did have a good night, scoring 17 points and going 5-5 from three point land, on an ordinary night this would have pushed the Spurs over the top. With the limited production from Parker and Duncan, Green’s offense served as the only reason the game was ever close. Kawhi Leonard had a monster rebounding night pulling in 14 boards, but he needs to do more on the offensive end, nine points isn’t enough against Miami. Leonard is a superior athlete and needs to take advantage of his abilities, he must drive the lane and attack the basket.
All night Thiago Splitter looked slow, again he waited for the defense to collapse on him before making his move. He’s not the centerpiece of the Spurs offense, but he has to do something with the position he is achieving. Then this happened…
Ridiculous. There’s no real analysis involved with this play, it wasn’t a tide turner or momentum changer, it’s not the turning point of the series, but it was absolutely insane. Perfectly timed, perfectly executed, a perfect block. In the age of flopping and charge taking, a player should be applauded when he harkens back to the days of NBA past and actually contests a shot in the paint. Lebron was still in defer mode for this game, 17 points, 8 rebounds and 7 assists are stats anyone would be proud of, but for Lebron more is expected. If he falls too far into his current role player mode, the Heat could be in trouble moving forward.
Wade and Bosh started out strong but phased out as the game progressed, at least this time Bosh shot mostly from within the three point line. On a different night 22 points combined from the Little Two, is not going to be enough. If their production does not increase Lebron will be forced to shoulder more of the offensive load, but with him in defer mode, it could cost them a game until adjustments are made.
Mario Chalmers and Ray Allen were the keys to Miami’s victory. Allen scored 13 points and went 3-5 from the three point line, he seems to have refound his stroke, which could be devastating for the Spurs. Chalmers scored 19 points and more and more appears to be the Heat’s second best player. Of course Chalmers benefits from being the point guard on a team of all stars, making his job easier and him appearing to be better than he is. If this were Mario Brothers, Mario Chalmers would be Luigi, but make no mistake about it, at this point in time he is Miami’s secondary offensive option after Lebron.
For the Spurs, a blowout is not going to get them down, they won’t crumble after this loss and come out with a loser’s mentality for game three. It was surprising to see them suffer such a loss, they are one of the best coached teams in the NBA, but it was just one game. Game three is going to be pivotal, look for the Spurs to really feed off of their crowd and Ginobili to have a breakout game. Would it surprise anyone if Lebron came out with a scorer’s mentality for game three? There’s a good chance Miami will need everything he has once they head into a hostile environment.
