The NBA Finals and season are over and the Miami Heat are the World Champions. Despite the series going seven it’s up for debate whether it was a great series or not, there were multiple blowouts, meaning less than competitive games. However, the last two games were indeed ones to remember, considering this anything less than a great series is holding these Finals to the same standards Lebron is held to, and when Lebron isn’t involved in the discussion it’s just not fair. The discussion of legacy at this point has become old and pointless. Once Lebron, Wade and Bosh colluded in the offseason of 2010 and chose to join up, James removed himself from all comparisons to Jordan. This does not disqualify him from being one of the greatest players to ever play in the NBA though. In game seven, Lebron was on fire, and one thing became very clear, James stands high above every other player currently in the NBA.
Lebron’s game seven performance was legendary, scoring 37 points, grabbing 12 rebounds and dealing out 4 assists, insane numbers for a championship clinching game. Lebron also hit five three pointers on 5-10 shooting from behind the arc. All game the Spurs played off Lebron on defense, daring him to shoot, and shoot he did. Do not be fooled by Lebron’s magnificent output, the Spurs defensive scheme was the right thing to do. You can not allow Lebron into the paint with a full head of steam, there is no one in the league that can prevent him from scoring in that scenario. When defending Lebron you have to force him to shoot from distance, it’s really your only chance, last night Lebron just couldn’t miss. Not only was Lebron effective on offense, but also on the defensive end of the court as he defended Tony Parker for key stretches late in the fourth quarter. The Spurs offense is at it’s best when it is initiated with ball penetration by Parker, he doesn’t have to score every time, but it is his first push that gets San Antonio in to their offensive rhythm. Frequently the Spurs begin their half court offense with Parker penetrating, or attempting to do so, then either scoring or retreating and reengaging the offense with around 14 seconds on the clock, a typical starting time for many teams. Lebron nullified this process. At no point in time was Parker comfortable or effective with Lebron guarding him, it threw off Parker and in turn the Spurs late game offense. Lebron took over game seven and claimed it for his own, the magnitude of the situation was not lost on him, he saw what he wanted and he took it.
Miami was also the beneficiary of the key play of their former superstar Dwyane Wade. Wade scored 23 points and had an exemplary 10 rebounds, a huge number for him. It’s a long night for the opposing team when your shooting guard is crashing the boards like that. Lebron was the difference maker in game seven, but Wade was right there, he wasn’t the game changer but he was solid, something he has not been for much of the Playoffs.
Wade has had to step back and take the back seat to Lebron ever since the big 1.75 joined forces in 2010 (Wade is the .75, if he returns to his former ability next season he can be a full 1, Bosh is 0.). Last night Wade set the tone early, his jumper was something the Heat were able to rely upon, he rocked the defense to sleep fearing his head fakes, setting up numerous rhythm jumpers that he sunk routinely. When at his best Wade can be one of the most difficult defensive assignments in the league, he has not been consistent this season, but he showed up when his team needed him the most. When Lebron plays this well and Wade’s jumper is falling more than Shane Battier flopping in the lane, the Heat are near impossible to beat. Speaking of Shane…
Nice to see you actually playing basketball and not being a pathetic excuse of a man flopping like a schoolgirl in the paint. Had it not been for Battier’s shooting it is unlikely that the Heat would have won the Larry O’brien trophy last night. Battier had 18 points off the bench, shooting 6-8 on three pointers. It seemed as if every one of Battier’s threes came at a point when the Heat were on the verge of being overtaken by San Antonio. Battier was crucial in the Heat’s victory, he even played terrific defense on Duncan on a point blank post up and subsequent put back that would have tied the game late.
Mario Chalmers added 14 points on a bad shooting night, going 6-15, but he was there for his team. Chalmers at times has been Miami’s second best player, in game seven he was their fourth best. So let’s count that down, we have Lebron, Wade, Battier, and Chalmers, hmmm, who’s missing?
Bosh did nothing in game seven. Chris “seven foot tall, 17.5 million a year” Bosh had 7 rebounds, 2 assists and ZERO points in game seven of a championship series. Bosh only played 28 minutes, a bit down from his 33 minutes per game season average, so of course you have to expect if you cut his minutes by five he will be so thrown off that it’s foolish to anticipate any scoring output from him, right? How does Bosh celebrate this championship? If the Miami Heat were a runner who won the Boston Marathon, Bosh would be the laces on the left shoe. I’m sure Miami is going to analyze and adjust their lineup this offseason, every team does, how does Bosh figure into their future plans? No one is going to trade for him, he might have the worst contract in the NBA. However, despite his horrendous play last night, Miami won it all, so there should be no rushing into quick personnel decisions. Maybe he played great defense on Duncan you may ask. Nope. Duncan had 24 points and 12 rebounds, proving one final time this season that he is indeed timeless.
It can’t be lost in the discussion of Lebron’s greatness and the Heat’s second championship in a row and third all time, just how amazing Duncan has been this season and all Playoffs long, all at the age of 37. Duncan looks like he is fully capable of playing another 3 years at a high level, he never looked old or slow and always looked unguardable in the post. Duncan’s status as an all time NBA great and potentially best power forward of all time, was never in question, but was anyone expecting Duncan to be this good? Every player in the NBA should look up to Duncan as an example of how to act, and how to play. The Spurs currently have a player on their roster that appears as if he has adopted the Duncan persona. The future is bright for Kawhi Leaonard.
Kawhi Leonard is only 21 years old and had the Spurs won the Finals, he just may have been the Finals MVP. Leonard didn’t have a single bad game in the Finals. In game seven Leonard had 19 points and 16 key rebounds and it didn’t feel like anything special, all because Kawhi has been as steady as can be throughout the Finals. Will he be a superstar, not likely, will he be a terrific NBA player for years to come, count on it. Leonard has it all, size, strength, speed, rebounding and a soft touch, with Popovich as his coach, the sky is the limit. As previously mentioned Kawhi Leonard is 21, the Spurs are made of a couple of older centerpieces and surrounded by a group of emerging young players. One of those older centerpieces is the one and only Manu Ginobili.
Manu had 18 points and 5 assists in game seven, he played well, but he never had that moment in the final game, that we have become so accustomed to seeing from him, where he struck the dagger blow and put the Spurs on top. Unlike Duncan, Ginobili’s age is starting to show, and oh the turnovers! Ginobili has always had what could be deemed a sloppy handle, he always walks the fine line between controlled chaos and just plain old chaos. Ginobili wasn’t the reason the Spurs lost, he was a solid contributor, you just have to wonder how this series would have gone had he not waited until game six to start playing well. Moving forward it’s looking more and more likely that the Spurs will soon be in the market for a scoring-first sixth man to replace Manu.
Tony Parker had 10 points and 4 assists, that’s not gonna get it done. When a championship is on the line you would hope to get at least an above average performance from your all star, MVP candidate point guard. Parker is only 30, take this off season and get healthy, come back strong and still be one of the best point guards in the NBA. In any game, a good team can absorb one bad performance by a teammate, two players is asking too much. Having a key role player and member of your starting five provide absolutely nothing can be a back breaker.
After so much discussion of Danny Green Potentially being the Finals MVP should the Spurs win it all, he came up with a mere 5 points and 5 rebounds when all the chips were down. It became clear in game six that the Heat were no longer allowing Green any space on the perimeter to shoot his lethal three point ball. He never adjusted. In game seven, whenever the Heat closed out on Green and he put the ball on the floor, bad things happened. Green was the weak link of the Spurs, when a team takes something away from you, you have to do something else. If Miami takes away your shooting, you have to focus on quickly swinging the ball and getting your teammates good looks. The Heat were waiting for Green to possess the ball, that was the moment their defense swarmed him, knowing they had forced San Antonio into a bad possession. Popovich had little choice but to leave Green in though, sometimes you have to roll the dice and hope your player plays as he is capable of. Danny Green could have gotten hot at the drop of a hat and turned the game on it’s head, unfortunately for Spurs fans, Green simply had two terrible games in a row, at the worst time.
So what can we take from these Finals?
First a cheap shot, it’s unfortunate that the league’s best team plays in Miami, a cheap shot yes but nonetheless true. The Heat have the worst fans in the NBA. They should have a series of photographs of Tim Hardaway, Rony Seikaly and Eddie Jones at every entrance, if a “fan” can not properly identify 2 out of three, they are denied access. No arena poses the suggestion of a cel phone ban quite like the American Airlines Center. If it were a true and just world, Miami would have the Bobcats as their team, who knows one day Lebron may take his talents to the Tar Heel State. Don’t hold your breath.
The Spurs are far from done and so is Tim Duncan. Whether they will be back in the Finals next year is another story. A series of events took place that lined up perfectly for San Antonio to compete for a championship this season, they have the pieces to return, but injuries to your players and other team’s players will always have an impact. Any time a Finals series goes to a game seven and is decided by just seven points, it’s safe to say that the two combatants were evenly matched and either team could have one. Let’s be honest the Spurs gave away a championship in game six, they had a title in their hands and didn’t seal the deal. You simply can not give away championship games. So rarely is it true to say the better team lost, this is one of those rare cases. The Spurs have hands down the better pieces, coach and balance, when considering the true definition of a team, they are hands down better.
But Miami has Lebron James. Miami has a transcendent player, a player who is going to go down as one of the best players to ever play basketball. The most obvious takeaway from the Finals is just how far beyond his piers Lebron is. Look around the league, who is even close to Lebron’s level? We used to think Durant was nipping at his heels, after seeing Lebron’s skills on display as he won his second championship, doesn’t that seem silly now? Doesn’t it seem like ages ago that the Pacers were so close to ending the Heat’s season? Remember when Chicago was giving Miami a “run for their money?” Sure there are teams with young, talented cores, that in the coming years will have a ton of money to spend, Golden State and Cleveland come to mind, but isn’t it becoming quite obvious that the team without Lebron has little to no chance? The Spurs represented the NBA’s best team, a true cohesive unit, and they came oh so close, but Lebron won. With Bosh’s decline, and Wade’s inconsistency are these Miami teams that much better than the Cavs were? They are, those Cavaliers teams were not good teams, they just had Lebron, but the point is even this Miami team is not a great team. When Bosh, Wade and Lebron all perform they are, but that so rarely happens. On any given night it is most likely that Lebron will excel and a few role players will step up. Shane Battier, Ray Allen, Chris Andersen, Mario Chalmers, Udonis Haslem, all are decent players, however, were these guys on the Bucks or the Bobcats, they’d be just another benchwarmer. Lebron makes everyone better, next season some of the role players will change, but the results will not, with Lebron Miami is a champion, without they may not make the Playoffs. Lebron is the best player in the NBA, there’s no mystery involved with that statement, how far behind him is the rest of the league is an inquiry with shocking, disturbing, legacy defining results.
The Miami Heat, 2013 NBA Champions.
