A few keys to the series IMO..

[HarlemHeat37]

- Splitter, obviously, as I said in the other thread..

Diaw will play a huge factor, too..

The Spurs bigs need to punish Miami inside..unlike Indiana's bigs that can't handle pressure and traps, all 3 of the Spurs bigs(excluding Bonner) are great passers that will find shooters and cutters..

- Manu Ginobili as a facilitator and spot-up shooter..

I'm not expecting much from Manu as a go-to scorer, especially against Miami's perimeter defense, but he CANNOT commit careless turnovers that lead to Miami breaks..

He's going to play more minutes at PG in this series with Tony playing off screens more often(and I expect Pop to reduce the minutes of Neal and Joseph), his play-making is going to be essential for the Spurs chances..

In addition, Miami often suffers from lapses against shooters, especially with the attention that Duncan could command, thus Manu's spot-up shooting is important, tbh..

- The minutes of Gary Neal and Cory Joseph..

I don't trust either guy against Miami's swarming defense, tbh..

Neal can't dribble and Joseph struggles with his aggressiveness, I don't know if Pop can trust either guy to handle the ball, tbh..

- Spurs' perimeter defenders tendency to fall asleep against shooters..

This has been a problem for the Spurs, tbh..everybody on the perimeter has been a culprit, but Danny Green, Gary Neal and Tony Parker have been bad for this IMO..

The Spurs can't afford to leave guys like Ray Allen, Chalmers, Miller, etc..

- Spoelstra has trouble making adjustments..

Spoelstra is known to make adjustments a game or two late, tbh..Pop needs to be one step ahead at all times..

- What to do with Lebron?..

Do you double him? Do you let him score? Do you guard him with Leonard?..

IMO, make him a scorer, make him play like Kobe, tbh..

Give him different looks, don't make Leonard guard him all game..Kawhi's rebounding and team defense has been a huge key for this Spurs run, he's going to be exhausted against James, especially inside..

I'd rather have Kawhi shutting down Wade, which is a realistic and achievable goal, tbh..

[Budkin]

I'm sure Pop has been dissecting the fuck out of the film. He knew Miami was going to win.

[Mugen]

I've said before the matchups were set that Danny should be on Bron and all focus needs to be on stopping Wade/Bosh. I think Kawhi can effectively take Wade out of the series and Splitter can do a decent job on Bosh.

[DPG21920]

Bosh could be a huge problem. He seemingly does very well against the Spurs. Not a great match up. West is an underrated defender and a bit more mobile than Tiago/Tim on the perimeter which is why you probably saw Bosh struggle vs Indy (also, he was utilized terribly, which I hope continues).

[playblair]

- Splitter, obviously, as I said in the other thread..

Diaw will play a huge factor, too..

The Spurs bigs need to punish Miami inside..unlike Indiana's bigs that can't handle pressure and traps, all 3 of the Spurs bigs(excluding Bonner) are great passers that will find shooters and cutters..



blair also = great passer ................... bonner is not for this series ............

[Hoops Czar]

Yeah, take your best defender and put him on Wade with a bum knee. What a waste tha wuld be.

[FvckMavs]

Who will you root for then?

[Libri]

A few? :lol

good points, though

[DPG21920]

Bonner playing tough and hitting shots could definitely be an asset, you just can't count on it.

[BatManu20]

Yeah, take your best defender and put him on Wade with a bum knee. What a waste tha wuld be.

Did you watch tonight's game? Wade was flying around out there, elevating fine for lay ups and jumps shots on that "bad knee." That story is overblown. Wade is fine.

[Keepin' it real]

Manu WILL turn the ball over. That's a given. Can he do enough to overcome his turnovers? That's the question. I think he will. Just a hunch.

Kawhi will be neutralized by the refs, I fear. He does not have enough NBA experience to get the benefit of calls against greats like Wade and James. His 3 point shooting and rebounding will be important nonetheless.

So, a monster series from Tony Parker will be mandatory. I think he'll deliver.

And oh yeah, Timmy Duncan. He'll abuse the Heat frontline as much as can be expected from a 37 year old.

[TDfan2007]

Duncan vs. Bosh and Kawhi vs. Wade

If TD can handily outplay Bosh, and if Kawhi is able to limit Wade's efficiency, then that will put all kinds of pressure on Lebron.

I think the obvious solution to the Lebron issue is to put Green/Manu/Diaw on him and dare him to go Kobe on you.

[DespЏrado]

About Lebron- Switch the defense on of him every possession. Man up on him some, throw a hedging double at other times, and triple him at some point in the game. Give him a different look every time he has the ball. Throw Diaw at him a few times at least. Keep him unsure about whether he should get rid of the ball or make a play. You do this to keep him off his game for as long as possible. Be relentless, and throw a few hard fouls at him when he takes it inside.

Stop the three point shots from Battier, Allen, or Lebron. Never give these guys an open look.

Danny Green has to step up huge in this series. Danny hitting 3-4 3pt shots at a minimum is absolutely the most overlooked key to this series. If he doesn't hit his shots the Spurs will be toast.

Parker has to get in the paint at will this series or we aren't going anywhere.

Pop has to keep his guys in the games early and in the 3rd quarters. Attack early and often. Keep the guys sharp when it comes to movement, crisp passing, and rebounding. Ultimately we can win if we rotate our defense hardcore, pass the ball well, and get every one involved.

[DejuanorwhatDude]

For the Spurs to have a shot they have to play perfect basketball. If the role players step up, the Spurs have a shot. Lebron will not be contained; have to hope Wade and Bosh are on their last legs.

[Hoops Czar]

Did you watch tonight's game? Wade was flying around out there, elevating fine for lay ups and jumps shots on that "bad knee." That story is overblown. Wade is fine.
It's not overblown. He's hurting. Wade's had two 20 point games in the postseason and Indjana had go back off defensively because everybody for the Pacers was in foul trouble. You put your best defender on the opposing team's best player. I'm not comfortable with Green or Manu guarding Lebron for 30 seconds let alone 30 minutes.

[Mugen]

Harlem, i think you want dem Heat to win tbh...

[ShoogarBear]

As a wise man once said, "Turnovers. Turnovers." That's what killed the Pacers tonight. Some were due to dumb plays by Indiana, but a lot were due to elite defense by the Heat.

Those hard traps and double teams aren't sustainable for a whole game, but the Heat only need one 5-10 minute burst like that to put you away. Tim, Tony, and Manu are going to have to be smart and patient when they come.

[HarlemHeat37]

Agreed with the worries about Bosh's mid-range game..the Spurs have always struggled against defending mid-range shots from big men, Splitter and Diaw will be key..

I'm also expecting Tony Parker to play off-ball more often, tbh..we saw glimpses vs. Memphis, I expect to see more vs. Miami..

[HarlemHeat37]

It's not overblown. He's hurting. Wade's had two 20 point games in the postseason and Indjana had go back off defensively because everybody for the Pacers was in foul trouble. You put your best defender on the opposing team's best player. I'm not comfortable with Green or Manu guarding Lebron for 30 seconds let alone 30 minutes.

I'd rather they vary the looks against Lebron, like I said in the OP..

Most people expect Leonard to guard him for the entire 40 minutes, but I don't think it's a wise move, especially since Lebron is going to get his numbers against any defender..I'm fine with Leonard as the primary guy, but they need to switch it up often, and Leonard should spend some time against Wade..

We've already seen how Lebron's teams struggle when he's the only scoring option, tbh..

[SpurPadre]

another key would be to keep their scrub Birdman from getting cheapies down low. The Pacers just kept underestimating him but he bailed them out several times. We need to box him out.

[Hoops Czar]

I'd rather they vary the looks against Lebron, like I said in the OP..

Most people expect Leonard to guard him for the entire 40 minutes, but I don't think it's a wise move, especially since Lebron is going to get his numbers against any defender..I'm fine with Leonard as the primary guy, but they need to switch it up often, and Leonard should spend some time against Wade..

We've already seen how Lebron's teams struggle when he's the only scoring option, tbh..

Lebron will get his regardless but I want him to have to work for it. Ginobili is too slow and Green is way too inconsistent. If anything, you can give Lebron diffeent looks for the first three quarters when Lebron usually defers to his teammates. But in the 4th, its got to be Leonard.

[DespЏrado]

Lebron will get his regardless but I want him to have to work for it. Ginobili is too slow and Green is way too inconsistent. If anything, you can give Lebron diffeent looks for the first three quarters when Lebron usually defers to his teammates. But in the 4th, its got to be Leonard.

I think Diaw is almost an equally good choice. Diaw has the length, speed, and strength to give Lebron trouble in the post and on the three point line. (and I grudgingly wish Jackson were here to give us a few minutes on Lebron, it's why we needed him in the first place. Pissed off at that loser for failing so hard.)

[Mugen]

Taking my homer glasses off and it's clear that Duncan will have to be dominant for the Spurs to win this series tbh.

I'm not sure he can do it but I know that mof'er is going to try.

[Floyd Pacquiao]

-Diaw posting up when he has a small on him, much like in the GSW series when they played small and had Barnes on him he scored easily in the post. Lets hope he can take advantage of a Battier, Allen or Miller etc.

[SpurPadre]

Taking my homer glasses off and it's clear that Duncan will have to be dominant for the Spurs to win this series tbh.

I'm not sure he can do it but I know that mof'er is going to try.

He was able to do it against some of the best defending bigs in the game in these playoffs. Why would you think he wouldn't be able to do it against the Heat's bigs?

[Hoops Czar]

I think Diaw is almost an equally good choice. Diaw has the length, speed, and strength to give Lebron trouble in the post and on the three point line. (and I grudgingly wish Jackson were here to give us a few minutes on Lebron, it's why we needed him in the first place. Pissed off at that loser for failing so hard.)

I'm soured on Diaw's defense. It's possible he could bother Lebron in limited minutes but he has a tendency to get into foul trouble and the Spurs need him for 18-20 minutes per game.

[HarlemHeat37]

Nobody else scared of Neal and Joseph, particularly Neal's playing time?:lol..

I can already picture him turning the ball over and then leaving Ray Allen open for 3, tbh..

[Mugen]

He was able to do it against some of the best defending bigs in the game in these playoffs. Why would you think he wouldn't be able to do it against the Heat's bigs?

He averaged 15 on sub 50% against the Grizz. He'll have to be much more efficient than that against the Heat. Miami isn't as tough on the interior as Memphis obviously but i think Duncan has to average at least 20ppg on 50+% for the Spurs to have a legit shot at pulling this thing out.

Again, i don't think it's impossible and if there's any 37yo bigman that can do it, it's Duncan.

[crc21209]

Nobody else scared of Neal and Joseph, particularly Neal's playing time?:lol..

I can already picture him turning the ball over and then leaving Ray Allen open for 3, tbh..

I sure as hell am. I trust Joseph with the ball more than I do Neal though. I also know that even if he can't contribute anything on the offensive end, CoJo will at least still bring it on D, something I can't say for Neal. I absolutely hate Neal's defense. He always sags to the paint without a true reason to sag, leaving his man wide open. The only guy I could trust putting Neal on would be Cole. He doesn't have the stroke that guys like Chalmers, Allen, Batter, or Miller do. That is the ONLY guy I would consider putting Neal on.

[DOS CHAINZ]

I don't want to see Neal bringing the ball up court. He's a sucker for traps & too short to find an open man. I would rather have TMac in there for his size. I always say if BONNER & NEAL are not scoring..Then wtf are they in the game for? I know we got to rest our stars but they are a matchup nightmare on defense. Esp if they are on the floor at same time. I'd rather activate BAYNES & see what TMac has.

[Floyd Pacquiao]

Nobody else scared of Neal and Joseph, particularly Neal's playing time?:lol..

I can already picture him turning the ball over and then leaving Ray Allen open for 3, tbh..Of course, Mainly Neal tbh. It'll either be Neal sagging off into the paint leaving Allen, Miller and Battier open allowing them to go a combined 18-18 from 3 point land...Or pop will put him on Wade where he'll continuously get beat off the dribble per par turning Wade back into prime Wade.

[DOS CHAINZ]

Box out "BIRDMAN BIRDMAN" Please!!!! I think 2nd chance pts will be key. This isn't the Grizz frontcourt I know, but we got to get def boards or it will be a long series.

[DMC]

You cannot make Manu a facilitator then expect him to not make careless turnovers. He forces things, that's his MO. Often those go wrong. Once upon a time his talent overcame his risky moves, but these days it can be 50/50, or worse.

Miami has no reason to be inside. They don't have decent bigs. Lebron will challenge our bigs and get them in foul trouble, especially Splitter. Miami will close out on the 3pt shooters, that's what worked for them against us in the past. They will double on Tony and make Green beat them.

They'll guard but they'll send Tim to the line and live with his 1 of 2 instead of 2. They'll just deny the inside pass like they did with Hibbert. Duncan likes the high post, then the move off the screen to the left and that's his spot. They know that and they'll plan for it.

Our role players have to be on. If they aren't we will have a hard time winning. Miami will have a hard time if our role players are on. They don't know much about Leonard, so that might catch them a bit off guard.

Leonard also has a tendency to ignore his guy and watch the ball. He closes out fast but he drifts.

Lebron is a knock down FT shooter. Don't pressure him too much, let him play hero ball. He won't but try to force it.

Yeah, no 2nd, 3rd and 4th looks for them like the Grizz got.

Tony is the key. He has to move well without the ball and hurt them inside. That will force them to go smaller. When they do that we can kill them on the PnR, and when they sub we can shoot the 3.

[Chinook]

You put your best defender on the opposing team's best player. I'm not comfortable with Green or Manu guarding Lebron for 30 seconds let alone 30 minutes.

Not really. You set up your defense in the way that gives you the best chance of winning the game. That's why Leonard guarded Thompson and Green guarded Curry in the WCSF. If Leonard can take Wade completely out of the series, and if Lebron is going to get his regardless, it seems like putting Leonard on Wade is the right move. It's a bigger waste to put your best perimeter player on someone you're going to double anyway than to put him on a hobbled but still dangerous player he can erase from the series.

Also, Green is a much better post defender than people give him credit for. He's inconsistent on the perimeter because he falls asleep on shooters and comes off screen slowly at times. In the post, he has a strong base and has held his own against World Peace, Carl Landry and even Lamarcus Aldridge. Leonard struggles in the post, so he's not instantly the best choice just because his reputation. I think you put Green on James and just accept that Green's not going to do much on either end and let Leonard legitimately try to win his match-up on both ends.

[jesterbobman]

I think one of the keys is making Chalmers/Cole guard TP. TP has struggled against really good long defenders, and LeBron definitely fits that category. If LeBron guards TP, our offense will probably be drastically less effective in generating shots.

The Counter is abusing Whoever is guarding Kawhi on the block. He didn't post a lot this year, but when he did he was really effective. If he does that well and you force LeBron to camp in the corner on Kawhi and stop him being actively involved in defending the offense will work well.

Defensively, Mix up Kawhi/Boris/Green on LeBron depending on where he's playing. If he's facilitating at the top, Kawhi or Green. In the post Kawhi(With help coming) or Diaw. He's the best player in the world, he's going to cause problems.

[Hoops Czar]

Not really. You set up your defense in the way that gives you the best chance of winning the game. That's why Leonard guarded Thompson and Green guarded Curry in the WCSF. If Leonard can take Wade completely out of the series, and if Lebron is going to get his regardless, it seems like putting Leonard on Wade is the right move. It's a bigger waste to put your best perimeter player on someone you're going to double anyway than to put him on a hobbled but still dangerous player he can erase from the series.

Also, Green is a much better post defender than people give him credit for. He's inconsistent on the perimeter because he falls asleep on shooters and comes off screen slowly at times. In the post, he has a strong base and has held his own against World Peace, Carl Landry and even Lamarcus Aldridge. Leonard struggles in the post, so he's not instantly the best choice just because his reputation. I think you put Green on James and just accept that Green's not going to do much on either end and let Leonard legitimately try to win his match-up on both ends.

wade has scored 20 points in 2 of 15 playoff games and you want to put the Spurs best defender on a player playing at about 70%? If Green is as good as you say, he can handle Wade. Im not getting the Thompson-Lebron comparison. One's a shooting guard, the other's a power forward. LJ would just abuse Green and he can ill afford to get into foul trouble. The more pressing issue and one of the keys to the series will be what to do with Bosh because he has some of his biggest games against the Spurs. Diaw and Leonard should be able to slow Lebron down and hopefully Miami's threepoint shooters will be off the mark for the entire series.

[Prime Time]

(Season stats)

99 Knicks- 86.4ppg (27th of 29) 85.4papg (4th of 29)

03 Nets- 95.4ppg (14th of 29) 90.1papg (2nd of 29)

05 Pistons- 93.3ppg (24th of 30) 89.5papg (2nd of 30)

07 Cavs- 96.8ppg (19th 0f 30) 92.9papg (5th of 30th)

13 Heat- 102.9ppg (5th of 30) 95.0papg (5th of 30)

The Heat are clearly the best scoring team Spurs have faced in the finals, And the 2013 Spurs are argubaly the worst defensive 'Finals' Spurs team. If Spurs win this, It's going to rely heavily on the offensive end.


Honestly guys.. This is the first time I'll see the Spurs in the finals as a hardcore fan. I became a big fan around 2008, So I've been around mainly for the recent "choke era". I never thought I'd see the Big 3 in the finals again, So I'm enjoying every second. You guys should do the same

[Chinook]

wade has scored 20 points in 2 of 15 playoff games and you want to put the Spurs best defender on a player playing at about 70%?

Yes. If that takes Wade out of the series for good, then it's a great deal. Bosh isn't beating everyone, so I'd rather have James try to win by himself than having James destroy Leonard and have Wade get a chance to go off.


If Green is as good as you say, he can handle Wade.

I said Green's a good post defender, which is why he may be a better match-up for Lebron. Also, he'd probably be fine on the perimeter since, he knows he doesn't have to help off the best player. That's why he dominated Curry. Lance Stephenson did a decent job on James, and he's about the same size as Green (especially now that Danny has gained so muscle).


Im not getting the Thompson-Lebron comparison. One's a shooting guard, the other's a power forward. LJ would just abuse Green and he can ill afford to get into foul trouble.

Leonard guarded Thompson while Green guarded Curry. It wasn't because Thompson was the best player (like you suggested he would be if he drew Leonard's guard). It was because Pop wanted Thompson out of the series and was willing to let Curry try to get his. It just turned out that Green was a very effective Curry defender. Again, Green's actually been pretty successful guarding in the post, while Leonard struggles. So this idea that Lebron would abuse Green but not Leonard isn't as obvious as you seem to believe. Also, if Green gets into foul trouble, so what? It's not like he's a star or anything. The Spurs would be fine with Ginobili playing more minutes in the Finals.


The more pressing issue and one of the keys to the series will be what to do with Bosh because he has some of his biggest games against the Spurs.

Could definitely be a problem if Bosh shows up to play. Splitter needs to be successful against him. Diaw at least has the mobility to stay with him on the perimeter, and the Spurs would probably take that if it allowed Splitter/Duncan to stay in the post.


Diaw and Leonard should be able to slow Lebron down and hopefully Miami's threepoint shooters will be off the mark for the entire series.

I think Leonard and Diaw could very well draw James' assignment. If the goal is slowing James down, then they probably are the two best players on the team for that. However, if the goal is to trick James into trying to beat the Spurs by himself, then Leonard would be sort of wasted. Green can still put up a good fight against James while also letting Leonard shut down Wade, which will force James to try to do more by himself. Could this work as well if Green's and Leonard's roles were reversed? Yeah, probably. I'm just saying how I'd approach it. As HH said, I imagine Pop will rotate coverage on James at least until he finds a combination that works like he did with Curry.

[objective]

Nobody else scared of Neal and Joseph, particularly Neal's playing time?:lol..

I can already picture him turning the ball over and then leaving Ray Allen open for 3, tbh..

It's not just Neal leaving guys open while doubling ghosts that worries me. I don't think anyone in the NBA falls down on defense more than Neal without flopping. I'm not talking about attempts to draw charges. I mean just routine defense, he falls down a lot. And the other team usually scores.

[siraulo23]

whos gonna be the secondary defender on lebron?

diaw on james? will it be somewhat effective or a complete disaster?

[naico]

Put Splitter/Diaw on Bosh. They can defend outside the paint and our good one on one defenders. Make sure TD stays in the paint to protect the rim.
TP has to take advantage of the fact that his man isn't gonna be that involved on offense.
Take care of the ball, especially on pick and roll situations. Miami is extremely good in trapping. This might actually be the ting i'm most concerned with. Cuz it could lead to a bunch of turnovers.
Don't let them cut to the basket and crash the boards hard, block your man out. LeBron is a very good cutter and Kawhi tends to lose sight of his man sometimes.
Transition defense.
Defend the 3point line.

[Quasar]

Wade was Miami's "hero" for so long.

After his recent comments... why not try to make him play hero ball instead of LeBron?

This would work like the Westbrick tactic to contain Durant...

[peacemaker885]

Turnovers. If Indiana just limited their turnovers, the series could have been different. We have to take care of the ball.

[Brazil]

Wade was Miami's "hero" for so long.

After his recent comments... why not try to make him play hero ball instead of LeBron?

This would work like the Westbrick tactic to contain Durant...

Except Wade is not Westbrick

[Creation88]

Dribble Penetration- Spurs must limit Lebron's dribble penetration...he gets so many easy ones, FTs, and others involved by his dribble penetration
Pick and Roll- Spurs will have to find away to adjust to the Heat's excellent PNR defense to be effective offensively
Tim Duncan- he has a huge advantage inside, he'll have to utilize the post often
2nd defender on Lebron- whomever takes over Lebron duties when Kawhi is resting will need to hold his own, same for team defense
perimeter defense- cannot let Allen, Miller, etc have wide open 3s
TURNOVERS- TURNOVERS
fast break defense- have to limit the Heat's easy baskets, they feed off of this
REBOUNDS- must clean up the boards and limit....
2nd chance points- easy ones
points in the paint- limit easy ones and get easy ones offensively

[wildbill2u]

I agree with Shoogarbear about our turnovers being the key. Heat are great on defense while our playoffs run has been full of untypical passing turnovers. If that continues, the Heat will feast on them.Also, our offense depends on execution. Turn overs are obviously one way that the offensive execution gets bogged down. So we need no hero stuff on passes, just keep moving the ball and do what we do best: execute the offensive sets until we get a good shot.

[HarlemHeat37]

The Spurs also need to make it a priority to expose Ray Allen, tbh..

He's been one of the worst defensive players in the league this season, he's Miami's defensive version of Gary Neal, tbh..Pop needs to attack him on every play, whether it's running Green through screens, pick&roll with Manu or posting up Leonard..

[Chinook]

Nobody else scared of Neal and Joseph, particularly Neal's playing time?:lol..

I can already picture him turning the ball over and then leaving Ray Allen open for 3, tbh..

I actually think Joseph may be a good Wade/Allen defender. I'd trust him as the eight man before Neal. He's not the best ball-handler, but if you're talking about having Ginobili run the point anyway, then Manu's going to be the one facing the pressure and not Joseph. I trust Cory has the secondary ball-handler when Parker's on the bench before Green, that's for sure.

[024]

Winning the finals will require everyone to play well, including Bonner and Neal. They have to outplay Miami's bench or it will be a quick series. There's no question that Miami's starting 5 is better than the Spurs' so the Spurs need to make up the difference from the bench.

[Darius McCrary]

Hell yes I'm scared of Gary Neal being out there.

Also exposing Ray Allen seems to be more difficult than one would assume. Every time George would tru too take him off the dribble, Allen would move just good enough to buy time for other players to crowd George. The key here is will the player attacking Allen be able to make a smart, non TO pass to an open man? I dunno if kawhi can do that, much like George.

[Horse]

Why is anyone worried about Timmy? He's been playing better and against bigger and better frontlines. hibbert is a career 12ppg scorer and he killed the heat frontline so why wont Timmy?

[Amuseddaysleeper]

It's going to be very very difficult to feel optimistic heading into this series.

[Chinook]

Hell yes I'm scared of Gary Neal being out there.

Also exposing Ray Allen seems to be more difficult than one would assume. Every time George would tru too take him off the dribble, Allen would move just good enough to buy time for other players to crowd George. The key here is will the player attacking Allen be able to make a smart, non TO pass to an open man? I dunno if kawhi can do that, much like George.

George was also the best perimeter player for Indiana and their best shooter. It made sense to collapse on him. Crowding Leonard isn't as big of a no-brainer if means helping off Green or giving Parker another driving lane.

[Darius McCrary]

Yea especially if you go outta your way to make finals game threads

[2centsworth]

Spurs need to pour it on defensively and get as many transition pts as possible.
With green and kahwi stepping-up the d, spurs have the talent to make life difficult.
i actually like CoJo for his d in this series and Neal can guard battier all day.

on o we should have our way in the paint, and that goes for all our players (TP and Manu included). Challenge will be to get in the paint. Miami has the best perimeter d ever, so that's why the thunder struggled. Attack a gimpy wade with manu and watch wade get frustrated a go dirty and get suspended.

without a B+ or better Manu we lose in 5.

im betting the rest and level of comp brings out the best

[DisAsTerBot]

I'd rather have Kawhi shutting down Wade, which is a realistic and achievable goal, tbh..

this, tbh

[timtonymanurich]

Ever since the acquisition of T-MAC I've theorized that Pop might use T-Mac to defend LeBronda. Similar in size Tracy is 6'8"+ and though T-MAC won't be that quick with LeBronda's 'first step', he could prove to be a capable defender. How was Tracy's D back in the day?

--And, WHAT exactly did Pop mean by referring to T-MAC as "Insurance"?

Better call Phil Collins, because "I can feel it coming in the air [Thursday] night" that we'll find out.

[moisaenz]

Ever since the acquisition of T-MAC I've theorized that Pop might use T-Mac to defend LeBronda. Similar in size Tracy is 6'8"+ and though T-MAC won't be that quick with LeBronda's 'first step', he could prove to be a capable defender. How was Tracy's D back in the day?

--And, WHAT exactly did Pop mean by referring to T-MAC as "Insurance"?

Better call Phil Collins, because "I can feel it coming in the air [Thursday] night" that we'll find out.

Although it is unlikely pop will use tmac to defend lebron, I would prefer for him to try it in the first two games than do it later as a desperation move.

[timtonymanurich]

From the ESPN link: http://espn.go.com/nba/playoffs/2013/story/_/page/5-on-5-130605/which-team-win-nba-finals

"Strauss: I'll go Heat in 7, but not with any degree of confidence. The Spurs are a theoretical Heat-buster of a team. Miami is shaky at defending 3-pointers; San Antonio shoots 3s well. Miami likes to shoot 3s; San Antonio defends the 3. Throw in San Antonio's solid front line and quick point guard and we're looking at a lot of factors that gave Miami trouble over the years. But only one team has LeBron James, and it's the one I'm picking.
Wallace: Heat in 7, but don't hold me to it. I've been saying for six months that if the Spurs are healthy they're the one team with the perfect combination of title experience, great point guard play, effective post play, good 3-point shooting and exceptional coaching it would take to knock off the Heat.
Windhorst: Heat in 7. This is way more of a guess than usual though because these teams have played exactly one real game over the past two seasons, and even that one was an outlier because of crazy 3-point shooting. But you have LeBron at the top of his game and with full confidence and experience in these spots. It's hard to rationally pick against that."

These side-show ponies and their irritating ambivalence is mind-numbing.

It's like these last three are saying: "My Heart says the Spurs are going to win, but on paper, the sexy pick is the Heat".

Spurs in 5-6.

[Darius McCrary]

There's nothing wrong with people picking the Heat based on them having James. Don't underestimate him.

[FuzzyLumpkins]

The Warriors were playing great perimeter defense. The Heat are not going to be able to have nearly as good on the ball defense in a one on one. They are going to need to double. Their 'swarming' defense consists of a very hard hedge that will chase a high pnr all the way to the halfcourt corner if it could. The solution to that is easy as the Pacers showed us. If you can get the ball past the hedge to a big with hands then they are fucked. TnT are great roll men. They can finish but more importantly when they bring more help from the weakside they will find open threes. That is why Miami sucks at defending the three point line: beat the hedge and you will have two wide open shooters on the perimeter.

Miami's defense as demonstrated in the season metrics. Is overrated. It's good but not great.

[FromWayDowntown]

I think a huge issue for the Spurs in the Finals is the extent to which Pop can afford to keep both Tiago and Tim on the floor if the Heat choose to go small. If they play Battier or Lebron at the 4 for stretches, the Spurs have to be able to make them pay for that on the offensive end without getting torched defensively. Like Vogel could in the last round with West and Hibbert, Pop has to be able to dictate the matchups with his bigs, which depends -- to a very large extent -- upon making Miami consider smallball a substantial risk.

If the Spurs have to play small against the Heat, I think they're in big trouble.

[DPG21920]

Spurs fans are nuts to think people should be picking the Spurs. Spurs can win, but get real if you think they are favorites.

[DPG21920]

I think a huge issue for the Spurs in the Finals is the extent to which Pop can afford to keep both Tiago and Tim on the floor if the Heat choose to go small. If they play Battier or Lebron at the 4 for stretches, the Spurs have to be able to make them pay for that on the offensive end without getting torched defensively. Like Vogel could in the last round with West and Hibbert, Pop has to be able to dictate the matchups with his bigs, which depends -- to a very large extent -- upon making Miami consider smallball a substantial risk.

If the Spurs have to play small against the Heat, I think they're in big trouble.

Of course - MIA is probably the best small ball team of all time. Lebron at the PF spot is one of the great mis-matches in the modern NBA. The key is: Can Tiago deliver like a Hibbert? Can the two bigs be mobile enough to guard Bosh/smaller guys? David West is an underrated defender and more mobile on the perimeter than a Tiago which is why you probably saw Bosh struggle. Bosh is someone I am very worried about. Hopefully a few guys can guard him effectively.

[Mugen]

If the Heat can get away with LeBron at the 4 for the majority of the series than the Spurs are in trouble tbh. Big part of OKC's success last year is when Brooks realized he can take Splitter out of the series by putting f'n Fish on him. It hurt the offensive rhythm and our bench unit as well.

Tiago & Boris will have to punish LeBron and keep Miami big, but I admittedly have my doubts that either can. It's the #1 key for a Spurs victory IMO.

Tim needs to be able to hide on Haslem or Birdman. I don't like him defending Bosh near the 3pt line and giving LeBron/Wade open lanes to the rim.

I'm much more worried about how the Spurs can defend Miami than scoring on the Heat tbh.

[tesseractive]

I think a huge issue for the Spurs in the Finals is the extent to which Pop can afford to keep both Tiago and Tim on the floor if the Heat choose to go small. If they play Battier or Lebron at the 4 for stretches, the Spurs have to be able to make them pay for that on the offensive end without getting torched defensively. Like Vogel could in the last round with West and Hibbert, Pop has to be able to dictate the matchups with his bigs, which depends -- to a very large extent -- upon making Miami consider smallball a substantial risk.

If the Spurs have to play small against the Heat, I think they're in big trouble.
Battier's ability to find his offense will play a big part in deciding that. If he's as lifeless as he's been lately, they can put Duncan or Splitter on him and play far enough off to provide help defense in the post. They might have to pull Ray Allen or Mike Miller off the bench if they want to play small, which forces LeBron to be the one to bang around in the paint.

[2centsworth]

I think a huge issue for the Spurs in the Finals is the extent to which Pop can afford to keep both Tiago and Tim on the floor if the Heat choose to go small. If they play Battier or Lebron at the 4 for stretches, the Spurs have to be able to make them pay for that on the offensive end without getting torched defensively. Like Vogel could in the last round with West and Hibbert, Pop has to be able to dictate the matchups with his bigs, which depends -- to a very large extent -- upon making Miami consider smallball a substantial risk.

If the Spurs have to play small against the Heat, I think they're in big trouble.

If we can't impose our bigs on them then our bigs are worthless. I agree that small ball signals doom.

[silverblackfan]

Although Wade played better in game 7, I don't think he has been sandbagging. I think that was the results of injections before the game and/or at halftime. It was game 7, I would not be surprised to find out that he needs that to get the most out of his body. How he plays in the first few games may prove me wrong, but I think he is still injured.
All that being said, I prefer Leonard on James for the later quarters, but otherwise just try to prevent the other guys from beating the Spurs.

[tesseractive]

This is Tim Duncan's series. Feed him early and often. Don't be discouraged if you're Popobitch(or Duncan for that matter) if you're not money on a couple of early posts - stay with it. This Miami team has a clear vulnerability on the inside. If Haslem is guarding Duncan, dude should be getting the ball on the block every play.
For sure. And when Bosh is the biggest guy on the floor for Miami (i.e. most of the time), it will be interesting to see if we get a fair number of 4 Down calls.

But it's also Tony's series. The Heat don't exactly have the ideal guy to chase Tony through all those screens. And switching just puts him against someone who will have even more trouble with his quickness. He should be able to create a lot of opportunities off of penetration, either for himself or finding an open man through the hole in the rotation. The Heat are really good defensively at taking away what a team is good at, but the Spurs are good at things they'll have trouble taking away. And Tony's ball movement also does a good job of getting Timmy the ball with good position, because his defender can't stay set on a motion play.

[TrainOfThought5]

Ginobili should FEAST on their bench players! If he can turn back the clock just a COUPLE years we may end up knockin them out in a stunning 5 rounds.

[SsKSpurs21]

Why is anyone worried about Timmy? He's been playing better and against bigger and better frontlines. hibbert is a career 12ppg scorer and he killed the heat frontline so why wont Timmy?

Great point. Tim Duncan should dominate. He has to command the double for us to have a chance at open threes.

I also agree that a huge key is shutting down wade with kawhi.

[benstanfield]

Green on LBJ, TD sags off Andersen/Haslem & doubles in the post.

KL holds Wade to 15 a game on terrible efficiency, & wins in rebounding, blocks, steals, and TOs.

Splitter/Diaw hold Bosh to 18 & 10, and both destroy MIA in the PnR.

TP matches LBJ in scoring.

TD/Manu >> Wade/Bosh puts us over the top.

[Kidd K]

My keys:

The Heat's best 3 offensive players (LBJ, Wade, Bosh) will be defended by the Spurs' best 3 defensive players (Duncan, Leonard, Green). Two of those three do not have to carry the Spurs' offense, so they can focus most of their energy defending. That's a big plus for the Spurs.

The Spurs' best two offensive players (Parker, Duncan) attack the Heat's worst two defensive positions (PG, C/PF). Cole and Chalmers will get destroyed by Parker, meanwhile they will not give him much trouble on the other end, allowing Parker to expend most of his energy running the offense. Duncan will have to D' up Bosh, so he'll have to split his energy, but he won't have much length or strength stopping him from scoring with just Haslem, Bosh, and Birdman defending him.

Manu's decline is luckily matched by Wade's ailing health. Wade will probably still have the edge, but it's not a very big edge which it would have been last season.

No one on the Spurs is severely hurt. Leonard has the knee thing and Parker isn't quite 100%, but those are mostly pretty minor things. Wade's injury seems to be at a medium injury and Bosh is playing soft.


Negative keys:

Leonard will probably never "stop LeBron". We all love Kawhi, but he's still inexperienced and he's no Bowen. LeBron's going to kill Kawhi at least twice. I forsee foul trouble in his future too, artificially manufactured by the refs or not.

2/3/2 format benefits the team with HCA both imo and historically.

The refs are never pro-Spurs (to say the least), we're playing the Heat, and this is Stern's last Finals as commisioner. Terrible combination.

"Experience" isn't the Spurs' ally anymore. The Heat actually have much more recent playoff experience than the Spurs do.

And lastly, we're forced to listen to the Heat's terrible PA announcer annoyingly scream Heat player names every time they score a basket. Get your remotes ready to mute that dipshit.

[math]

I pick Spurs in 6. Winning 1 of the first two games is only sufficient if we think that the Heat will not win a single road game. I like starting the series in Miami - it increases the amount of pressure upon them. The expectations of most casual fans and casual analysts is that the Heat will win. However, the Cleaveland Heat / Miami Cavaliers cannot beat the San Antonio Spurs in 2013. The Heat have beaten the lEastern conference teams in the playoffs largely with LeBron and 4 guys. They cannot beat the Spurs like that. Wade and Bosh will need to have great series for the Heat to win.

Therefore, I think that we want to turn LeBron into a scorer not a facilitator. LeBron's first instinct is to pass - although he is a great and efficient scorer who shoots well at the 3 at this point in his career. He is more like Magic Johnson than Michael Jordan. If we shut down Wade and Bosh, then we will win the series. We need to avoid turnovers that lead to fast breaks. We need to protect the rim and defend the paint well. We want them to shoot contested long 2's. We must contain dribble penetration because our collapsing defense will open up their 3 point shooters.
Bosh and Haslem will both knock down uncontested 15 foot mid range jumpshoots all day. Play them as midrange shooters. Bosh is not an efficient 3 point shooter - so we want him taking those shots . Over the long run, it will help us more than them if he takes those shots.

They will try to pack the paint. To some extent, we need our 3 point shooters to hit shots in Miami to loosen that up some. Tony will need to prove that he can consistently hit open midrange shots to keep them honest. However, he cannot fall in love with the jumpshot. Tim needs to do most of his work on the post in this series.

The Heat interior defenders turned Roy Hibbert into an offensive world beater. Tim Duncan is one of the very best post players to ever pick up a basketball. Although the last several years, he has favored his pretty consistent jumpshot (esp top of the key as well old faithful off the glass). However, in this series, the Heat are limited in their options to defend him. Joel Anthony, while a great shot blocker, is only 6'9" and cannot guard Timmy in the post. Birdman lacks the iq and the size to guard Timmy in the post. They will have a few spectacular blocks but Timmy will go full beat mode on them in the post. The Heat's weaknesses are precisely in the areas in which the Spurs are strongest. Chalmers is decent at guarding point guards, but not great. He cannot slow down Tony Parker at his peak. No one else even has a chance. I hope that they put LeBron on Tony because LeBron's size will hurt him with pnr defense and screens. He cannot turn with the same agility that Tony has. Quickness and speed are different. Tony is quicker and faster than LeBron. Tony Allen is a much better TP defender and he could not slow down Tony at all. LeBron has even less of a chance.

We cannot go small. Tiago must be in the game and play 30 plus minutes along with Timmy. This series is not for DeJuan Blair. Matt Bonner is an incredibly poor defender and a one trick pony. If he hits his 3's, then he opens up the paint and he is worth keeping in the game. If he does not, then pull him early on in the series. T-Mac might still have game, but it takes so much time to learn the Spurs system that this series is probably not for him either. Diaw will need to play heavy minutes. Neal does not need to see the floor this series. He can practice towel waving with Patty.

If Manu starts scoring, this could be a quick series.
Kawhi and Danny will take turns on LeBron. However, the emphasis should be on shutting down Wade.
Some role players (Kawhi, Danny, and a couple others) will need to play well and shoot the 3 well in Miami for us to win a game there.
We must keep in mind that the Heat role players have played well on the road and hit some big shots.

[Hoops Czar]

Yes. If that takes Wade out of the series for good, then it's a great deal. Bosh isn't beating everyone, so I'd rather have James try to win by himself than having James destroy Leonard and have Wade get a chance to go off.

I said Green's a good post defender, which is why he may be a better match-up for Lebron. Also, he'd probably be fine on the perimeter since, he knows he doesn't have to help off the best player. That's why he dominated Curry. Lance Stephenson did a decent job on James, and he's about the same size as Green (especially now that Danny has gained so muscle). not like he's a star or anything.

I think your grossly overrating Green's defense. He didn't stop or as you put it "dominate" Curry. Curry's two bad ankles stopped Curry. I'll say it again, the Spurs would be doing themselves a great injustice if they didn't put their best defender on the opposing team's best player. Leonard doesn't need to stop Lebron to be successful. He just needs to make him work for everything he gets. Green would just get abused. He's much better off guarding Wade who's playing with a bum knee. And you'd rather see James win it by himself? His game has evolved since he last played in Cleveland. He's not the "do it all" himself player and now gets his teammates involved early in games and waits until the 4th to become a pure scorer. Back to Wade, he isn't the player he was earlier in the season. If that changes, the Spurs will have to adjust accordingly.

[Chinook]

I think your grossly overrating Green's defense. He didn't stop or as you put it "dominate" Curry. Curry's two bad ankles stopped Curry.

Yes he did. He even outscored him in a game. That's pretty much about as much as you can dominate a scorer when you're a three-and-D player. The ankle excuse is one that people who didn't actually watch the series use. Green had Curry so turned around by the end of Game 3 that he made a terrible cut to try to get separation, which is what caused the injury. For the first three games (before the injury) Curry has made 2-19 shots when guarded by Green. That's was better than any other player had performed on him by far.


I'll say it again, the Spurs would be doing themselves a great injustice if they didn't put their best defender on the opposing team's best player.

It doesn't jive for you to say that when you admit that they did the same thing with Green to great success already. That doesn't mean that they will or should do it with Lebron, but only that the best-on-best strategy is not always the most used or most effective.


Leonard doesn't need to stop Lebron to be successful. He just needs to make him work for everything he gets. Green would just get abused.

Again, that's just your speculation (which is no worse than mine). Green has shown the ability to guard bigger forwards, and when he has, he's been at least as effective as Leonard has. I agree Leonard matches up better from a physical standpoint, and I think Leonard could really lock himself into defense against James over a series. But that's not what this is about. It's about removing the help from James, not trying to slow him down at all.


And you'd rather see James win it by himself? His game has evolved since he last played in Cleveland. He's not the "do it all" himself player and now gets his teammates involved early in games and waits until the 4th to become a pure scorer.

That's what he wants to do. But if you take away the role-players and sub-stars (by putting the best defenders on them), then you force him to score from jumpstreet. That's why teams have defensive strategies. This isn't 2K; teams don't guard players on islands. Stopping the Heat by forcing James into hero mode is a team concept. The Pacers lost because they tried one-on-one defense with James, just like OKC lost because they tried one-on-one post defense, just like Denver lost because they tried one-on-one guard defense.


Back to Wade, he isn't the player he was earlier in the season. If that changes, the Spurs will have to adjust accordingly.

That doesn't make sense. The Spurs' strategy could be to stop the Heat by stopping Wade. Even if Wade's hobbling and ineffective, stepping on his throat to prevent a Game Seven -- like resurgence is still a sound strategy. The weaker Wade is, the more energy Leonard has on offense, the more time James has to spend on him, the more time Parker avoids a cross match. It's all pretty well connected.

[Tmac3]

PUT TMAC IN!!

[TheyCallMePro]

The real problem is the Heat's pressure defense when they're really into it.

Luckily we have Tony Parker, a GREAT ball-handler (unlike George Hill). But the problem is when anybody else has the ball in their hands and is dribbling or passing. Fortunately again, at least 70% of our offense goes directly through Parker. BUT when Manu or Joseph or (god-forbid) Neal is in, the chances of the Heat turning us over go up substantially. Frankly, Parker is going to need to play 40+ minutes a game for us this series.

[Man In Black]

Although Wade played better in game 7, I don't think he has been sandbagging. I think that was the results of injections before the game and/or at halftime. It was game 7, I would not be surprised to find out that he needs that to get the most out of his body. How he plays in the first few games may prove me wrong, but I think he is still injured.
All that being said, I prefer Leonard on James for the later quarters, but otherwise just try to prevent the other guys from beating the Spurs.

There is a limit for cortison injections that an athlete can take. Maybe Wade took 1 for game 7, but really, most athletes don't go cortison injections more than 2 times in a 1 month period. Also, most Orthopedic docs will not give an athlete an injection prior to a game or at halftime. You can't really, and here's why, if his Knee is really jacked up, him not feeling the pain, doesn't mean that damage ain't occuring. Also, the risk of infection is greater because it's a shot where the tissue is exposed to sweat and that alone, could cause infection. They could ultrasound or wrap or he could take some hyper-anti-inflamm but it probably isn't shots he's taking. He's limited now and it's funny that the media doesn't talk about it. As if, LeBron's perceived greatness could overcome dragging Wade through the series. It's Lebron and the smallish 2, because truthfully, they ain't playing, and haven't been playing for awhile now, as the Big 3 for Mia. What the Big 3 are is MIA...2 of them are Missing In Action.

[Lerojo]

If the warriors series taught us anything it's that good shooters getting hot can hurt us. This is why I believe we need to keep an eye on Ray Allen. He's the best ever spot up shooter.

[tesseractive]

I think people might be seriously underrating Chalmers. Dude is a really, really good roleplayer and a pretty damn good defender. Haslem = field day. Dude is like Battier at this point - done.
Conley is a standout defender as well. I just think Tony's playing at a whole different level.

[polandprzem]

As a wise man once said, "Turnovers. Turnovers." That's what killed the Pacers tonight. Some were due to dumb plays by Indiana, but a lot were due to elite defense by the Heat.

Those hard traps and double teams aren't sustainable for a whole game, but the Heat only need one 5-10 minute burst like that to put you away. Tim, Tony, and Manu are going to have to be smart and patient when they come.

That's the biggest factor.
Miami feeds of turnovers and are extremely dangerous on the open court and can score fast.
Crucial will be our p&r's and how Miami gonna pressure TP.
The point to make is to dominate inside, not to make it a guards game.

[Vito Corleone]

Lebron will get his regardless but I want him to have to work for it. Ginobili is too slow and Green is way too inconsistent. If anything, you can give Lebron diffeent looks for the first three quarters when Lebron usually defers to his teammates. But in the 4th, its got to be Leonard.

Lebron would have Leonard in foul trouble within 6 min of the 1st. The best thing to do is to let smaller quicker guys guard him and let Leonard take out one of the shooters until the 4th quarter then move him onto Lebron and make it tough for him. He will already be tired from carrying the team and a fresh defender like Leonard will really make it tough for him to take over.

Lebron isn't going to beat the Spurs by himself, he needs lots of help, the Spurs need to deny him that help.

This series is going to come down to two things, turnovers and rebounding, if the Spurs win those battles the Spurs win the series.

[DDS4]

Am I missing something here?

Those people who are picking the Heat are still thinking it's the same team that won 27 in a row. Currently, they aren't playing that way. Add an injury to Wade, Bosh disappearing at times, and their perimeter guys not shooting as well, I just don't see how the series is going to be dramatically different than the series vs. the Pacers. In fact, the Spurs can do a lot of the things that the Pacers did on defense with a lot less mistakes.

I have the Spurs in 6 out of respect to Lebron but I don't know, I may just be biased.

[HarlemHeat37]

- The minutes of Gary Neal and Cory Joseph..

I don't trust either guy against Miami's swarming defense, tbh..

Neal can't dribble and Joseph struggles with his aggressiveness, I don't know if Pop can trust either guy to handle the ball, tbh..



Joseph was a non-factor, Neal was a liability, as expected..


- Spurs' perimeter defenders tendency to fall asleep against shooters..

This has been a problem for the Spurs, tbh..everybody on the perimeter has been a culprit, but Danny Green, Gary Neal and Tony Parker have been bad for this IMO..

The Spurs can't afford to leave guys like Ray Allen, Chalmers, Miller, etc..



Spurs falling asleep against shooters, as expected..


- What to do with Lebron?..

Do you double him? Do you let him score? Do you guard him with Leonard?..

IMO, make him a scorer, make him play like Kobe, tbh..

Give him different looks, don't make Leonard guard him all game..Kawhi's rebounding and team defense has been a huge key for this Spurs run, he's going to be exhausted against James, especially inside..

I'd rather have Kawhi shutting down Wade, which is a realistic and achievable goal, tbh..

They have allowed Lebron to facilitate and create for others, and Green has been abused by Wade..

God, atrocious coaching and the players are also making horrible decisions..

[tesseractive]

Joseph was a non-factor, Neal was a liability, as expected..



Spurs falling asleep against shooters, as expected..



They have allowed Lebron to facilitate and create for others, and Green has been abused by Wade..

God, atrocious coaching and the players are also making horrible decisions..
All true enough. At least we're still in the game.

[HarlemHeat37]

It's extremely encouraging that the Spurs are only down 3, but frustrating that they should be winning this game if not for basic mistakes, tbh..

[Hoops Czar]

Yes he did. He even outscored him in a game. That's pretty much about as much as you can dominate a scorer when you're a three-and-D player. The ankle excuse is one that people who didn't actually watch the series use. Green had Curry so turned around by the end of Game 3 that he made a terrible cut to try to get separation, which is what caused the injury. For the first three games (before the injury) Curry has made 2-19 shots when guarded by Green. That's was better than any other player had performed on him by far.

And THAT'S why you put your best defender on Lebron James. END OF STORY!!!! Green's defense for most of the game was pretty appalling whether it was his cameos against Lebron, or his defense on Wade and let's not forget fouling Ray Allen shooting a three. His so-called defense nearly cost the Spurs the game.

BTW, Curry had an injured ankle coming into the series. He injured his other ankle during game 3. Coincidently, I did watch the series and for someone to say Curry wasn't injured when he clearly had no lift, no explosiveness to the basket and was noticeably limping around is clearly a Spurs homer or watched the games via Gamecast. Like I said, Green's defense is still too inconsistent and if it wasn't for Leonard keeping Lebron in check, the Spurs lose.

[Chinook]

And THAT'S why you put your best defender on Lebron James. END OF STORY!!!! Green's defense for most of the game was pretty appalling whether it was his cameos against Lebron, or his defense on Wade and let's not forget fouling Ray Allen shooting a three. His so-called defense nearly cost the Spurs the game.

BTW, Curry had an injured ankle coming into the series. He injured his other ankle during game 3. Coincidently, I did watch the series and for someone to say Curry wasn't injured when he clearly had no lift, no explosiveness to the basket and was noticeably limping around is clearly a Spurs homer or watched the games via Gamecast. Like I said, Green's defense is still too inconsistent and if it wasn't for Leonard keeping Lebron in check, the Spurs lose.

Lebron scored on Green twice, and one was a three-pointer that I think the Spurs are fine with James taking. The other was him knocking Green off balance and scoring a layup (pretty bad but not unlike what he did to Leonard a couple of times), but for the most part, Green held his own there pretty well. Even against Wade, Green had two bad possessions. One was letting him get open for a mid-range shot (still not that bad) and the other was letting Wade drive by him for a layup (bad). The rest of the time, Wade hit contested fadeaways. In the second half, those started clanking, and the Spurs took the lead. He made that mistake on Allen which was pretty bad, and no one's trying to justify that. He falls asleep on defense when he's not guarding the opposing team's best player, which is what happened with Allen. All in all, I'd like to see Green keep his head a bit more, but he definitely wasn't the worse player on the court last night. There's no question Green's defense isn't up to the level it was two weeks ago, but there's clearly room for him to grow. He did a good job on Wade for the most part, but people who only look at boxscores will assume he didn't after seeing Wade's line. Just like with Leonard on James, I expect Green to get better at guarding Wade (and Neal on Allen, despite what people may think) as the series goes on.

As I said before, if the Spurs are going to try to play James straight-up, then Leonard is the better match-up. He's taller, longer and somewhat heavier than Green, and even though he had issues in the post this season, he was a power-forward in college. I wanted the Spurs to let James try to get his and focus on shutting down Wade, in which case, Green on James and Leonard on Wade is the appropriate match-up. The same is probably the case if you intend to always bring help on James. For all we know, if James went off like you think he would have (he wouldn't have because the Spurs would have helped even more than they did, which means the role-players would have just gotten more shots) but Wade scored five points instead of 17 due to Leonard shutting him down, the Spurs may well have still won.

Curry's ankle sure didn't stop him from scoring 44 points in Game 1. He was driving past players, making tremendous cuts to get open looks and getting pretty good elevation on his layups. In short, he was about as healthy as he was for most of the season. Green simply took Curry's lunch in that series. Parker couldn't; Joseph couldn't; Leonard didn't. Green did. He's also played most point-guards well when defending them over the last two years. To say Green didn't have a great defensive performance in that series is absurd, and I can only assume you have that view because you buy into the ESPN mentality that stars only fail to shine if they get injured. Green is an inconsistent defender (and everything else) but he's still good way more than he is bad. When he pins his ears back and focuses on his guard, he's about as good of a wing defender as the Spurs could hope for.

[HarlemHeat37]

They failed at all of my keys tonight, tbh..

The bigs were horrible, the Spurs fell asleep against shooters, Ginobili was atrocious as a facilitator, Neal played too much, and as I said, Spoelstra is always late to adjust, he made the adjustment in game 2 against Tony after being unprepared in game 1..