David Thorpe Predicts Miami Will Blow Out Spurs if More Aggressive

[BillMc]

"Miami is no longer a team we can rip for wilting. They have trailed and come back in series before. Yes, the Spurs are the best opponent they've faced. But Spo is fantastic and they'll come back strong with something. The Heat are a few days from Game 5 and Game 7 against the Pacers, when they had to really elevated their intensity to crazy levels. They couldn't do it again in this game. It's hard to do it often. But if they can get very aggressive, the Spurs could be in a world of hurt. Miami could win some blowout games."


http://espn.go.com/blog/truehoop/post/_/id/59428/aggression-decided-game-1


So, my question is are we just like the Pacers and Bulls? When Miami "turns it on" and drives and post ups are we going to get blown out like Indiana did in Game 7?

I think we're more resourceful than that. But Thorpe makes it sound so simple, as if we have no say in the outcome.

[Trainwreck2100]

"Miami is no longer a team we can rip for wilting. They have trailed and come back in series before. Yes, the Spurs are the best opponent they've faced. But Spo is fantastic and they'll come back strong with something. The Heat are a few days from Game 5 and Game 7 against the Pacers, when they had to really elevated their intensity to crazy levels. They couldn't do it again in this game. It's hard to do it often. But if they can get very aggressive, the Spurs could be in a world of hurt. Miami could win some blowout games."


http://espn.go.com/blog/truehoop/post/_/id/59428/aggression-decided-game-1


So, my question is are we just like the Pacers and Bulls? When Miami "turns it on" and drives and post ups are we going to get blown out like Indiana did in Game 7?

I think we're more resourceful than that. But Thorpe makes it sound so simple.

Did this guy watch the first half they were playing Heat basketball. And Spo's part of the reason they lost Lebron hinted at not liking the philosophy in the presser

[HarlemHeat37]

The Spurs are a different animal than those teams, but it's absolutely true that Miami generally plays better with their backs against the wall, tbh..

Let's hope the Spurs are more like the Mavs, rather than the Thunder/Celtics/Bulls/Pacers..

[dbreiden83080]

Who the hell is David Thorpe?

[hooperflash]

Well I'm glad not everyone decided to hop on the bandwagon.

[BillMc]

Who the hell is David Thorpe?

ESPN analyst and blogger, NBA physical trainer

[BillMc]

Well I'm glad not everyone decided to hop on the bandwagon.

I agree. Cool sig by the way.

[NRHector]

And if the Spurs make all their 3's is a sweep

[dbreiden83080]

ESPN analyst and blogger, NBA physical trainer

Well if you see him tell him I hate him..

[Richie]

The Spurs is the best offence the Heat have faced since the 2011 Finals. It isn't close.

Aside from the Leastern conference, the Thunder is the only other great offence they've gone up against, and OKC just runs an offence off talent like the Heat do. When they face a legit offence who can move the ball and get good looks, the Heat defence isn't nearly as scary.

That's not to say they can't stop the Spurs, or that the Spurs will win the series, but this is much more similar to the 2011 Finals than 2012.

[cheguevara]

Sure but this is the finals and these are the spurs. You dont just expect to turn it on eventually. Youll spend too much energy in game 2 3 and eventually your fuckups will catch up to you

[AchillesHeel]

This is looking like the 2011 Finals, only that Wade is average and Lebron based off game 1 is still looking passive. Going against seasoned vets that have done this many times before is a big challenge to them. They could win off talent vs Thunder and just give the ball to Lebron to go inside against Durant for a slam or kick it out to an open shooter but he can't do the same thing against an experienced team with an actual game plan and a HOF head coach.

[Mojazz]

As always, spurs won but still unappreciated... I LOVE MY SPURS! :flag:

[BillMc]

Well if you see him tell him I hate him..

Will do!

[jesterbobman]

I think the point of what he was saying there was what he'd say if he were coaching the Heat.

That said, He does tend to be a FUCKLOAD homerish when talking about Miami, and Udonis Haslem in particular. Haslem was 9th on his playoff MVP's list. As in the 9th most valuable player in the playoffs. Kawhi was not listed.

So, yeah.

[MannyIsGod]

LOL him saying Spo is fantastic.

[Kidd K]

Please. Thorpe doesn't seem to be able to grasp the concept that every team the Heat played BEFORE the Spurs. . .were shitty offensive teams that the Heat could run up the score on if they got hot on a given night.

The Spurs have been one of the top offensive teams in the league for years. Thorpe imo sounds exactly like Grizzlies "analysts" did, trying to make it sound all easy because the teams they played prior to the Spurs folded.

Bucks: 22nd in offensive rating
Bulls: 23rd in offensive rating
Pacers: 19th in offensive rating

^ All below NBA average btw.

Spurs: 7th in offensive rating (despite injuries). Last 2 years: 1st and 2nd in offensive rating respectively. They're also 3rd in defensive rating this year.

But yeah Thorpe, it'll be just like the series against those other three teams. :rolleyes

The Spurs are just as likely to blow the Heat out. Imagine if they were actually hitting their jumpers and not shooting 41% during a game Miami had a perfect 1st half.

[100%duncan]

Who the hell is David Thorpe?

[nkdlunch]

sure heat will play harder

sure their runs will be a lot more punishing

[AussieFanKurt]

stop reading when he said spo was excellent

[dg7md]

:lol comparing the Pacers and Bulls to the Spurs.

[Vash StampedE]

Well I'm glad not everyone decided to hop on the bandwagon.
Hey bro! Yo got sick sigs. Where you get those?

[smaka]

:lol at all the if's
If Spurs hit just a couple of open 3's tonight, it would've been a blowout game.

[Horse]

"Miami is no longer a team we can rip for wilting. They have trailed and come back in series before. Yes, the Spurs are the best opponent they've faced. But Spo is fantastic and they'll come back strong with something. The Heat are a few days from Game 5 and Game 7 against the Pacers, when they had to really elevated their intensity to crazy levels. They couldn't do it again in this game. It's hard to do it often. But if they can get very aggressive, the Spurs could be in a world of hurt. Miami could win some blowout games."


http://espn.go.com/blog/truehoop/post/_/id/59428/aggression-decided-game-1


So, my question is are we just like the Pacers and Bulls? When Miami "turns it on" and drives and post ups are we going to get blown out like Indiana did in Game 7?

I think we're more resourceful than that. But Thorpe makes it sound so simple, as if we have no say in the outcome.
Just another dick mad that he may have picked the wrong team. All magic said before the game is this is what miami was waiting for. How could you not be locked in playing in the finals. They could play a little more desperate but we can also play alot better than we did the first 3 quarters. So in short fuck david thorpe.

[thiste]

Is he an idiot? In the first 3 quarters they played exactly like they did in Game 7 vs the Pacers. And then we shut them down / they choked.

[exstatic]

Is he an idiot? In the first 3 quarters they played exactly like they did in Game 7 vs the Pacers. And then we shut them down / they choked.

??? We trailed by 3 points at the end of 2 and at the end of 3. If that's "Heat ball", they're in fucking trouble. It appears WE are the ones who can turn it on.

[thiste]

Which is exactly what I meant.

[SA210]

If the Spurs aren't careful they very well could blow us out. Mistakes last night like leaving shooters wide open, and playing Bonner and Neal together at the same time will do that to you eventually.

Spurs need to not feel comfortable, and steal Game 2, period. Don't be content with one win.

[Seventyniner]

Let's look at some numbers for perspective.
First, the box score: http://www.basketball-reference.com/boxscores/201306060MIA.html

The Spurs put up an ORtg of 108.2, a hair below their season average of 108.3
The Heat put up an ORtg of 103.5, well below their season average of 11
The pace was 85.0, so it was a very slow game. The slowest team in the league, Memphis, had a pace of 88.4. For comparison, the Spurs were #6 in the league in pace at 94.2, while the Heat were #23 at 90.7. It surprises some people to learn that Miami plays so slow.

The Spurs mainly won this game by having an insanely low number of turnovers and slightly winning the free throw battle.

[TheChillFactor]

if grandma had balls she'd be grandpa.

[wut]

In other news, the team that scores more points than the other team...wins.

[Cowboys_Wear_Spurs]

Honestly, you can't be anymore aggressive than what the GS Warriors and Grizz were. And as I recall, the Spurs were 8-2 against those teams.

Problem with being over aggressive is, the Spurs run about 5-6 picks each offensive play. Anyone who has played BB, running through and around picks is the most exhausting thing IMO to do on the Basketball court. That is why Miami, yes Miami, was visibly tired. Both Chalmers and Cole were noticeably exhausted by the 4th quarter.

Trying to play transition BB on offense than run through 5-6 each defensive possession, just ask Klay/Curry/Conley/Allen/Nash/Blake how that turned out for them.

[wut]

I think people need to give both team's defenses credit....it's the reason neither were able to run away with the game.

[wut]

Honestly, you can't be anymore aggressive than what the GS Warriors and Grizz were. And as I recall, the Spurs were 8-2 against those teams.

Problem with being over aggressive is, the Spurs run about 5-6 picks each offensive play. Anyone who has played BB, running through and around picks is the most exhausting thing IMO to do on the Basketball court. That is why Miami, yes Miami, was visibly tired. Both Chalmers and Cole were noticeably exhausted by the 4th quarter.

Trying to play transition BB on offense than run through 5-6 each defensive possession, just ask Klay/Curry/Conley/Allen/Nash/Blake how that turned out for them.

I agree with the tired aspect. I think the more this series goes, the worse Miami will be at preventing Parker from having his way...which is why it's so huge that we will have 3 games in a row at home.

[wut]

Heat fans (ESPN) are in denial this morning. They think Heat were on the verge of blowing the game up and all they need to do is run and gun and they will run the Spurs out of the building...but it's just so naive and disrespects the capability of the Spurs defense which was being laughed at on ESPN compared to 'what the Heat had to play vs Pacers'.

[DBMethos]

Yeah, and if the Spurs didn't miss so many wide open layups and 3's, this one would have been a laugher by the end of the 3rd.

[DarrinS]

Did this David Thorpe person watch the game? Heat looked pretty damn agressive to me.

[Raven]

i'm sure it's that easy with a TOSB Wade, a tripled James, a slow Bosh and a lot of superTOSB 3 point shooters :lol And i'm sure they don't want to play Chalmers + Cole more than necessary..

[mercos]

The Heat were very aggressive in the first half. They even came out playing their ultra aggressive defense in the third quarter. The problem is Miami can't stay at that level for long. Their strategy is to make other teams wilt under that pressure and grab a big lead, holding on for the victory in the end. The Spurs will not wilt. They recovered from a 16 point deficit with 4 minutes left against Golden State. You can't stop playing hard until the game is over against the Spurs.

[Chinook]

Let's look at some numbers for perspective.
First, the box score: http://www.basketball-reference.com/boxscores/201306060MIA.html

The Spurs put up an ORtg of 108.2, a hair below their season average of 108.3
The Heat put up an ORtg of 103.5, well below their season average of 11
The pace was 85.0, so it was a very slow game. The slowest team in the league, Memphis, had a pace of 88.4. For comparison, the Spurs were #6 in the league in pace at 94.2, while the Heat were #23 at 90.7. It surprises some people to learn that Miami plays so slow.

The Spurs mainly won this game by having an insanely low number of turnovers and slightly winning the free throw battle.

From what I've heard, Miami's offensive numbers are horribly inflated by playing bad teams (according to Coach Nick, the bottom 20 defenses). Teams like the Spurs have better numbers against good teams. Since the Spurs were third in defensive rating, I assume that Miami had a typical Miami performance against a good defensive team. So it's not so much about them getting back to their style of play (like Thorpe says) as much as it's about them finding a way to beat the Spurs' defense.

Subjectively, I felt the Spurs never reached their highest gear (or even highest two or three gears) last night. They missed enough easy shots to have a 15- or so-point lead in the fourth. They didn't turn the ball over, but I don't think it's because they got lucky and avoided a passive Heat defense. I think the Spurs can still move the ball a lot better than they did, which should help to account for and capitalize on the Heat's more aggressive defense. The Heat pretty much had their best playoff performance from their players last night. While it's easy to say they can do a lot better by looking at their stars, I think that would do a tremendous injustice to the Spurs' defense, which also has another gear or two to increase. Green and Diaw can do more on defense, and either Neal is going to learn to stick with Allen no matter what, or Joseph is going to get some minutes at the two.

I thought Miami played much closer to their ceiling than the Spurs did. If Pop can get his players to play at the highest level, Miami needs to watch out. The Spurs shouldn't lose the efficiency or rebound battles again in this series.

[wut]

The Heat were very aggressive in the first half. They even came out playing their ultra aggressive defense in the third quarter. The problem is Miami can't stay at that level for long. Their strategy is to make other teams wilt under that pressure and grab a big lead, holding on for the victory in the end. The Spurs will not wilt. They recovered from a 16 point deficit with 4 minutes left against Golden State. You can't stop playing hard until the game is over against the Spurs.
very true.

[elbamba]

Spurs have no history of turning it on, lifting their game a level or intentionally controlling the pace through 3 quarters so they can outplay their opponents in the fourth. They have never done that before in the past 16 years.

[Aggie Hoopsfan]

Everyone seems to ignore that our offense runs opposing perimeter players through multiple picks each possession. It's like body blows in boxing. You wear them down throughout and finish them in the fourth. The Heat can't play their aggressive trap defense that long when we are running them through all those screens.

To ahead and put lbj on Tony too. We can just move him off the ball and force James to go run the gauntlet every possession. See how much juice he has left at the end after that.

[moisaenz]

If Leonard would have made 2 of those 3's it would have been over sooner... Spurs role players are rusty with their shot.. In game 2 they wont be but I do expect more turnovers from Spurs next game..