Another good one from Zach Lowe

[CosmicCowboy]

http://www.grantland.com/blog/the-triangle/post/_/id/66101/everything-matters-how-to-understand-and-enjoy-game-7-of-the-nba-finals

[Skull-1]

Awesome analysis.

[SouthernFried]

This Zach guy is good...real good.

I still think Pop made some bad decisions, but not because of the reasons most do. I think he stayed with the 2nd unit in the 3rd and 4th quarters too long. That is where Miami started their comeback. I think He played Manu too much, when it was obvious he was having, perhaps, the worst game of his career. And I think he didn't force the team to use Duncan better in the 2nd half.

Not having Duncan for those rebounds, I understand. And the focus on missed free throws was not something I've ever done...1 of 2 is what it is. But, I can't ignore Pops decisions in my first paragraph.

Zach's analysis is pretty damn good tho, worth the read. Thanks.

[CosmicCowboy]

Awesome analysis.

Yeah, he is the best writer in basketball right now.

[tesseractive]

Yeah, he is the best writer in basketball right now.

[Darius McCrary]

Great writeup.

[easjer]

Yeah, he is the best writer in basketball right now.

I find myself turning to Grantland first these days. Lowe is enormously impressive. I still enjoy Simmons' writing and Woj's articles, but in terms of pure analysis . . . Lowe's nailed it. He breaks it down and makes it accessible.

[FromWayDowntown]

It's really too bad that so many Spurs fans read Lowe and think that he's diminishing the Spurs. Few among the national media have been as effusive with praise of this team and its excellence (both obvious and subtle) than Lowe and the fact that some Spurs fans rip him to shreds for also objectively finding positive things to say about other teams.

He's been excellent all season and insanely good during these playoffs.

[MannyIsGod]

I absolutely love that article. The game really does hinge on so many small things. I always thought that people never realized the importance of many small occurrences throughout the game and how big of a domino effect they could have when they add to or kill momentum.

That being said, taking every instance of luck in a game out of context is not the smartest thing to do because the idea is over a series those odd bounces even out. But when you have teams that are so close - maybe every small bit of luck does deserve to be examined on its own. I don't know.

Great read though.

[cd98]

Let's hope the Spurs get lucky tonight.

[InRareForm]

Makes you really take a step back and look at the game in a different angle. Basketball is almost all skill but when the ball is in the air.. It's a damn lotto machine AT TIMES, the ball goes different ways and there is no way to predict what will entail.