Play the turned the series for the Spurs

[maverick1948]

After watching all the games over again. I looked for the one play that changed the series for the Spurs. Games 1 & 2 had nothing in the way of series changing plays. But game 3!!! The Spurs jumped on the Heat early and got a big lead. In the third quarter, the Heat were making a solid run and had the Spurs lead down to 7 and were played hard on D. A the 1:37 mark, with 2 seconds left on the shot clock, Marco Belinelli slipped screen and got a wide open 3. Put the Spurs up by 10 and the Heat began to wilt. At the time it was not that important looking, but overall, it began the Spurs run that took game 3 and set the stage for the next 2 games.

[Prime Time]

Belinelli also hit a huge shot against OKC in G6. Not to mention his response to every Ray Allen shot back in G1.

Say what you want about the dude, but he has a pair of spicy meatballs.

[ceperez]

After watching all the games over again. I looked for the one play that changed the series for the Spurs. Games 1 & 2 had nothing in the way of series changing plays. But game 3!!! The Spurs jumped on the Heat early and got a big lead. In the third quarter, the Heat were making a solid run and had the Spurs lead down to 7 and were played hard on D. A the 1:37 mark, with 2 seconds left on the shot clock, Marco Belinelli slipped screen and got a wide open 3. Put the Spurs up by 10 and the Heat began to wilt. At the time it was not that important looking, but overall, it began the Spurs run that took game 3 and set the stage for the next 2 games.

Yes, that shot stopped that run. Bellinelli has good reason to go in tears about winning the championship.

[poop]

That was a HUGE shot..

[spursparker9]

He definitely contributed to the championship and his performance in the regular reason help the Spurs to keep everybody's minutes down for the playoffs.

[Baam]

:lmao the most overhyped shot of all time already... People are really desperate to find a way to make Beli look good...

[will_spurs]

That was indeed a huge play. Of course it's not easy to find huge plays in the Finals with the way the Spurs beat down the Heat...

Another huge play by a roleplayer: CoJo dunk on Ibaka. Just deflating the myth.

[Jenks]

That was a huge 3, right after he missed a point blank layup which fired up the Heat crowd and gave them a quick transition bucket.

Undoing the damage you just did is not a hero, it's doing your job. I'm happy as fuck he hit it but come on now.

[ginobilized]

That was a Huge shot....a miss and a Miami score would've been scary....we needed a bucket and he got it

[DBMethos]

:lmao the most overhyped shot of all time already... People are really desperate to find a way to make Beli look good...

Perhaps, but could you imagine Bonner taking that shot? :depressed

[Chinook]

Perhaps, but could you imagine Bonner taking that shot? :depressed

Bonner did have one in Game Six against OKC as well.

[703 Spurz]

After watching all the games over again. I looked for the one play that changed the series for the Spurs. Games 1 & 2 had nothing in the way of series changing plays. But game 3!!! The Spurs jumped on the Heat early and got a big lead. In the third quarter, the Heat were making a solid run and had the Spurs lead down to 7 and were played hard on D. A the 1:37 mark, with 2 seconds left on the shot clock, Marco Belinelli slipped screen and got a wide open 3. Put the Spurs up by 10 and the Heat began to wilt. At the time it was not that important looking, but overall, it began the Spurs run that took game 3 and set the stage for the next 2 games.

Before I opened this thread I said out loud it was the Belinelli 3. Glad to see we agree.

[Baam]

Manu alone hit plenty of timely 3s that were bigger...

[210baller]

I really feel that Josephs dunk turned it around for the Spurs. Seems like when he did that the rest of the teams testicles dropped. Ever since that dunk against OKC , the Spurs played much better and aggressive.

[DrSteffo]

Splitter's block and Patty's 3 tbh

[TE]

Beli's shot was huge in that 3rd quarter. You could feel the team becoming more and more unsettled as Miami picked it up defensively.

[siraulo23]

:lmao the most overhyped shot of all time already... People are really desperate to find a way to make Beli look good...

please as bad as belli is defensively, theres only a handful of guys who would make that shot in pressure situation, game 3 of the nba finals, heat making a huge comeback and the crowd was going nuts

this dude is a clutch mofo, this we know even though he struggled for most of the POs, but he hit his fair share of clutch shots

[weeks]

i don't know about the most important play that tipped the series

but after the manu dunk in game 5, i knew the chip was ours.

[313]

Manu alone hit plenty of timely 3s that were bigger...

[Johnny RIngo]

He was pretty bad in these playoffs. No coincidence that the only game the Heat won was the one where he played 20+ minutes. In games 3-5, he averaged 6 minutes per game...Spurs destroyed the Heat those three games.

His only value is getting Manu rest in the regular season. As far as playoff basketball is concerned - he's practically worthless. Nice reg season player I guess.

[Raven]

people stop it, it's disgraceful to you all.

[mudyez]

CoJo's dunk in the pevious series!

It made us unsoft...uhm hard!

[Knoxxx]

He was pretty bad in these playoffs. No coincidence that the only game the Heat won was the one where he played 20+ minutes. In games 3-5, he averaged 6 minutes pofer game...Spurs destroyed the Heat those three games.His only value is getting Manu rest in the regular season. As far as playoff basketball is concerned - he's practically worthless. Nice reg season player I guess.Common but incorrect take. A new player in the Spurs system will underperform their first year in the playoffs. We even saw that for two years with Splitter since he barely played year one.Not sure Belli will ever be an average defender but he will improve next playoffs.

[iManu]

Ginobili dunk was the nail in the coffin and his three that followed was the last shovel of dirt.

[james evans]

After watching all the games over again. I looked for the one play that changed the series for the Spurs. Games 1 & 2 had nothing in the way of series changing plays. But game 3!!! The Spurs jumped on the Heat early and got a big lead. In the third quarter, the Heat were making a solid run and had the Spurs lead down to 7 and were played hard on D. A the 1:37 mark, with 2 seconds left on the shot clock, Marco Belinelli slipped screen and got a wide open 3. Put the Spurs up by 10 and the Heat began to wilt. At the time it was not that important looking, but overall, it began the Spurs run that took game 3 and set the stage for the next 2 games.
i knew exactly what u were talking about before i entered the thread. that's the shot i tell everyone about. they had cut it to 7 and after that, it was over the rest of the series.

[TVI]

:lmao the most overhyped shot of all time already...hyperbole much?

[spot2180]

I remember a while back when there were a bunch of people hoping Boris would go away. I think Bellineli will be much better next year after a year in the system, just like what happened to Boris.

[Dex]

I'm not sure what people expected from det dude Beli. He was never going to get major minutes in the postseason, and Patty catching fire made him pretty redundant unless Kawhi was in foul trouble.

He played within the offense, hit his open shots, and played defense as well as his limits will allow him. And he hit two of the biggest shots in the playoffs.

Sure, he wasn't quite Brent Barry 2.0, but he played his role fine. Even if his biggest contribution was not being Gary Neal.

[Johnny RIngo]

Common but incorrect take. A new player in the Spurs system will underperform their first year in the playoffs. We even saw that for two years with Splitter since he barely played year one.Not sure Belli will ever be an average defender but he will improve next playoffs.

No, the incorrect take is assuming every player in the Spur system will improve after one year. Jefferson never got better. Blair never got better. Mason never got better. Gary Neal was worse by his 3rd year in SA. Beno never did anything better in his 2nd year. Shitty players will always be shitty players no matter how much time they spend in the Spurs system. Tiago never got playing time in his first two years in SA. He was always a good player. Only difference is he's getting more minutes now than in 2011.

[SouthernFried]

I agree with this.

I don't remember a lot of shots...but, I remember that one. The timing was what made this one so big. I was getting worried and Miami had momentum...that shot changed it all.

[soxxx]

Its actually kinda odd, because the first 2 games were VERY competitive. Then game 3 the Spurs came out and shot 75%, Heat had a comeback but ultimately fell because the Spurs were shooting the lights out. Then game 4 happenned and it went from "the spurs shooting" to "Miami not having a supporting cast around Lebron James". I dont know if I believe that, I just think the Spurs dominated from rebounds, passing, defense, etc.

[soxxx]

Bellinelli struggled against the Mavs, he was great all season but after the Mavs series everyone turned on em. It happenned to Danny Green against the Thunder in 2012, he fell apart, but came back the next year great in the playoffs.

[Johnny RIngo]

Bellinelli struggled against the Mavs, he was great all season but after the Mavs series everyone turned on em. It happenned to Danny Green against the Thunder in 2012, he fell apart, but came back the next year great in the playoffs.

Green's impact stats have always been good. Yes, even in 2012(his first season in SA) he was a plus player on offense and defense. This season, Marco was rated as an overall negative impact player. His offense was a plus but his defense was so bad it negated anything positive he did on the other end of the floor. Marco's expendable.

[OldSilentHill]

Ginobili dunk was the nail in the coffin and his three that followed was the last shovel of dirt.

Best phrase on the thread so far.

[siraulo23]

After watching all the games over again. I looked for the one play that changed the series for the Spurs. Games 1 & 2 had nothing in the way of series changing plays. But game 3!!! The Spurs jumped on the Heat early and got a big lead. In the third quarter, the Heat were making a solid run and had the Spurs lead down to 7 and were played hard on D. A the 1:37 mark, with 2 seconds left on the shot clock, Marco Belinelli slipped screen and got a wide open 3. Put the Spurs up by 10 and the Heat began to wilt. At the time it was not that important looking, but overall, it began the Spurs run that took game 3 and set the stage for the next 2 games.


Green's impact stats have always been good. Yes, even in 2012(his first season in SA) he was a plus player on offense and defense. This season, Marco was rated as an overall negative impact player. His offense was a plus but his defense was so bad it negated anything positive he did on the other end of the floor. Marco's expendable.

true and belli will never gain the foot speed to be effective defensively in the POs and he'll always be a net liability but u cant take away the clutch shots he MADE in the POs and the finals

[DMC]

Turned the series....

I don't think the series needed to be turned. I think the Spurs played like they just had 5 days off. They play bad after a long break. They had 23 or so turnovers and won. Lebron cramped up and was never the same after that. He was slow in transition most of the time, he had some moments but he wasn't the same guy as he's been before.

After that game 2 loss due to missed FTs (should have been a sweep imo), Spurs never looked back.

[DMC]

true and belli will never gain the foot speed to be effective defensively in the POs and he'll always be a net liability but u cant take away the clutch shots he MADE in the POs and the finals
Also you have to get to the Finals and you have to get to the playoffs to get to the Finals. Marco was instrumental in helping the Spurs secure HCA. Even if a guy doesn't shine in the playoffs, there's 82 games before the playoffs that have to be played, and you need people to play them. That's why Matty has a job even now.

[RuffnReadyOzStyle]

Yep, important shot. We were wavering and that steadied us. Still probably would've won the game given all the energy the Heat had used to get back in the game, but it was an important shot by Beli.

[T Park]

He was pretty bad in these playoffs. No coincidence that the only game the Heat won was the one where he played 20+ minutes. In games 3-5, he averaged 6 minutes per game...Spurs destroyed the Heat those three games.

His only value is getting Manu rest in the regular season. As far as playoff basketball is concerned - he's practically worthless. Nice reg season player I guess.


Rewatching the Portland series genius

[99 Problems]

No Argentina = great Manu 2014.

[z0sa]

Thats definitely a big shot, OP.

[kobyz]

the real turned around plays came at the Thunder game 6, it was the Manu three, the Kawhi steel and Timmy in overtime... That was the critical series...

[DMC]

Some of you are not talking about the same series.

[SpurAddict561]

Before Marco hit that shot in Game 3 that was the only point of the series I was actually nervous.

They were storming back, getting every call, and the crowd started doing that Seven Nation Chant. Game 6 of last year started to haunt me at that point and it felt like we were about to blow our 26 point lead and then, most likely, blow the series.

Ballanelli!

[spursparker9]

the real turned around plays came at the Thunder game 6, it was the Manu three, the Kawhi steel and Timmy in overtime... That was the critical series...

Yea. Playing a game 7 with a half injured Tony and then only 2 more days to rest and prepare for the Miami would be hard.

[Jimcs50]

The two plays of the year IMO were Manu's 3 in game 6 at OKC to put Spurs up 1 with seconds left and Kawhi's block of Westbrook on sure layup, which would have given Thunder the lead late in game.

Had we lost that game, OKC might have won game 7, because Parker probably either had to sit out, or would have been limited. Also, Spurs would have been exhausted with only 1 day off before game 1 of Finals, and who knows how that would have affected game 1.

[dg7md]

It's true, that Beli 3 was a huge shot that deflated Miami's big run that was turning our lead into a chokejob. Beli has hit some huge daggers throughout the playoffs and underselling them is a mistake. Sure, Manu outplayed him in every facet, but he was timely with big makes that kept our leads going strong.

But yes, that was the turning point of the series. You could also argue that the Chalmers cheapshot on Tony changed the series in our favor as well, despite the missed freebies that were a consequence of it. Miami never won another game after that one...

[tlongII]

My favorite play...

http://giant.gfycat.com/WarmSpitefulGalah.gif

[urunobili]

No Argentina = great Manu 2014.

Agreed. I have the feeling he'll snub the NT and set the tone also for the rest of his teammates to come back with a fire within to repeat.

[EVAY]

For the Finals, I have to agree that the Bellnelli shot was the one that clenched that game - showing the Heat, who were in the midst of a huge comeback, that we can score on them anytime at all with any player on our roster from anywhere on the court. THAT was the significance of it to me, and that is when I saw the wind come out of Miami's sails. Had Belli (or somebody else - could have been anyone) not made that shot and Miami gotten it to within five or four at home - we would have honestly had trouble. Not saying we wouldn't have eventually pulled out a win, but that shot at that time in that pressure situation really made the Finals a loss for Miami, imo.

Their entire body language after that was 'Damn".

[Sean Cagney]

Ginobili dunk was the nail in the coffin and his three that followed was the last shovel of dirt.

Those were flat out huge, then we began to know this was their title and they were finishing it in 5 games.

[doobs]

Play that turned the PLAYOFFS for the Spurs was Cojo's dunk in game 4 against OKC. Not long before, the Spurs looked lost and tired against the rejuvenated Thunder, with Timmy letting his frustration visibly boil over. The reserves came in and wrecked OKC's starters, wearing them out and ultimately giving the Spurs a huge boost in the series. After that, the Spurs went on a freaking tear against both the Thunder and the Heat.

[mowgli]

Before I opened this thread I said out loud it was the Belinelli 3. Glad to see we agree.

Same here...well, I didn't say it out loud cuz I'm not a faggot, but other than that +1 :toast

[pjjrfan]

Well I thought the same thing, especially since the lead ballooned back to double digits and stayed there. I wasn't comfortable seeing Bellinelli in that sequence, but when he hit that 3 I could sense that the ship was righted and the team responded by getting control of the game once again. Momentum in the NBA is such a big thing. that shot broke the Heats momentum and got the spurs back into a great rhythm.

[703 Spurz]

Same here...well, I didn't say it out loud cuz I'm not a faggot, but other than that +1 :toast

:lol

Sure thing faggot

[Johnny RIngo]

Belinelli has got to be the most overrated Spurs since Stephen Jackson. Marco could have had a career ending injury right before the playoffs and SA still would have won the title. That's how worthless he was during the postseason.

[therealtruth]

Once we won game 6 in OKC I was pretty sure we were going to win it all. Each championship team always had a gutsy road win like that like Game 5 in Phoenix in '07.

[skulls138]

Heat werent going to come all the way back and that why Beli made that shot. I mean think about it, the chances of the Heat NOT making a run were small. Im sure the Spurs realized that and were prepared mentally. It just didnt seem like that miraculous or pressure packed a shot.

[32fastest]

Belinelli also hit a huge shot against OKC in G6. Not to mention his response to every Ray Allen shot back in G1.

Say what you want about the dude, but he has a pair of spicy meatballs.

:lmao

[SupremeGuy]

Big play by Big Balls Beli.