It doesn't take a rocket scientist to see what happened in game 2...

[sexinthatsx]

It was clearly a mental mistake. You can clearly see the pace of the game was slower than Spurs usually play, and Pop expected the Heat to watch the tape and adjust according to the pace and the way the Spurs played in Game 1. Because of this, Pop had the idea of pacing the offense, making it even faster in Game 2 to run the big 3 out of the building by putting the bench players out to make the pace really fast. In the end, it just bit Pop in the ass because we ended up making a ton of turnovers with that pace and the Heat made the most of it.

It all boils down to the same conclusion: that's why teams like the Phoenix Suns and Golden State Warriors never make it into the finals... that fast paced play will never fly in the finals. You need to be really gritty on defense and take your time on each possession in order to make sure your teammates are there to box out for the rebound or able to get back on defense on time.

I expect the pace of game 3 to be just as fast, if not, slower than game 1.

[tesseractive]

It was clearly a mental mistake. You can clearly see the pace of the game was slower than Spurs usually play, and Pop expected the Heat to watch the tape and adjust according to the pace and the way the Spurs played in Game 1. Because of this, Pop had the idea of pacing the offense, making it even faster in Game 2 to run the big 3 out of the building by putting the bench players out to make the pace really fast. In the end, it just bit Pop in the ass because we ended up making a ton of turnovers with that pace and the Heat made the most of it.

It all boils down to the same conclusion: that's why teams like the Phoenix Suns and Golden State Warriors never make it into the finals... that fast paced play will never fly in the finals. You need to be really gritty on defense and take your time on each possession in order to make sure your teammates are there to box out for the rebound or able to get back on defense on time.

I expect the pace of game 3 to be just as fast, if not, slower than game 1.

It's been part of the Spurs strategy for a while to try to get better looks by attacking before the defense is set, and Miami rotates really fast, so getting open shots depends on quick decisions and quick passes -- otherwise they'll recover.

I couldn't personally tell whether it was that the guys were rushing things and making bad decisions, or whether Miami was giving them unexpected looks that the Spurs now need to study the film on and counter. (If someone who's good with breaking down film has an opinion on that, I'd love to hear it.)

In any case, if we play a more deliberate half-court game, it will be harder to get guys open with enough time to shoot. We need to move fast, but we need to do it while executing precisely and staying a step ahead of Miami. And there's no reason why we can't do it while still playing elite defense -- we've done that all year. And the fact that we're also a great defensive team is the biggest thing that separates us from those Suns and Warriors teams.

If we lose, it will be because Miami's a better team than we are, not because we run a fast-paced offense.

[Floyd Pacquiao]

"They just made some shots"

[elmanutres]

it pisses me off we lost the game when danny green was hot from the 3. of all games when hes hot

[sexinthatsx]

it pisses me off we lost the game when danny green was hot from the 3. of all games when hes hot

It probably means they were so focused on closing the big 3 Danny Green had open looks AND open drives all day long. The Heat gambled that no one outside of the big 3 can iso, and it paid off; none of them were able to create their own shots.

[taps]

2/10

[therealtruth]

There's nothing wrong with pace. They just need to choose their moments. To combat the Heat's swarming defense they have to keep moving the ball and force the Heat to defend and get tired. That type of defense is not going to be sustainable if the Spurs force them to defend.

[skulls138]

it pisses me off we lost the game when danny green was hot from the 3. of all games when hes hot

And Kawhi was putting forth such a solid effort. Actually that pisses me off even more.