Pros/Cons of game 1..

[Darius McCrary]

Pros
- Tony Parker..he played a controlled game, picked his spots and he didn't force any shots, tbh..Parker drawing the trap opened up opportunities for the rest of the team, although the shooters didn't always take advantage..

- Tim Duncan in the post + defense/rebounding..horrible start and his jump shot is broken, but his defense and rebounding was phenomenal, his passing was solid, and he finished well at the rim..his post game was very good when he kept is simple, tbh..

He needs to take smarter shots on a consistent basis..

- Kawhi Leonard's all-around effort..great defense against the best player on the planet..10 rebounds and created offense very well, including 2 passes that led to FTs for Duncan and Splitter..

His jump shot is broken, though, unfortunately..

- Ginobili in the pick&roll game..he passed well and attacked the basket at a high level, tbh...

- Small ball..surprisingly, the Spurs outplayed the Heat using their own strength, small-ball..I don't know if this is a viable option moving forward, but it worked in game 1..

- Turnovers..only 6, and only 1 or 2 erratic turnovers IIRC..limiting their transition points is essential..

Cons
- Falling asleep against shooters..this has been a problem all playoffs long, tbh..Miami has the shooters to make the Spurs pay, though..

Green falling asleep on Ray Allen, late to recover, leading to a foul on the 3..

Parker falling asleep on a Chalmers 3..Manu had several plays where he was late to recover and allowed an open 3..Gary Neal did it repeatedly, although that's expected..

Bonner left Battier wide open twice, luckily he missed..

- Danny Green guarding Dwyane Wade..Wade abused him in the post and on the drive, Green didn't have an answer for him, tbh..

- Gary Neal playing 22 minutes..7 points on 9 shots and his usual, horrible defense..ugh..

- Late-game execution..

After Danny Green's 3, I wasn't a fan of the Spurs decision making..

Parker made a crazy shot to end the game and Tim drew a foul on a broken play, but they weren't good possessions..Manu took a hero 3, followed by Danny Green's stupid foul on a Ray Allen 3 that gave the Heat some life when the game should have been over, tbh..

Luckily, Miami made horrible decisions down the stretch, as well..


Overall, Spurs played a B- game and still won, they should be very encouraged..Lebron played a C game, so expect him to come out with an A effort in game 2..Spurs need to clean a lot of up and stay disciplined, tbh..

1) Kawhi's jumpshot is not broken. His 3 point shooting is. There's a difference. Furthermore his jumpshot can stay broken, if he plays defense, he's still amazing...leading to....

2) The hugest question tonight was "Did Kawhi defend Lebron well in the 2nd half, or did Lebron become to passive?" We all know Lebron is a past-first player. But we also heard the announcers crying to the bball gods that Lebron was 3 assists away from a TripDub. Did Lebron go for the triple double instead of playing in the game? Or did Kawhi defend him and make him make freakishly difficult passes?(Not all, but some were). I tend to think Lebron got so vain he went for his TripDub. But no matter what side of the argument you take, we lack the data to be correct about anything. Only the next game or two will tell if Kawhi did a great job on Lebron in the post..

3) Your cons actually convince me to drop the Spurs performance from my original "B" to a "C". Yet we still were in striking distance the whole game and ended up winning.

4) No matter what anyone says, going into the 4th, they were shooting good from 3, we were shooting bad. In the 4th, we shut them down, and we hit the clutch shots. On the road.

[100%duncan]

Bron had a triple double. Yup a C game IMHO.

[Chinook]

I really am fine with Green's first-half performance. Wade should be welcome to take the contested fadeaways that Green was giving him. I don't think Wade falling off after the third quarter was really due to Green not being on him. Speaking of Green, his match-ups with James were interesting. I don't think Lebron has a very high opinion of Green as a player, and he paid for it somewhat by only beating Green in the post once and letting Green drive past him a couple of times, which led to easy baskets for other players. In general, Green's going to have to be aggressive if his defenders continue to not respect him.

I liked what I saw from Leonard, but I'm not as excited as many people on this board are. I think James will have a much better game on Sunday and most of the improvement will be due to him going at Leonard more aggressively. I think Leonard will adjust pretty well to it, though, since unlike George, he doesn't carry a large offensive burden. If Kawhi can hit some three-pointers, he can close the match-up gap with James a little more, and that would really be a death knell to the Heat.

At least one of Splitter and Diaw needs to step up in their time with Duncan. Splitter's size makes him a mis-match when Haslem is on him (like he was to start the game). The Heat will probably start doubling Duncan soon, so Splitter winning his match-up would really help keep the Heat off balance. Diaw is too versatile to be on the bench as much as he was. He's usually a jack-of-all-trades, but tonight, he was a master of none. If he can stay with a Heat shooter on defense, his size and post game could really help on offense.

Parker and Duncan were good, as we had hoped. When James switched onto Parker, I had hoped the Spurs would run James off a lot of screens, but due to the clock running down I guess, they simply let Parker iso on James. That played right into Miami's hands, and if not for Parker's great shot, James would have won that match-up. Going forward, Parker's going to have to try to get open more. Chalmers is one person that doesn't take a lot of effort to shake, but James and even Cole will require a lot of ball movement, and I hope we see it if Lebron tries to check Parker in the future.

Neal shooting even half-way decently was very welcome. Him getting his shot back would still be a great help to the Spurs. There's no reason Neal can't stay on Miami's shooters, but Pop needs to stress that this is his priority. If Neal can't guard anyone, he'll have to get on a hot streak to convince me that even a passive Joseph shouldn't get Neal's two-guard minutes.

[313]

Con: No T=Mac

but I'm guessing pop is just saving him to light up game 4 (closeout game)

[MannyIsGod]

Lebron being passive and Bosh shooting 3s is a product of Miami's poor decision making..

Spurs guarded Lebron 1 on 1, he chose to be passive down the stretch, you'll hear plenty of criticism towards him in the next few days for passing the ball too much..

The Bosh thing is nothing new though. At this point it is who he is - especialy in Miami's stupid system. Spolstra is lucky to have such a stacked team because otherwise he'd have been fired long ago. The dude is a terrible coach.

[MannyIsGod]

It wasn't so much "falling to sleep" as it was the game plan to pack the paint and guard Lebron. Ray can hurt you, so they try to close out and I've been calling Danny on this all year how he goes flying at the defender as if that's ever been a legit defensive strategy. Normally it flies by them and struggles to recover as they pump fake and then take a wide open look.

No there was definitely a lot of ball watching and falling asleep by the Spurs shooters. I agree with every instance HH brought up. There was even a point where they fell asleep and gave Lebron an open 3. You can't get caught watching the ball. Frankly, its amazing to me that this can happen to NBA athletes in a Finals game but I saw it a lot tonight.

[DejuanorwhatDude]

Harlem, you're a great poster, but please stop overrating the Heat. They're facing a team equal to them in terms of basketball IQ. Losing game 1 was very bad for them; if the Spurs win game 2 they're winning the series.

[MannyIsGod]

Whether you think Lebron was passive or not the fact is that he still accounted for a massive amount of their offense. 18 and 10 is a pretty substantial portion of your team's production - especially when you only score in the mid 80s. I still think that Kawhi did a great job on him that isn't really reflected in the stats and the overall game plan to shut down his drives was excellent. But this is where I thought we sucked as well. I get that if you're a wing player you've got to be ready to rotate on a double but you also have to remember that 3 point shooter that is your primary defensive assignment. Almost everyone on the wing fell asleep at some point.

But even if Lebron is more assertive I won't mind. He'll probably take more contested shots and he won't make all of them. He also won't be getting his team involved. I liked the gameplan tonight and hope to see more of it. Honestly, I don't think Spolstra can adapt. He rode the sheer dominance of Lebron to an amazing regular season but does anyone expect him to be able to outcoach Pop? He's not Phil Jackson so what adjustment is he going to make that is going to make them better? He's got to basically hope that Bosh plays better but considering his trackrecord over 3 years with him I'm guessing thats not extremely likely.

[HarlemHeat37]

How am I overrating the Heat?..I said the Spurs played just a B- game and still beat them, which is great news for the Spurs..

[cheguevara]

We won despite shootin 40% and lebrons triple double in Miami. Yah no cons tonight

[MannyIsGod]

BTW - that supposed amazing Miami PnR defense? MIA, for sure. Tony and Manu broke it down with regularity.

[Richie]

BTW - that supposed amazing Miami PnR defense? MIA, for sure. Tony and Manu broke it down with regularity.

I'm shocked at how easily the Spurs penetrated. I think Miami will be much better in Game 2.

[SanDiegoSpursFan]

I think another pro is that the refs seem like they want to let this verticality bs stick. Tiago took advantage of this a couple of times today and I think not calling a foul on that can make Tiago much more of a defensive force as a rim protector.

[HarlemHeat37]

Miami's adjustments IMO:

- Forcing Parker to pass more and make Duncan/Ginobili and the shooters beat them..they'll put Lebron on him for longer periods of time IMO..

They're going to swarm him more and live with the rest of the Spurs beating them..

- Lebron will obviously be more aggressive..

- More mid-range shots for Bosh, he had good looks tonight and the Spurs have a tendency to allow open jump shots to bigs that can shoot..

Running plays with Bosh about 5 feet closer can make a significant impact, but Spoelstra is usually slow to adjust, we'll see if he does it..

- More Norris Cole and Mike Miller, less Chalmers and Battier..

- More small ball..

[HarlemHeat37]

Bron had a triple double. Yup a C game IMHO.

Lebron had a triple double in the game he "quit" against Boston in 2010..triple doubles are extremely overrated, tbh..

He had an average game tonight..

[MannyIsGod]

I doubt you'll see more of Cole and Miller right off the bat. They'll probably play all of them and see who is hot.

Lebron on Tony is the obvious go to move but good luck with that when Lebron is put through screen after screen after screen.

[HarlemHeat37]

I wouldn't put Lebron against Parker for long stretches if I'm Miami, but it will eventually be a desperation move for them..

The 2 Spurs possessions with Lebron on Parker looked terrible tonight, despite Tony making the miracle dagger..when Miami switches Lebron on Parker, throw it in to Duncan IMO, or even look for Leonard in the mismatch(although I highly doubt Pop would trust him if it's a key possession)..

[100%duncan]

Lebron had a triple double in the game he "quit" against Boston in 2010..triple doubles are extremely overrated, tbh..

He had an average game tonight..

Whatever I say ya'll gon defend Bron for having an average game besides the 3ple double. I won't waste my time tbh. A triple double is a triple double. at comparing it to a game 3 years ago when he had a team.

[HarlemHeat37]

Ok, I'll ask you..as a Spurs fan, knowing his ability, were you satisfied with Lebron's performance tonight and do you hope he replicates it every game in this series, tbh?..

If you told me Lebron would play like he did tonight in every game of this series, I'd say the Spurs are going to sweep Miami, tbh..

[nkdlunch]

well one thing is that we only had 4 TO which is historical and we still only won by what 3, 4?

I think we do need some adjustments because we for sure will have a lot more turnovers next game.

I am pretty sure Miami Heat runs will be a lot more punishing in game 2. 10-15 point leads. Those will be a lot harder to get back on

[nkdlunch]

Ok, I'll ask you..as a Spurs fan, knowing his ability, were you satisfied with Lebron's performance tonight and do you hope he replicates it every game in this series, tbh?..

If you told me Lebron would play like he did tonight in every game of this series, I'd say the Spurs are going to sweep Miami, tbh..

Lebron won't play like this for long. He will take the entire team onhis back next game or the one after. game 2 3 and 4 will be a lot harder for the spurs. these are still the champs

[Kidd K]

'Eh, I can't say I agree with some of that. Especially how half your cons are the exact same thing. You listed how the Spurs fell asleep on 3pt shooters, then your next 3 points were about leaving 3pt shooters open.

The awful manu 3pt shot was incredibly stupid though. Manu not only needs to be fined for that , but I would not be upset if someone slaps him in the face for doing it. There was at least 10 seconds left on the shot clock in a 5 point game where we had the ball with only a minute and a half left. The clock is your friend, yet he launches a 30 foot three with 10 seconds left? What a god damn moron.

Back to the leaving guys open for three though, I do agree with that point. That was the worst part of the Spurs in the first half, but they addressed it in the 2nd half. I think that was one of the main issues cropping up in the "rust" factor.


The main issues I saw (aside from the Manu three and the sagging off 3pt shooters I agreed with already) were the lack of rebounding (on both ends) and the use of Gary Neal for too long. Gary Neal. . .who is a great shooter, does not belong on a winning team in the NBA Finals. I'm sorry to say it but every second he's out there just feels like Pop trying to steal rest minutes for other players. His defense is too garbage to risk leaving in there.

[TE]

Lebron will put it in beast mode, probably in Game 2. The Spurs should make adjustments to limit Miami's role players from contributing.

[nkdlunch]

oh Lebron is going super sayan in game 2

no doubt about it

[KL2]

The Spurs played like absolute , Duncan missed around 5 wide open jumpers to start off, guys from Manu-TD-TP were missing point blank layups, Leonard bricked 3 wide open 3's in a row, the refs took Duncan out of the game which lead to MIA extending their lead. If Duncan didn't pick up that BS foul against Wade, which also gave MIA 2pts despite Wade not shooting, Miami doesn't go on that huge run.

Leonard played great defense on LBJ, he was passive because every single time he got in the paint there was Duncan/Splitter and Kawhi in his face, two of the best defenders in the NBA, can you think of a better defensive SF-PF combo? Kawhi has guarded the likes of Artest, Griffin, Landry, Gasol, etc. he isn't some some ordinary defender with average size, having Kawhi on you is like having a PF or center guarding you with that length.