Causes For Concern Heading Into Game 2

[BatManu20]

The Spurs need to keep the ball moving and keep Tony coming off of screens in late game situations. I really don't like that they just dribble the clock down and then it's just iso Parker. That almost always results in a bad shot. We got lucky with that crazy shot but that won't usually work. Hopefully they keep it moving.

[TampaDude]

I'm expecting Game 6 of the 2012 ECF LeBron, tbh...we'll see...

[Drachen]

I thought Miami played good enough defense to win the game, Miami missed big shots, while Spurs hit some timely ones. We were forced to double Lebron on the dribble leaving open their shooters, and while at times they hit shots, they didn't get hot. The Spurs on the opposite side of this weren't able to really break Miami's defense and were forced to take tough shots, and hit them when it mattered. Without adjustment for figuring out how Parker can break their defense down (or Miami just getting tired and not being able to keep up), Spurs will be in trouble. Lebron can't really be more aggressive with the way Spurs were playing defense...it's the Spurs' gameplan to limit his ability to drive. We're really just playing the odds that Miami's shooters won't shoot 50% on open looks. We need to make adjustments to get open shots or things will go sour.

Are you kidding me? If our guys hit even 30 percent of the open threes they were given we win by 12

[Brunodf]

1- Pop playing Bonner/Neal/TP-Manu-Green-Kawhi-TD in crunch time.

2- Our defensive game plan of "half" doubling Lebron/Wade in the post.

[TD 21]

LeBron's suffocating D on Parker in the 4th. What if they do this more often?

No one else capable of keeping up with LeBron other than Kawhi. What if Kawhi gets into foul trouble and LeBron chooses to exploit his matchup with Green more?



Pretty much it for now.

If they go with James on Parker for longer stretches, the Spurs will make it a point to run him ragged, even more so than they usually do with Parker's man. I don't care how inhuman he seems, for a 6-8 2(whatever he is; 50, 60, 70?) to constantly be running through and around screens, chasing a water bug type and having to carry the offense and be his team's primary rebounder, plus play 42+ mpg, that's going to take it's toll.

If they close with Miller with the big three and Allen again, Pop needs to "hide" Parker on Miller, though. They can't afford to have him burning energy by chasing Allen, like they did the last 3+ minutes. Ginobili should guard Allen.

As far as having no secondary James defender, there is no answer for this. Green looks like a better bet than Diaw to me, but neither has any chance individually.

[GSH]

To me, the biggest things SA has to worry about in any given game are:
1. Foul Trouble - a quick 2 fouls on Tim or Kawhi, in the first quarter, and one of them could be on the bench for a big part of a first half. That could give Miami a chance to build a lead. And they are a LOT better front-runners than they are at grinding.
2. Tony has an off night and/or the Heat have one of those nights where everything is falling. Any team can be invincible on a given night, when the shots are falling.
3. The refs allowing that arm-slap bull on defense, that gets the Heat so many steals. They already use the Derek Fisher body-bump defense constantly. And when you're leaning on a ball-handler, and constantly pushing him away from the basket (even a small amount), it makes the offense take place a little farther from the basket. And distance = FG% - the farther the average distance from the basket, the lower the percentage. The other thing that happens with that body bump is that legs get "inadvertently" tangled, and guys lose the handle on the ball. Throw in that arm-slap business, and you get turnovers. Lots of turnovers. And when Miami gets turnovers, they turn them into points.

These are still the three worries I have for tonight. No. 3 was a big deal in Game 2. The Heat got the turnovers, and forced our offense further out on the floor. The two teams only shot 24 FT's combined in Game 2. If the zebras call the game the same way tonight, it's going to be a tough win. Sometimes it's good to "ugly a game up". But you can't do that if the refs have totally swallowed their whistles.