2014 NBA FINALS - Game 1: Heat @ Spurs

[BillMc]

LOL all those sportswriters (and advertising execs) who lament that Lebron never faced Kobe in the finals, when Lebron will have faced Duncan 3 times....

[EVAY]

Spurs are a better team this year than last, imo.

Even if Parker doesn't start the series (which he likely will), we have a better chance without him than we did last year.

- This year, Splitter is better than he was last year ( recent games against OKC notwhithstanding).

- Kawhi is far better than he was last year

- Diaw is immeasurably better than he was last year

- Mills is better than he was last year

- Manu has better judgement than he did last year.

- Pop will likely leave Duncan in during the last 30 seconds if it is a close game this year.

I know that the Heat is a harder foe than we have seen. They have the best bball player in the universe, they play good team basketball, they play smart defense…


…but I really like our chances this year. And if it is not to be - I'm still more proud of this Spurs team than anyone has ever been of any team in history.

[Capster]

[LakerHater]

[hommeaetage]

One of the worst rebounding team in the league. Spurs need to absolutely kill them on the boards in every game!

[Knoxxx]

Miami is the back to back champ, and they're the favorites here... I like our chances, and I hope Tony is allright, but let's not get it twisted...

I feel you but the Spurs are 3.5 favorites in Game 1 and have home court. There are plenty of folks that consider S.A. the favorite, Miami as favorite feels more like a casual fan take. Oh, that's right the Spurs Big 3 are done I keep forgetting!

Anyone got the Vegas odds on winning the series?

[LakerHater]

[Prime Time]

Paul Garcia PS @PaulGarciaPS
Pretty cool opening career for Kawhi Leonard in first 3 years. 3 straight Conference Finals & 2 NBA Finals. #Spurs

Shiiiit, Cory did the same thing.

[cd021]

Didn't the Heat switch to LeBron on Manu for game 6?

he guarded Green for most of 6 and 7. Miami is going to stay at home on Green this time.

[cd021]

One of the worst rebounding team in the league. Spurs need to absolutely kill them on the boards in every game!

i think we were actually worse than them this season. We are a better defensive team.

[hommeaetage]

i think we were actually worse than them this season. We are a better defensive team.

No, we were 12th in the league while they were ranked dead last in the regular season. For the playoffs, we are 5th beast while they are still ranked dead last

[Chris]

[moisaenz]

Hey does anyone have a link to that article everyone was talking about that was real long? that had all those takes from ex-spurs?

[KaiRMD1]

Finally got our game 8, ol' sports

[cd021]

No, we were 12th in the league while they were ranked dead last in the regular season. For the playoffs, we are 5th beast while they are still ranked dead last

advanced stat? someone posted a screenshot that shows both teams at 36.5 a boards game

[xxbriguyxx]

[hater]

Sure spurs are a better team than lasf year. But so are the Heat. Better Lebron, healthier Wade even Yoshi is playing better. Sorry folks for those who think this is going to be easy you are in for a rude awakening.

[hommeaetage]

advanced stat? someone posted a screenshot that shows both teams at 36.5 a boards game

Heat averaged 36.9 boards a game while we averaged 43.3 during the regular season
I checked both espn and nba.com

[spurraider21]

advanced stat? someone posted a screenshot that shows both teams at 36.5 a boards game

that was only in their 2 head to head meetings

[boutons_deux]

James, Duncan to settle score in NBA finals face off

Over the last 10 seasons, only one NBA player has been part of more wins than LeBron James.


Tim Duncan is anticipating a different outcome in the NBA Finals this...


Tim Duncan explains why he believes the San Antonio Spurs are ready to face the Miami Heat in the NBA Finals.







Tim Duncan explains why he believes the San Antonio Spurs are ready to face the Miami Heat in the NBA Finals.


His name is Tim Duncan.

Their numbers over that decade are incredibly similar. Duncan has appeared in 622 regular-season and playoff victories, James has played in 621. Duncan is shooting 50.2 percent from the field, James is shooting 50 percent. Duncan has won three championships over that stretch, James has two.

Plus, when facing each other in the NBA Finals, both has won one, lost one.

Here comes the tiebreaker – a Finals rematch that will have high expectations.

Miami and San Antonio are the league's last two teams standing for the second consecutive year, their next chapter starting on the Spurs' home floor Thursday night. The Heat won a wild series last season for their second straight championship, needing a frantic rally to avoid elimination in Game 6 and then riding the strength of a 37-point, 12-rebound effort from James to top the Spurs in Game 7.

"I think our guys, they actually grew from the loss last year," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. "I call it for ude. I think they showed an unbelievable amount of for ude. If I can compliment my own team humbly, to have that tough loss, especially the Game 6 and not have a pity party and come back this year and get back to the same position, I think that's for ude."
It's the league's first Finals rematch since Chicago and Utah played in 1997 and 1998.

The teams have actually played three times since last season's classic series ended, twice in the regular season, another being a preseason meeting in Miami where the Spurs acknowledged that the pain of losing Game 7 on that floor was still real.

Then again, it's almost like they wanted to feel that hurt at times. Popovich showed the Spurs clips of Games 6 and 7 early in training camp this season, not so much to open old wounds but rather speed up the healing process.

"We were just trying to put it away, just get over that part of it, learn from it, and move forward from there," Duncan said.

Move forward, they did.

San Antonio won 62 games in the regular season, the best record in the league. One of those wins was a 24-point romp over Miami, on the same floor where this series will start on Thursday.

The Heat know what wanting revenge feels like. They lost the 2011 NBA Finals to Dallas, then opened the following season on the Mavericks' floor and simply blew them away.
Heat forward Chris Bosh called it "extra motivation" for the Spurs.

"It's just something that we have to deal with, and we know that they're going to be very passionate, and they're going to play some good basketball," Bosh said. "So whoever we play, we just have to continue to keep our approach the same and play good basketball."

While the Spurs were punching their ticket by ousting Oklahoma City from the West finals on Saturday night, the Heat were getting a day off. James was taking his kids to see X-Men. James Jones went to a home-improvement store for some supplies. Bosh insisted he was going to do as little as possible, and Heat coach Erik Spoelstra isn't summoning his team to practice again until Monday.

By then, James will be locked in on the Spurs.

"It hasn't really hit us that much yet because I think we're in it," James said Friday night after Miami beat Indiana and clinched its fourth consecutive East championship. "I think it will once we're done and we're able to look back at what we were able to accomplish as players, as a franchise. I think that's when it will really hit us. We definitely don't take it for granted to be in this position."
So for the next few days, all the highlights of last year's finals will be played over and over again.

The shot by Tony Parker – who missed the second half of Saturday night's game with a left ankle injury – to win Game 1 in Miami for the Spurs. James' twirl-on-the-rim dunk as the Heat pulled away in Game 2. San Antonio sharpshooter Danny Green's Finals-record 3-point display. Bosh's rebound that led to Ray Allen's shot that saved Miami's season in Game 6. The yellow rope, the precursor to a Spurs celebration that never happened.

All made for an epic series.

The encore could be even better.

"Obviously we are very happy and pleased with the season we have had so far, but we are not by any means satisfied," Green said. "We know we have a lot of work to do against a very good team. There is a reason why they're back there and are two-time champs. We have our work cut out for us, but we are happy with going back – just not satisfied."

http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Latest-...inals-face-off

[ace3g]

Spurs vs Heat: March 6th, 2014

STARTERS	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	OREB	DREB	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PF	+/-	PTS
Tim Duncan, PF	33	9-13	0-0	5-5	2	9	11	2	0	1	3	4	+7	23
Boris Diaw, PF	37	5-5	2-2	4-5	2	6	8	5	1	0	4	1	+23	16
Kawhi Leonard, SF	30	4-13	1-4	2-2	0	5	5	0	5	0	1	4	+6	11
Tony Parker, PG	31	6-14	0-0	5-6	0	1	1	4	2	0	2	0	+11	17
Danny Green, SG	21	2-8	2-6	0-0	0	3	3	3	1	3	3	2	+10	6
BENCH	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	OREB	DREB	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PF	+/-	PTS
Aron Baynes, PF	2	0-0	0-0	0-0	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	+8	0
Matt Bonner, PF	2	1-1	0-0	0-0	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	+8	2
Austin Daye, SF	2	2-2	2-2	0-0	0	1	1	1	0	0	0	0	+8	6
Tiago Splitter, C	19	2-4	0-0	3-4	0	2	2	4	0	1	1	0	+12	7
Patty Mills, PG	17	3-6	2-5	1-2	2	8	10	4	0	0	1	0	+15	9
Cory Joseph, PG	4	0-2	0-0	0-0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	+6	0
Marco Belinelli, SG	22	3-5	0-2	2-2	0	2	2	3	0	0	1	2	-4	8
Manu Ginobili, SG	20	3-6	0-2	0-0	0	0	0	4	0	0	1	4	+10	6
TOTALS		FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	OREB	DREB	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PF		PTS
		40-79	9-23	22-26	8	37	45	30	9	5	17	17		111
		50.6%	39.1%	84.6%

STARTERS	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	OREB	DREB	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PF	+/-	PTS
Shane Battier, SF	16	0-1	0-1	0-0	0	1	1	0	1	1	0	1	-7	0
LeBron James, SF	38	6-18	0-3	7-9	3	5	8	7	2	0	5	5	-10	19
Chris Bosh, C	35	10-16	1-2	3-3	2	5	7	1	2	0	3	0	-14	24
Mario Chalmers, PG	27	2-7	1-1	0-0	0	2	2	3	2	1	4	5	-21	5
Dwyane Wade, SG	36	7-15	0-1	2-3	0	3	3	7	1	0	2	2	-8	16
BENCH	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	OREB	DREB	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PF	+/-	PTS
Udonis Haslem, PF	2	0-0	0-0	0-0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	-8	0
Chris Andersen, PF	17	2-3	0-0	2-2	2	4	6	0	1	0	1	4	-13	6
Rashard Lewis, PF	2	0-0	0-0	0-0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	-8	0
Michael Beasley, SF	21	5-10	1-1	0-0	1	5	6	0	1	1	1	1	-4	11
Greg Oden, C	6	0-0	0-0	0-0	0	1	1	0	0	0	0	2	-2	0
Toney Douglas, PG	2	0-0	0-0	0-0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	-8	0
Norris Cole, PG	18	0-4	0-1	0-0	0	1	1	2	0	0	1	1	-6	0
Ray Allen, SG	22	2-5	1-3	1-1	0	1	1	5	0	1	3	1	-11	6
TOTALS		FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	OREB	DREB	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PF		PTS
		34-79	4-13	15-18	8	28	36	25	10	4	20	22		87
		43.0%	30.8%	83.3%

[Quiet Strength]

Marc Stein: "NBA teams to suffer regular-season sweep of 0-4 (or worse) were 0-25 all time in best-of-7 playoff matchups against that same team until ..."

Interesting. The spurs and the heat are the first two teams to win.

[cd021]

Heat averaged 36.9 boards a game while we averaged 43.3 during the regular season
I checked both espn and nba.com

I stand corrected.

[cd021]

Can Daye guard Lebron?

Just a thought after seeing Pop put Marco on KD.

He's been in street clothes. No way he's jump into the rotation. Green, Diaw and Leonard can cover him.

Most teams really don't have more than 1 player.

[cd021]

that was only in their 2 head to head meetings

my mistake