My game 3 thoughts

[Seventyniner]

These will be mostly based on the box score, though I did watch the whole game (and savored every second of that 4th quarter).

• Obviously 16-32 from three is ridiculous. Ridiculous also describes some of Green's and Neal's makes several feet behind the line. I so wanted McGrady to jack one up from the Finals logo at the end of the game a la McGrady vs. Arenas in the 2004 (?) All-Star game.
• I, like so many gnsfs out there, was having conniptions at Pop playing Neal and Bonner in the first half, especially at the same time. If Diaw isn't going to play (wtf?), though, somebody has to spell the starters and provide shooting. Neal still made mistakes defensively, but fortunately he more than made up for it on offense. If Neal can shoot well enough to force Spo to rejigger his rotation (specifically, taking Ray Allen out), Neal becomes that much more valuable.
• As pedestrian as the stats look for the big 3, I was impressed by how they played. They recognized who had the hot hand and fed them the ball. Parker, Ginobili, and Duncan are still the core of the offense; Green and Neal don't get nearly the open looks they did without them.
• Eventually I just had to laugh at the shots Green and Neal were making in the 4th, but they made the big ones in the first 3 quarters.
• What a defensive performance. The defense impressed me more than the offense, which is hard to do when you make 16 threes and score 113 points. Green was going under (and sometimes way under) every screen when he was on Wade. It was so blatant that JVG mentioned it on the second or third Heat possession of the game. It's shocking to see how far Wade has fallen; you could argue that Tony Allen would be better in that role because he can't shoot either, but can at least play defense and maybe draw an Oscar-worthy flagrant call.
• Speaking of Wade, I think the numbers lie. 7-15 FG, 16 points, 5 assists, 4 steals, 1 block is a good game statistically, but he almost seemed like a ghost out there. Manu had worse numbers but a far greater impact.
• I'm still getting used to Leonard (and LeBron) piling up so many rebounds, but it makes sense. Both teams like to play at least one big man away from the rim when they play big, and play a big helping of smallball. The rebounding battle is being determined as much by athleticism than positioning.
• Is Battier done? He only got garbage minutes tonight, and while I know he's been in a slump these playoffs, he was so important last year that I thought he'd be more than a 10th man.
• Is LeBron mentally weak, or are Green and Leonard even better defenders than we thought? I haven't seen LeBron struggle to score like that in a very long time, and it has now happened three games in a row.
• Last but not least, the tradeoff. I'm still not convinced that going for offensive rebounds necessarily leads to an unacceptable decline in transition defense. Miami tends to run opportunistically, as opposed to the mid-2000s Suns and Mavs who would run every chance they got. The Heat do the most damage in transition off of turnovers and not defensive rebounds. I think that crashing the offensive glass is a good strategy against Miami because they're a subpar defensive rebounding team (23rd in the regular season). I'm not saying that the Spurs should forget about transition, just that it's okay to send Duncan and Splitter after offensive rebounds (11 between them tonight); those two aren't going to be defending the break much anyway. The Spurs had 19 offensive rebounds tonight for a devastating 41.3 ORB%.
• Speaking of offensive rebounds, early in the game it felt like the Heat were destroying the Spurs with offensive rebounds of their own, but the Spurs really tightened the ship as the game went on. The Spurs finished with a DRB% of 78.6, which is very good.

[Horry Hipcheck]

Solid observations. I too noticed Neal making the same defensive mistakes he's often chided for, and the fact that he took as many shots as Lebron did bothers me. However, unlike Lebron, he made most of his tonight. He started getting greedy in the fourth, but with the Heat so thoroughly beaten by that point it was really just enjoyable to watch the Gary and Danny Show.

Obviously, Danny and Gary's offense overshadowed how pedestrian Parker was tonight. After an early drive, the Heat closed his lane and he rarely got into the paint after that. He also didn't take very many jumpers, and had we all not been delirious with the 3-point barrage, this game might have looked slightly different. Parker needs to step up his aggression.

In Game 2, Duncan settled for a TON of fadeaways from the left block. I was getting angry watching it because Duncan has such a size advantage that I couldn't understand why he wasn't punishing Andersen down low. Tonight, he caught the ball in the same position, but this time he drove hard into the paint. He still missed plenty of good looks, but he forced the Heat defense to collapse on him instead of staying at home on shooters while he flailed against Birdman. I was pleased with that adjustment.

Parker and Ginobili were quiet offensively, but despite some boneheaded turnovers from the two, I was pleased with their passes. Ginobili generally has good awareness of his teammates and he wasn't a total liability tonight. Parker also found Duncan periodically when he was able to run the offense his way.

I love that Pop's strategy appears to involve allowing Bosh and Lebron space in the midrange. Lebron has yet to punish the Spurs for leaving him open from deep, and Bosh's jumper rarely falls. It's a risky tactic that's paying off and must be doing some damage to both players psychologically.

Speaking of psychology, these games are bread pudding for Green and Leonard. They look nothing like players who have never been to this stage before. Green is shooting confidently, and he and Kawhi are taking their defensive assignments to heart and putting in great performances. Kawhi's rebounding work has been absolutely astonishing. 19 offensive boards tonight for the Spurs? That's incredible. The Spurs have consistently won the rebounding battle and it's showing, which I like because that has long been one of Pop's major points of focus.

I expect Game 4 to be much more contentious. Better games from Lebron, Wade, Chalmers, and Allen, probably more of the same from Miller and Bosh. Less razzle dazzle from Green and Neal, though I think Danny will still hit most of his looks from three. Parker and Ginobili have to be better at executing their own games, and Duncan needs to score just a few more points. He would have been there tonight had he not missed two early FTs, and maybe finished off one or two of the Spurs' uncharacteristic putback misses.

[SanDiegoSpursFan]

• Is Battier done? He only got garbage minutes tonight, and while I know he's been in a slump these playoffs, he was so important last year that I thought he'd be more than a 10th man.

I don't think Battier is gonna get any minutes unless Bonner plays. He's really cold.