-It still hasn't sunk in that it's 2013 and the TD/MG/TP Spurs are in the Finals
-What a game. I'm still trying to collect my thoughts after that one. What can we take from this game? Offensively, I don't think there's much that can be carried forward. That was just an awesome three-point shooting exhibition. The Spurs were a little bit better about taking care of the ball, had better ball movement, created better spacing -- but at the end of the day, it was about shooting the lights out.
-Defensively, though, there is some takeaway -- and it's all positive. Basically, the Spurs continue to look pretty damn good on that end. I liked that they continued to pay LeBron a ton of attention. Outside of Mike Miller, their role players were noticeably less comfortable away from Florida. Gotta stick to this gameplan and milk it for all it's worth. The only thing I'd do differently is superglue someone on Miller's nvtsack the moment he steps off the bus for Game 4. That guy isn't even hitting rim right now.
-Pop had a great adjustment to the 1-3 pick-and-roll that killed the Spurs in Game 2. They had Kawhi jump the point guard and sent an immediately double to LeBron. With Kawhi's length, he took away most every passing angle and the Spurs were able to swallow up LeBron with weakside help. It went from a killer play to ineffective ... nice going, Pop
-I love how the Spurs are defending Wade. You have to make him shoot right now. If he hits five or six of those jumpers, then maybe switch up. But go under EVERYTHING and live with the outcome.
-Though the results were good, the Spurs are making me a bit nervous about how far they are laying off of LeBron. It's like they drift further and further away as the series progresses. I'd like Kawhi and Danny to get a bit closer in Game 4 because he's someone who could legitimately go off from the perimeter. It might not look like it so far this series but the way they're playing him right now, they're risking a LeBron explosion. In other words, I think they should go back to how they were defending him in Game 1.
-The Spurs aren't showing a ton of respect for Chris Bosh right now -- and they really can't. This scheme has the bigs fading into the lane at every opportunity. If Bosh catches fire, the Spurs would be powerless to stop him unless they change up the scheme. Let us pray he stays lukewarm.
-Stick with Ray Allen and especially Miller. The Spurs can live with any other role player shooting other than those two.
-I loved Duncan's energy and passion. He really went after it from the opening tip and his emotion seemed to give his teammates extra confidence. His rebounding was huge and he defended the rim well. But the two areas on D where he really shined were in transition (he was sprinting back on defense consistently) and on switches (his mobility looked great against LeBron the handful of times he got switched onto him). On O, Duncan was solid. He still has room to improve but he was a definite help on that end.
-Their stats don't jump off the sheet but I was reasonably happy with Parker and Ginobili. They have by far the most difficult job of this series. Dealing with the Heat's traps is really, really difficult. They both made some mistakes but they also made a ton of plays. Being a little less sloppy in Game 4 would help but the Hall of Fame duo were deceptively pretty damn effective tonight.
-Ginobili and Parker are both jumping often on their passes in an effort to get better passing lanes. I'm not sure I love the risk-reward with all that jump-passing ... but then again, with the Heat's length there might not be an alternative.
-What can be said about Green and Neal? That was really damn impressive. Gotta hope they can just keep shooting like this. BTW, it's no accident these two guys are getting looks. With all the blitzing the Heat do on pick-and-rolls, if you can survive the trap, there are going to be players open -- and most likely your other guard.
-Gotta give Pop credit again. Neal had become a forgotten man heading into the Finals but it's been a genius move to ride with him against Miami. Against the Heat, you need extra playmakers and shooters on the court. Neal is a playmaking shooter -- even though he has been inconsistent in both areas. It's been a risky move by Pop to trust so heavily in Neal in the Finals but the results have been largely positive.
-Kawhi F'in Leonard. I'm still not convinced he's not a robot constructed by Pop and the front office in a lab somewhere. He's the perfect fit next to the Big 3 and tonight he took his game up another level. Great defense. Great rebounding. Great aggression on offense. Keep balling, young man, keep balling.
-If Splitter would grab a few more defensive boards, I'd be pretty damn happy with him. I loved what he did on the offensive glass and I thought his D was pretty darn good -- just need those defensive rebounds. It's good to see the Splitter pick-and-roll was effective this game. If the Spurs can make the Heat worry about him, that will create another step of space for the shooters on the perimeter.
-After Game 2, I said I wanted Bonner added back to the rotation for his ability to stretch the floor -- knowing full well that Bonner wouldn't actually hit the open shots on a stage this big. Pop made this obvious switch and it played out as expected. Even with Bonner out there missing, the Heat were forced to empty the weakside paint. When Diaw plays, they zone off of him -- so Bonner's reputation, at the very least, is helpful against the Heat.
-Speaking of Diaw, I thought I saw him come up lame in Game 2. Someone landed on his back and he soon headed to the bench. Maybe that's not the reason he got a DNP -- but I'm pretty sure his back isn't 100% right now. Add that to the need of extra spacing and it wasn't a surprise to see him sitting tonight.
-Cory Joseph needs to take better care of the ball but other than that I thought he did well. He competed. He was quick to loose balls. he didn't back down from pressure. This continues to be a very impressive playoff run for the second year PG out of Texas. I wouldn't be opposed to more minutes for CJ in Game 4 ... though let's hope it's not due to Parker's injury.
-Speaking of Parker's injury, that's the one cloud hanging over this game. I don't have any reason to think he's seriously injured but it's still damn worrying. Without Parker forcing the Heat to blitz him, those three-point looks would dry up and Duncan wouldn't have nearly as many opportunities in the lane. Anything less than a 90% TP going forward would be damn near disastrous.
-Obviously every game is huge right now but Game 4 is HUUUUGE. It's a type of trap game because the Heat will come in with Game 7 intensity and they will look to throw a few haymakers of their own after the azz-kicking the Spurs laid on 'em tonight. The Spurs can't enter the contest fat and happy and think the three-point showers are going to continue to fall. They Spurs need the same edge they'd have after a loss.
-With two days off before Game 5, things line up well for that night. The Spurs won't be tired, they'll attack it knowing it's their last home game of the season. I'm not really worried about the Spurs bringing the juice to Game 5. But, like I said, Game 4 is the trap. Prepare for war, be ready to fight and continue making us proud.
Believe.
Is that why Spo didnt use the Chalmers/Lebron P&R? I didn't seem to see the Heat use it this gamePop had a great adjustment to the 1-3 pick-and-roll that killed the Spurs in Game 2. They had Kawhi jump the point guard and sent an immediately double to LeBron. With Kawhi's length, he took away most every passing angle and the Spurs were able to swallow up LeBron with weakside help. It went from a killer play to ineffective ... nice going, Pop
Heat in 6
long series
spurs in 6
But seriously, I'm so proud of this team. We still have a long way to go, but it's crazy to think we are just 2 wins away from another le.
we were 2 wins away from the Finals last year and look what happened. This is a long war
If they play like they did tonight and it continues... Spurs in 5.
Noticed I said "long way to go."
Game 4 is massive. We all know by now that miami hasn't lost back to back games in 5 months. They've been nearly unbeatable after a loss. If there was ever a time to break any streak, this is it. I honestly think if the Spurs win game 4 then this series is ours. If we lose, I think all the momentum shifts back to miami and I REALLY don't want to go back to miami. That means we'd have to beat them 3 straight times. I know that sounds impossible, but I think this team knows the urgency and importance of Game 4 and they don't want to go back to miami either. Huge opportunity here. It's going to take a great all-around performance by this team cause miami will come out aggressive and ready and treat it like a game 7, but I really think we can pull it off. Tony's injury is just a s important. Get on your knees and pray it's nothing serious Spurs fans.
Think about this, we wouldn't have lost game 2 if we didn't royally up with turnovers. We had the lead throughout the majority of that game before the late third quarter thrashing occurred. The Heat have yet to be truly dominant in the 4th quarter in any games, because by the time it was crunch time in game 2, the Spurs already surrendered.
It's hard to believe but I truly think they could win game 4, and then when a chance to end it all in 5 could occur — they want it to end as much as the Heat want it to continue.
It can happen.
BELIEVE.
If you are pulling for the Spurs to win but you don't believe in them then it's useless.
You just end up whining and pointing fingers who caused the collapse every time.
That's why I wasn't around in 2011, I took a vacation in 2012 because I didn't believe 95% they can win the le.
This team may not be the best Spurs team(I think the 2003 was), but I truly believe if they just stick to Pop's plan, maybe they can win the whole thing. This team is special. With so many young guns who can really shoot from the arc.
And young defensive specialist in Kawhi, great addition to replace Bowen.
And finally a true center alongside Duncan who can really score.
Hopefully this Spurs team can pull a Detroit 2004 on the Heat. I still think it will go down in 6 though.
I don't see how hard it is for Miami to guard the 3 point shot. The Spurs have several guys who just camp out standing around the 3 point line the entire game on offense. Just stay defensively on the 3 point line and force those guys to take it to the basket. The Spurs have several players not capable of doing much more than shoot a 3 point shot, just shut down that shot by staying on their man at the 3 point line.
Why not pull a 2012 Miami on Miami?
It is amazing big 3 still going strong in their 30s.Danny green playing unreal I can't believe these first three games, what a series and Wat a night from the spurs
Or that too, but Miami pulled a back-door sweep last year.
Just win darn it.
Teams will alternate wins all the way through game 7.
While I disagreed with timvp on prediction, the reality is that both teams are really good, and the point differential, adjusted point differential all pointed to a toss up. If the heat win 1/2, they have home court again. The Spurs are probably favourites at the moment though, and winning 2 games in the finals 16 YEARS after they last had a lottery pick is amazing.
I think the takeaway with shooting as much is that shooting 3's is a good strategy. Sure, sometimes you lay an egg, but tonight the Spurs shot 50% on 3's(Not too far above true ability/Average) But shooting 32 of them is a good thing. As is getting 19 Offensive rebounds, from Duncan, Kawhi, Green and Splitter(7, 3, 3 and 4 respectively).
Miami will win game 4.
I have a feeling the role players regress to the mean in game 4 and the big three are forced to carry the load. Hope I'm wrong about the role players part...
this is a pretty good description. I sometimes try to describe him to non basketball fans what he means or his background, and it's hard to describe. It feels almost like a Chosen One for us, to get someone that good with raw talent who just needed to be in the right place for it grow.
it's funny about this series, first I heard how Game 3 would decide the series, now I'm hearing that about game 4. Honestly, I feel like as long as Stern doesn't intrude on things with his goons, and gives us a fair and balanced series, I think we can win this. The first half of tonight's game had some memorably bad moments with the refs, but the second half was fair and I think we figured out how to adjust. To me, it's kind of amazing that we are 2-1 and have yet to have a great game from the big 3. Like the previous series, I feel like our depth and ability to execute makes us unique.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_TdABFnE10I - all 16 spurs 3 pointers
Give them nothing. But take from them everything.
Really nice write up. Yep, game 4 is huge (but aren't they all?) Still 3-1 with the close out game coming at home or 2-2 with Miami having home field advantage. Those are our choices. Hope Parker is healthy.
I'm still predicting an offensive "break out" game from Timmy. I can't believe the Miami D can smother him so well, when Hibbert was such a problem for them. That said, he's gettting good looks they're just not falling. Before this series is out they will. Same could be said for LeBron's shots too. They will fall. But Timmy seems to be taking it more in stride than James. Shades of the 2011 Dallas series coming in for him...
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