Stat Breakdown: What we Can Learn From the '13 Finals. Whats Changed Since?

[cd021]

(All 2013 NBA Finals Statistics, unless otherwise noted)


Miami Heat

Lebron James-43 MPG, 25.3 PPG, 44.7 FG%, 35.3 3PT %, 10.9 RPG, 7 APG, 2.5 T.O.V 2.3 SPG

Dwyane Wade-36.4 MPG, 19.6 PPG, 47.6 FG%, 4 RPG, 4.6 APG, 1.9 SPG, 1.3 BPG,

Chris Bosh-11.9 PPG, 46.2 FG%, 34.3 MPG, 8.9 RPG, 1.9 SPG, 1.6 BPG

Mario Chalmers-38.8% FG%, 40% 3PT, 10.6 ppg

Ray Allen-10.6 PPG, 27.3 MPG54.3 % FG, 54.5 3PT%

top 5 players combined for 78 ppg (80%) of the teams 97 ppg.



San Antonio Spurs

Tim Duncan-36.3 MPG, 18.9 PPG, 49%, 12.1 RPG, 1.4 BPG

Tony Parker-35.2 MPG, 15.7 PPG, 41.2 %, 6.4 APG, 2 T.O.V

Kawhi Leonard-34.8 MPG, 14.6 PPG, 51.3 %, 34.8% 3pt, 11.1 RPG, 2 SPG,

Danny Green-35.4 MPG, 14 PPG, 44.4% FG, 55% 3pt, 4.1 RPG, 1 SPG, 1.6 BPG

Manu Ginobili-28.5 MPG, 11.6 PPG, 43.3 %, 4.3 APG, 3 T.O.V

top 5 players=74.8 PPG, (76.5% of 97.7 ppg)

-The Spurs offense was far more balanced, with 4 players averaging better than 14 ppg. The Heat had 2 players over above that mark.

Net Rtg

James-+8
Wade- -4
Bosh- -4
Allen- +5
Chalmers- -25
Anderson-+15


Duncan- +8
Parker- -10
Leonard- +17
Green- +7
Ginobili- -11
Splitter- -16
Diaw- 0

According to the aforementioned stats Wade, Bosh, Parker, and Ginobili struggled, with Duncan and James carrying their respective teams. Leonard had the biggest impact, in that regard, of any rotation player on the Spurs.

Splitter had the worst Net Rtg of any Spur in the rotation. His offensive Rtg of 91 was the second worst of any player on the team (behind Joseph) Diaw had a negated impact, He neither helped nor hurt the team in that regard. His 116 O Rtg was second best on the Spurs behind Kawhi.

Anderson proved to be a massive spark plug off the bench. Chalmers and especially Cole (+/- -15) forced the Heat into a PG’less lineup with Wade at the 1 and James playing Point-forward.

Neal (-15) and Joseph (-21) were detrimental as backup PGs.

Anderson, Bosh and James had the best D Rtg of any Heat players. Leonard, Duncan and Splitter were ours, in terms of rotation players.

[cd021]

Whats Changed Since the 2013 NBA Finals?

Small Ball Versatility

The Heat are more than capable of going small, and have been known to use a lineup Wade-Allen-Battier-James-Bosh featuring no point guard.

It’s a particularly difficult lineup to stop given every player is a capable 3pt shooter (save for Wade despite recent success from there)
Bosh is an elite mid range shooter who has stretched his game to the outside the 3pt line particularly the left corner (36% in the regular season, 55% in the postseason)

The Spurs, last season, matched down by playing Parker-Ginobili-Green-Leonard and Duncan in the Finals.
Doing the previous regular season, the Spurs primarily played big with Duncan and Splitter and occasionally going small to close out games with Stephen Jackson, and later Kawhi Leonard.

The Heat played Lebron James at PF for more than 90% of his minutes last season and with Bosh, mostly, at center.
Miami, initially, matched up Bosh and Haslem to start against Duncan and Splitter to start the series. In Game 4 Spo’ started Miller instead of Haslem. Pop quickly subbed Splitter in for Ginobili. Ginobili started games 5-7.

This season the Spurs have utilized dozens of different lineups (some by necessity) that should better prepare them for this match-up
Parker-Ginobili-Leonard-Diaw-Duncan have been their primary closing unit.

The Spurs are now much better equipped to go small
Duncan/Splitter
Diaw/Leonard/Green
Leonard/Green/Ginobili
Green/Ginobili/Belinelli
Parker/Mills

Splitter has proven that he is cable of protecting the rim and guarding stretch power forwards. Bosh primarily spots up as opposed to posting up. He has admitted as much saying that posting up isn't his game and that the Heats style of defense is tiring, so he opts to spot up instead.



Diaw’s aggression (aka 2.0) has made him a drastically different player from a year ago. He is a solid post player, a low volume, high percentage 3pt shooter (40% in the RS, 41.7 % in the PS) and capable of attacking the rim off the dribble. His ability to pass helps maximize the Spurs offense.

He has become a staple in the Spurs closing unit this season. He could see more time guarding James in if the Heat go small to close out games.
Last season, he played solid defense against James and James seemed unwilling to post Diaw up. His lack of aggression on offense kept him from making a bigger impact in the series but his passing was a clear positive.

Leonard’s improvement –


Last post season-36.9 MPG, 54.5 % FG, 39% 3PT, 63.3 % FT 9 RPG, 1.8 SPG, 13.5 PPG

This post season-31.6 MPG, 48.4 FG %, 36.4% 3PT, 71.4 % FT 6.8 RPG, 1.7 SPG, 13.3 PPG

Per 36 minutes this postseason- 7.8 RPG, 2 SPG, 15.1 PPG

-Leonard’s shooting percentages has dipped but his per minute scoring is up. Scoring .2 less in 5 fewer minutes compared to last season.

-His FG per 36 minutes has jumped by more than 3 per game, signaling more aggressiveness. His net Rtg for the postseason is +13 which is actually down from last season’s +22.

-His FT shooting continues to be problematic for the 2^nd straight post season its dropped by at least 9 %

Mills replacing Neal at PG

Mills

True Shooting %-52.4%
P.E.R.-13.5
Net Rating- 0
3pt %-33.9 %

Neal (’12-’13 post season)

True Shooting % 50.3
P.E.R.- 9.0
Net Rating- -6
3pt %- 34.8%

-Mills appears to an upgrade but has been mostly spotty in the postseason. His biggest asset is his ability to score however hasn’t had nearly the same success in the post season (which was to be expected to a certain extent).

-He is capable ball handler but cannot create for others. Ginobili will likely be the primary play maker but Mills will still occasionally run pick and roll while Ginobli plays off ball.



Ginobili's significantly improvement

’12-’13 Postseason-26.7 mpg, 39.9 % FG, 30.2% 3PT, 73.8% FT, 5 APG, 2.6 T.O.V,11.5 PPG,

’13-’14 Postseason-24.6 mpg, 42.3 % FG, 38.4% 3PT, 85.9% FT, 4.1 APG, 2.4 T.O.V, 14.3 PPG

-His numbers are up across the board, especially his shooting numbers jumping from 53% Tru Shooting % to 57.8. His P.E.R is his 2^nd best in the 5 postseasons he’s appeared in during his 30’s and up from 16.5 to 21.1.

His scoring rate is the 3^rd best of his career at 21.0 per 36 minutes. His Net Rtg was +1 last playoffs to +10 this postseason.

-He is still a high assist to high turnover type of player but that has been the case for much of his career. It has yet become a major problem this postseason.

Miami-

Despite, largely, the same team, the Heat appear different from the previous Finals. Their defense has dipped from 7^th to 11^th. Beasley and Oden had little to absolutely no impact thus far in the postseason. Miller, who replaced Battier early in the Finals, was amnestied and the Heat has had to integrate Lewis into the rotation. Jones has even seen spot minutes despite not being in the rotation for the better part of the big 3 era.

Heat Net’ Ratings (This postseason)
Anderson- +36
James- +21
Bosh- +11
Haslem- +7
Battier- +6
Wade- +4
Allen- +4
Chalmers- 0
Cole- -3
Lewis- -12

Spurs Net Rtg (This Postseason)

Splitter- +35
Duncan- +18
Green +17
Diaw- +15
Leonard- +13
Ginobili- +10
Belinelli- +6
Parker- -8
Mills- 0

Keys To Victory

Rebounding- The Heat are the worst rebounding team in the NBA. Duncan, Splitter and Leonard need to be strong on the glass and create extra possessions for the Spurs.
Lebron leads Miami with 6.8 RPG, Bosh as center is averaging 5.8 rebounds in 33 mpg this postseason. Duncan is averaging 9 RPG, Leonard and Splitter at both average 6.8 per game.

San Antonio is +8.6 (43.2 to 34.6) in rebounds and +3.7 (9.9 to 6.1) in offensive rebound per game compared to Miami this postseason.


Limit Turnovers/Hustle Plays-The Spurs cannot give away possessions to the Heat who thrives in transition. Keep Miami in the half court and force them to execute.

Turnovers/ Steals
Spurs 12.2/ 8.2
Heat-10.9/7.1

Steals+Blocks

Spurs-11.7
Heat-11.5

San Antonio Spurs

Points Scored Off TOVs-16.9
2^nd Chance Points-12.8
Fast Break Points-12.9
Points In The Paint-44.4

Miami Heat

Points Scored Off TOVs-17.2
2^nd Chance Points-10.6
Fast Break Points-9.3
Points In The Paint-38.1



Star power vs .Balance-


The Heat’s big 3 average 61 ppg on 52.8% FG (In the PS)

The Spurs core 4 average 61.3 on 47.8% FG (In the PS)

Parker and Ginobili were wildly inconsistent in last year’s Finals. They simply need to play better this time around. If the Spurs can limit one of the big 3 (possibly Bosh) and put more pressure on Lebron and Wade to compensate while being guarded by the Spurs top defenders, it certainly can't hurt our chances.


The Best of the Rest-Who plays better Anderson, Allen, Chalmers and Battier or Green, Splitter, Diaw and Mills?

27.4 ppg on 47% FG (Anderson, Allen, Chalmers and Battier) (Playoffs)

33.7 ppg, 49.7% FG (Green, Splitter, Diaw and Mills) (Playoffs)

If the Heats big 3 outplays the core 4 can the other key Spurs players outperform the Heat’s other guys to help support the Duncan, Leonard, Ginobili and Parker?

Defense Wins-(league Rank in parenthesis)

Spurs-

Regular Season-102.4 (3^rd)

Post Season- 101 (2^rd)


Opponent Shooting % (postseason)
43.9%-FG (5^th)
33.6-3PT (4^th)
21.2-FTA (1^st)

Miami-

Regular Season-105.8 (11th)

Post Season-(105.3) (6^th)

Opponent Shooting % (postseason)

46.4%-FG (10^th)

38.1-3PT (13^th)

21.7-FTA (3^rd)

The Spurs have been clearly been the better defense this season. They have also been dominant at home going 9-1, and win by an average of 16 per game.

Prediction-Spurs in 6 Games

[cd021]

apologies for the length. I tried to space and break it into two part to make it easier to digest.

[TacoCabanaFajitas]

Awesome work. Well done

[Mugen]

I'm most worried about Bosh heading into this series tbh. He had a pretty terrible Finals last year and I expect him to play much better. Luckily, Boris was even worse and should also be much improved this time as well.

[phxspurfan]

tl;dr.

But no more going under every screen on Wade, yet still don't fall for the endless pump fakes. Guard Bosh with Splitter and Diaw, body him up and expect a lot of fading to the corner 3 spot. Man up on Chalmers and Allen, even though LeBron will have a feast inside. Throw lots of bodies at LeBron and stay big (play 1 of Baynes, Bonner, Diaw, Splitter and Duncan at all times), to take advantage of the obvious size advantage.

They have athleticism, we have size. Both teams are smart and well coached. Thank God we don't have any dead weight on our roster anymore (Blair, DeCola, etc), as we'll need all the bench firepower we can get.


Oh and yank mills if he can't handle Cole's pressure D. Put in Joseph, as he is the better ball handler of the two, if necessary. Make LeBron work at both ends, like he so wants to do any way.

Limit Turnovers. Smart passes (that means you, Manu).

[BillMc]

Whats Changed Since the 2013 NBA Finals?

Small Ball Versatility

The Heat are more than capable of going small, and have been known to use a lineup Wade-Allen-Battier-James-Bosh featuring no point guard.

It’s a particularly difficult lineup to stop given every player is a capable 3pt shooter (save for Wade despite recent success from there)
Bosh is an elite mid range shooter who has stretched his game to the outside the 3pt line particularly the left corner (36% in the regular season, 55% in the postseason)

The Spurs, last season, matched down by playing Parker-Ginobili-Green-Leonard and Duncan in the Finals.
Doing the previous regular season, the Spurs primarily played big with Duncan and Splitter and occasionally going small to close out games with Stephen Jackson, and later Kawhi Leonard.

The Heat played Lebron James at PF for more than 90% of his minutes last season and with Bosh, mostly, at center.
Miami, initially, matched up Bosh and Haslem to start against Duncan and Splitter to start the series. In Game 4 Spo’ started Miller instead of Haslem. Pop quickly subbed Splitter in for Ginobili. Ginobili started games 5-7.

This season the Spurs have utilized dozens of different lineups (some by necessity) that should better prepare them for this match-up
Parker-Ginobili-Leonard-Diaw-Duncan have been their primary closing unit.

The Spurs are now much better equipped to go small
Duncan/Splitter
Diaw/Leonard/Green
Leonard/Green/Ginobili
Green/Ginobili/Belinelli
Parker/Mills

Splitter has proven that he is cable of protecting the rim and guarding stretch power forwards. Bosh primarily spots up as opposed to posting up. He has admitted as much saying that posting up isn't his game and that the Heats style of defense is tiring, so he opts to spot up instead.

Diaw’s aggression (aka 2.0) has made him a drastically different player from a year ago. He is a solid post player, a low volume, high percentage 3pt shooter (40% in the RS, 41.7 % in the PS) and capable of attacking the rim off the dribble. His ability to pass helps maximize the Spurs offense.

He has become a staple in the Spurs closing unit this season. He could see more time guarding James in if the Heat go small to close out games.
Last season, he played solid defense against James and James seemed unwilling to post Diaw up. His lack of aggression on offense kept him from making a bigger impact in the series but his passing was a clear positive.

Leonard’s improvement –

Last post season-36.9 MPG, 54.5 % FG, 39% 3PT, 63.3 % FT 9 RPG, 1.8 SPG, 13.5 PPG

This post season-31.6 MPG, 48.4 FG %, 36.4% 3PT, 71.4 % FT 6.8 RPG, 1.7 SPG, 13.3 PPG

Per 36 minutes this postseason- 7.8 RPG, 2 SPG, 15.1 PPG

-Leonard’s shooting percentages has dipped but his per minute scoring is up. Scoring .2 less in 5 fewer minutes compared to last season.

-His FG per 36 minutes has jumped by more than 3 per game, signaling more aggressiveness. His net Rtg for the postseason is +13 which is actually down from last season’s +22.
-
His FT shooting continues to be problematic for the 2^nd straight post season its dropped by at least 9 %

Mills replacing Neal at PG

Mills

Tru Shooting %-52.4%
P.E.R.-13.5
Net Rating- 0
3pt %-33.9 %

Neal (’13-’14 post season)
Tru Shooting % 50.3

P.E.R.- 9.0

Net Rating- -6

3pt %- 34.8%

-Mills appears to an upgrade but has been mostly spotty in the postseason. His biggest asset is his ability to score however hasn’t had nearly the same success in the post season (which was to be expected to a certain extent).

-He is capable ball handler but cannot create for others. Ginobili will likely be the primary play maker but Mills will still occasionally run pick and roll while Ginobli plays off ball.


Ginobili's significantly improvement

’12-’13 Postseason-26.7 mpg, 39.9 % FG, 30.2% 3PT, 73.8% FT, 5 APG, 2.6 T.O.V,11.5 PPG,

’13-’14 Postseason-24.6 mpg, 42.3 % FG, 38.4% 3PT, 85.9% FT, 4.1 APG, 2.4 T.O.V, 14.3 PPG

-His numbers are up across the board, especially his shooting numbers jumping from 53% Tru Shooting % to 57.8. His P.E.R is his 2^nd best in the 5 postseasons he’s appeared in during his 30’s and up from 16.5 to 21.1.

His scoring rate is the 3^rd best of his career at 21.0 per 36 minutes. His Net Rtg was +1 last playoffs to +10 this postseason.

-He is still a high assist to high turnover type of player but that has been the case for much of his career. It has yet become a major problem this postseason.

Miami-

Despite, largely, the same team, the Heat appear different from the previous Finals. Their defense has dipped from 7^th to 11^th. Beasley and Oden had little to absolutely no impact thus far in the postseason. Miller, who replaced Battier early in the Finals, was amnestied and the Heat has had to integrate Lewis into the rotation. Jones has even seen spot minutes despite not being in the rotation for the better part of the big 3 era.

Heat Net’ Ratings (This postseason)
Anderson- +36
James- +21
Bosh- +11
Haslem- +7
Battier- +6
Wade- +4
Allen- +4
Chalmers- 0
Cole- -3
Lewis- -12

Spurs Net Rtg (This Postseason)

Splitter- +35
Duncan- +18
Green +17
Diaw- +15
Leonard- +13
Ginobili- +10
Belinelli- +6
Parker- -8
Mills- 0

Keys To Victory

Rebounding- The Heat are the worst rebounding team in the NBA. Duncan, Splitter and Leonard need to be strong on the glass and create extra possessions for the Spurs.
Lebron leads Miami with 6.8 RPG, Bosh as center is averaging 5.8 rebounds in 33 mpg this postseason. Duncan is averaging 9 RPG, Leonard and Splitter at both average 6.8 per game.

San Antonio is +8.6 (43.2 to 34.6) in rebounds and +3.7 (9.9 to 6.1) in offensive rebound per game compared to Miami this postseason.


Limit Turnovers/Hustle Plays-The Spurs cannot give away possessions to the Heat who thrives in transition. Keep Miami in the half court and force them to execute.

Turnovers/ Steals
Spurs 12.2/ 8.2
Heat-10.9/7.1

Steals+Blocks

Spurs-11.7
Heat-11.5

San Antonio Spurs

Points Scored Off TOVs-16.9
2^nd Chance Points-12.8
Fast Break Points-12.9
Points In The Paint-44.4

Miami Heat

Points Scored Off TOVs-17.2
2^nd Chance Points-10.6
Fast Break Points-9.3
Points In The Paint-38.1



Star power vs .Balance-

The Heat’s big 3 average 61 ppg on 52.8% FG (In the PS)

The Spurs core 4 average 61.3 on 47.8% FG (In the PS)

Parker and Ginobili were wildly inconsistent in last year’s Finals. They simply need to play better this time around. If the Spurs can limit one of the big 3 (possibly Bosh) and put more pressure on Lebron and Wade to compensate while being guarded by the Spurs top defenders, it certainly can't hurt our chances.

The Best of the Rest-Who plays better Anderson, Allen, Chalmers and Battier or Green, Splitter, Diaw and Mills?

27.4 ppg on 47% FG (Anderson, Allen, Chalmers and Battier) (Playoffs)

33.7 ppg, 49.7% FG (Green, Splitter, Diaw and Mills) (Playoffs)

If the Heats big 3 outplays the core 4 can the other key Spurs players outperform the Heat’s other guys to help support the Duncan, Leonard, Ginobili and Parker?
Defense Wins-(league Rank in parenthesis)

Spurs-

Regular Season-102.4 (3^rd)

Post Season- 101 (2^rd)


Opponent Shooting % (postseason)
43.9%-FG (5^th)
33.6-3PT (4^th)
21.2-FTA (1^st)

Miami-

Regular Season-105.8 (11th)

Post Season-(105.3) (6^th)

Opponent Shooting % (postseason)

46.4%-FG (10^th)

38.1-3PT (13^th)

21.7-FTA (3^rd)

The Spurs have been clearly been the better defense this season. They have also been dominant at home going 9-1, and win by an average of 16 per game.

Prediction-Spurs in 6 Games

Cheers. Thanks for the good read. You're really one of the best posters on Spurs Talk. Always look forward to your comments in a thread.

Now, to the important stuff:

Machine Gun or Voodoo Child (Slight Return), which is Jimi's best guitar work?

[monkeypunk]

Great read! Thanks cd021!

I like the Spurs chances this year if Parker can play at 75% or better of his healthy self. If he's struggling, I hope Pop pulls him and lets the team roll.

[TacoCabanaFajitas]

tl;dr.

But no more going under every screen on Wade, yet still don't fall for the endless pump fakes. Guard Bosh with Splitter and Diaw, body him up and expect a lot of fading to the corner 3 spot. Man up on Chalmers and Allen, even though LeBron will have a feast inside. Throw lots of bodies at LeBron and stay big (play 1 of Baynes, Bonner, Diaw, Splitter and Duncan at all times), to take advantage of the obvious size advantage.

They have athleticism, we have size. Both teams are smart and well coached. Thank God we don't have any dead weight on our roster anymore (Blair, DeCola, etc), as we'll need all the bench firepower we can get.


Oh and yank mills if he can't handle Cole's pressure D. Put in Joseph, as he is the better ball handler of the two, if necessary. Make LeBron work at both ends, like he so wants to do any way.

Limit Turnovers. Smart passes (that means you, Manu).

You are a ing moron. Seriously. If you didn't read, don't ing post and throw your 2 cents in. Shut the up and go to another thread you can actually contribute to. Idiot.

[cd021]

Cheers. Thanks for the good read. You're really one of the best posters on Spurs Talk. Always look forward to your comments in a thread.

Now, to the important stuff:

Machine gun or Voodoo Child (Slight Return), which is Jimi's best guitar work?

Really appreciate that.

Very tough but:

Live-

1. Machine Gun (Band Of Gypsies)
2. Killing Floor (Monterrey)
3. Hear My Train A Comin' (BBC Sessions, 1st take)
4. Johnny B. Goode
5. Who Knows

Studio

1. Voodoo Child (Slight Return)
2. All Along The Watch Tower
3. Manic Depression
4. Stone Free
5. Hey Joe

torture just naming one, just game top 5 in both

[Mugen]

You are a ing moron. Seriously. If you didn't read, don't ing post and throw your 2 cents in. Shut the up and go to another thread you can actually contribute to. Idiot.

[Mr. Body]

Why do people say Miami has athleticism? They have LeBron, sure, but who else is athletic on that team? Bosh, for his position, but I struggle to see many athletes, certainly vis-a-vis OKC.

What they do have is a terrific team defense. If we can solve this -- keeping turnovers low, while managing to move the ball -- then the series should be won. But they're great at disrupting passes.

[Malik Hairston]

It's unreal that the Spurs are in the Finals when you look at Tony Parker's on/off numbers in the post-season..

What other team could survive their highest-usage player being a net negative in the playoffs, yet still make the Finals?..speaks volumes on the depth of the team and Pop's coaching, along with Tony's unselfishness(not trying to carry the team when he's ineffective, like something Kobe would do, for instance)..

[Mugen]

Why do people say Miami has athleticism? They have LeBron, sure, but who else is athletic on that team? Bosh, for his position, but I struggle to see many athletes, certainly vis-a-vis OKC.

What they do have is a terrific team defense. If we can solve this -- keeping turnovers low, while managing to move the ball -- then the series should be won. But they're great at disrupting passes.

Probably because LeBron is the best athlete to ever play sports tbh. He's the most physically gifted person I've ever seen in any sport.......

[cd021]

I'm most worried about Bosh heading into this series tbh. He had a pretty terrible Finals last year and I expect him to play much better. Luckily, Boris was even worse and should also be much improved this time as well.

I could see Bosh playing better (not hard to top 11 ppg) but Splitter played far worse than any rotation player on the team (in terms of his talent vs his production). Even in limited minutes he has to be effective. I'm talking 6 and 5 if he plays 15 mpg. He could be a great pairing on Bosh though. Somewhat easier than Dirk's circus shots and post ups, or L.A.s post up turn-around jumpers.

When teams stay big, Miami sends an extra guard in to help their "bigs" board. Duncan, Splitter, Leonard sharing the floor and crashing the glass together vs. Lewis, Bosh and James should give the Spurs and advantage on the glass.

[cd021]

Probably because LeBron is the best athlete to ever play sports tbh. He's the most physically gifted person I've ever seen in any sport.......

6'9 and 41' vert. Thats insane.

[Malik Hairston]

Why do people say Miami has athleticism? They have LeBron, sure, but who else is athletic on that team? Bosh, for his position, but I struggle to see many athletes, certainly vis-a-vis OKC.

What they do have is a terrific team defense. If we can solve this -- keeping turnovers low, while managing to move the ball -- then the series should be won. But they're great at disrupting passes.

Everybody knows I love Lebron and have supported the Heat for years(excluding last year's Finals), but this is easily the worst Heat team since Lebron joined them IMO..most of the Heat love, so far, is based on reputation..

Realistically, they don't have the athletes to play the swarming defense we have seen from them, and they have less shooting versatility(with Miller gone, and Allen/Battier being older)..also, Wade looks healthy, but to be fair, the Heat just went through the easiest run to the Finals since Magic's Lakers, so we don't know what Wade will offer..he was absolutely horrendous in last year's playoffs, and the Heat have played better against the Spurs when Wade is on the bench, too..

[Amuseddaysleeper]

Awesome write up!

Keep it up

[Amuseddaysleeper]

Everybody knows I love Lebron and have supported the Heat for years(excluding last year's Finals), but this is easily the worst Heat team since Lebron joined them IMO..most of the Heat love, so far, is based on reputation..

Realistically, they don't have the athletes to play the swarming defense we have seen from them, and they have less shooting versatility(with Miller gone, and Allen/Battier being older)..also, Wade looks healthy, but to be fair, the Heat just went through the easiest run to the Finals since Magic's Lakers, so we don't know what Wade will offer..he was absolutely horrendous in last year's playoffs, and the Heat have played better against the Spurs when Wade is on the bench, too..

What's your series prediction?

[Andthentherewas21]

Appreciate the write-up. Nicely done.

[Malik Hairston]

Only way Miami wins this series is if Lebron completely dominates IMO, which is entirely possible..they don't have the weapons to win if he doesn't have a legendary series IMO..

The Spurs benefited greatly from Lebron's jump shot being off for the entire Finals, last year, hopefully it occurs again..

It's funny, though, because ignorant fans only look at scoring(it's the Kobe effect), but ignore that Lebron + shooters killed the Spurs in the Finals(Lebron being the only playmaker on the floor), along with his dominant defensive performances in the last few games of the series..

He's capable of completely disrupting an entire team's game-plan without scoring at a high level..the difference this season IMO, is that the Spurs have too many weapons + they no longer rely on Tony as the only creator on the team(which really hurt the Spurs in games 6 and 7, once Lebron switched on to Parker)..

[cd021]

Probably because LeBron is the best athlete to ever play sports tbh. He's the most physically gifted person I've ever seen in any sport.......

6'9 and 41' vert. Thats insane.

[Mugen]

6'9 and 41' vert. Thats insane.

Not even just that. He's pound for pound one of the strongest people to ever play in the league tbh. I'm not a Bron homer but he's just ridiculous from a physical standpoint, without even adding his court vision & BBIQ......

[Mr. Body]

Probably because LeBron is the best athlete to ever play sports tbh. He's the most physically gifted person I've ever seen in any sport.......

LeBron is an incredible specimen, but that hardly makes his team athletic.

[Mugen]

LeBron is an incredible specimen, but that hardly makes his team athletic.

Not saying I agree with the media's assessment, just giving a possible reason for their observation. Outside of Leonard, the Spurs don't really have anybody w/ above average athleticism. Even Kawhi is okay, but looks better due to his ridiculous reach.

Errors might be the most athletic player currently on the Spurs roster tbh.