I’m falling asleep in my chair as I write this, so forgive me if something isn’t factually correct…like if I write that last night’s game hinged on the David Robinson-Alonzo Mourning matchup or something.
1. Manu Ginobili finally showed up. So much for the last bullet from my Game 4 post. I did give the caveat that while we shouldn’t expect more from Ginobili anymore at this stage of his career that it didn’t mean he didn’t have a 20 point game left in him. He was inserted into the starting lineup to match Miami’s small-ball unit and played the hero with 24 points and 10 assists.
Ginobili!!!
2. If the Finals ended today, Danny Green would be the series MVP…no, really. Green leads San Antonio in scoring through the 1st 5 games of the Finals, and he’s already set the Finals record for 3’s made with 2 potential games left to the play. Plus, he’s been responsible for at least 2 he’s shooting that from where comments a game (which are going in more often than not).
3. LeBron James continues to struggle in this series. It’s a far cry from the disappearing act he gave in the Finals 2 years ago, and he’s still putting up decent numbers (25 points, 8 assists, 6 rebounds, 4 steals last night), but other than Game 4 he hasn’t dominated the way I expected either. And I don’t think it has anything to do with him being too passive or anything like that…it more seems to be a combination of him just not being able to put the ball in the basket, good individual defense being played against him, and the Spurs’ overall defensive strategy, which he just hasn’t been able to figure out.
4. I think Eric Spoelstra is a good coach, but he’s going up against a coaching mastermind in Gregg Popovich. Spoelstra was lauded for going small in Game 4, but Popovich gave a very effective counter (starting Ginobili) last night. This series has been back-and-forth, so it should be interesting to see what adjustments Miami comes out with in Game 5. Spoelstra has made some decisions that I don’t really understand though throughout the postseason. He loves Udonis Haslem, but other than 1 game against Indy, Haslem appears to not be able to play anymore. He’s an undersized big guy who also happens to be slow and extremely limited offensively. He’s got great heart and toughness, but loyalty aside you would think that if Miami was going to play this 1 big at a time scheme logic would dictate that Chris Anderson would be that 2nd big guy. However, he hasn’t so much as sniffed the court the past couple of games. Similarly, while Mike Miller has shot the lights out since getting more playing time, and Shane Battier has been in a severe slump this postseason, Battier is the much better defender of the 2. San Antonio constantly tried to get Miller on an island against either Parker or Ginobili in Game 5, and Miller often gets lost in defensive rotations as well.
5. Will the win-a-game/lose-a-game pattern continue in this series? That is the question going into Tuesday night. This is also the same position Miami found themselves in 2 years ago in the Finals against Dallas: down 3-2 and heading home. The Heat are not the same team as they were then, and it’s hard to imagine them at least not forcing a Game 7, but the situation is eerily similar.
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