This blog seems to be all about numbered lists lately, so here are 5 observations from last night’s game.
1. Tony Parker’s ridiculous buzzer beater was the play of the game. No s***, right? Up 2, LeBron James draped all over you, spinning, stumbling, falling down, pivoting, double-clutching, narrowly avoiding LeBron’s arm, releasing the ball milliseconds prior to the shot clock expiring…yeah, I would say so. San Antonio’s MVP was at his best when it mattered, going 4 for 7 from the field for 10 points in the 4th quarter.
With the kiss!
2. The Heat had a curious lineup to start the 4th quarter. James and Dwayne Wade opened the 1st 3 minutes of the quarter on the bench, and Coach Erik Spoelstra opted to go with Chris Bosh, Chris Anderson, Ray Allen, Mike Miller, and Norris Cole…a lineup that I don’t think I had seen the Heat feature all season, much less crunch time of a Finals game. Miami has done some other lineup shuffling the last few games of the postseason, basically benching a slumping Shane Battier for Miller, who has been MIA since last year’s finals. Regardless, it’s a rarity for neither James or Wade to be on the court at any one time, and while Miami maintained a 3 point lead by the time James re-entered the game, Miami’s offense seemed so disjointed in those 3 minutes that I thought you could feel San Antonio gaining a little bit of momentum for the game’s final push. Maybe James and Wade were feeling worn down after their grueling 7 game series with Indiana, but that didn’t seem like the time to give both of them a blow, and it makes you wonder whether Coach Spo is up to the task of matching wits with Gregg Popovich. Which brings us to…
3. I loved San Antonio’s defensive strategy in Game 1. The Pacers’ allowed James to have 1-on-1 coverage most of the time while choosing to lock down Bosh, Wade, and all the Heat’s shooters. This was very effective at times, but the Spurs actually did the opposite, doubling and even tripling James. James played out of the doubleteams well by swinging the ball out to open teammates to the tune of 10 assists, but it’s as if Popovich was daring anybody but James to beat them after watching Miami clang jumpers all throughout the Indy series. The strategy seemed to backfire in the 1st half, as the Heat blistered out to a 5 for 10 start from 3…but they shot a collective 3 for 15 from long range in the 2nd half. James finished with a triple-double, but it was almost by design for the Spurs.
LeBron found littler room to operate in Game 1.
4. Unfortunately for Miami, Chris Bosh has fallen in love with the 3-pointer. When you look at Bosh, he really has the skill-set of a small forward in a 6-11 body. He is a gifted offensive player, and his shooting is necessary for Miami to space the floor, so it would only seem natural for him to stretch his range from 18 feet to the 3-point line. The 1st time he really showed off that range was last postseason, when he hit some big corner 3’s against both Boston and OKC. But now he’s starting to shoot longer 3’s from the top of the key and elbow as well, and he’s usually, well, missing them. After suffering through a terrible series against Indiana, one might consider Bosh’s 13 points last night a productive game, but he took 16 shots to get there (including 0 for 4 from deep)…might want to take a step or 2 in from now on.
5. That sure was a San Antonio Spurs type game, wasn’t it? It seemed like the Heat were just cruising the whole 1st half…getting out in transition, hitting 3’s, etc. Even the halftime crew made it seem like they thought Miami was about to run away with the game. And yet, San Antonio only trailed by 3 at the break. In the 2nd half, the just kept doing San Antonio Spur-ish things until they finally were able to take the lead in the 4th, actually pushing it to a 7 point margin before the wild finish.
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