The NBA Finals have begun, and game one of the series was a well played, exciting game that ended with the Spurs taking game one on the road with a 92-88 victory. I hope you had a chance to catch it, but whether you did or didn't, here are a few of my thoughts on the important themes from the first game in this series.
First, its pretty clear that the seven game series the Heat played with the Pacers impacted them from a fatigue standpoint. Having only two days off to prepare could also have left them a little short on the planning side, as it seemed that several times the defensive rotations were late, leaving Spurs players wide open for shots. The fact that the Spurs missed a lot of these shots (shooting only 41% overall) isn't a good sign for Miami. On the other hand, the Spurs had 9 days off since sweeping Memphis, and it looked like they were a little rusty and had their timing a bit disrupted because of it. But with a veteran (read: old) team like San Antonio, if you get a choice, you absolutely take the days off and say thank you. The differences in time off between series may have impacted the team's style of play in similar ways - as less rest impacts a transition team like Miami negatively, and more time off between games could have disrupted the timing of a team that relies on cuts and movement like San Antonio does. Practice is no substitute for the speed and intensity of an NBA Finals game.
There's always nerves and pre-game jitters with a game or games of this magnitude, but both teams worked through this pretty quickly, and no surprise - Miami has been to the Finals three years in a row and this San Antonio team has been to the Finals (in one form or another) multiple times and their core players have at least 2 championship rings. Coach Popovich is one of, if not the, best head coaches in hoops, and Coach Spoelstra has been here before and won it all just last year. All of this adds up to a very closely played game that saw leads at the end of each quarter of no more than four points.
Rust or defensive intensity was the watchword for much of the game, with both teams only breaking 25 points in the 2nd quarter. It was also a very well executed game, with fewer than 10 turnovers through three quarters of play. The fourth quarter would be much, much different - but I'll get to that in a moment. Miami came out like a house on fire, and took an early lead they wouldn't relinquish for all but the last few minutes of the game. They did almost whatever they wanted offensively, and while they weren't overwhelming defensively, San Antonio couldn't seem to capitalize enough to get over the hump. With few turnovers by the Spurs, Miami was forced to execute in the half court much of the game, which isn't necessarily one of their strengths but they made it work most of the game.
The fourth quarter was where the separation began. It was one of those types of games (and if you follow hoops you know EXACTLY what I'm talking about) where Miami let San Antonio hang around and hang around and you knew they weren't going to go away. San Antonio is a disciplined team and won't make many mistakes, if any at all. And they didn't - in fact, they began to take advantage of Miami's mistakes down the stretch, as Miami turned the ball over 5 times in the 4th quarter and San Antonio took their first lead. And when the Spurs execute their offense they way they're capable of, and get incredible individual performances from Tony Parker like this:
Any team, Miami included, would have a hard time beating them. And the Heat, while leading for most of the game, ended up losing because for the first time they faced a team that didn't shrink from the moment. Milwaukee didn't have the talent or discipline, Chicago didn't have the talent (in the form of a missing Derrick Rose), and Indiana didn't have the discipline. But San Antonio is both talented and disciplined, well coached and well prepared. The mistakes another team might be expected to make against Miami won't happen with the Spurs.
And I guess that's my final thought - I think Miami played pretty well, but could play a little bit better. But San Antonio shot poorly, played with a bit of rust, and still managed to come out with a win on the road. Miami can (and will) make adjustments. But there is reason for the Heat to be nervous. The one team they probably didn't want to face in the Finals just showed up and beat them on their own floor. In the 2-3-2 format, that could spell bad news for Miami.
Game Two is on Sunday at 5pm Pacific. You know I'll be watching.
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