NBA Finals thoughts - game 2

So after game 1 of the NBA Finals, most of the knee jerk reaction (including from yours truly) out there was how Miami might be in trouble with San Antonio.  And then the 2nd half of game 2 happened, and the Heat went nuclear on the Spurs and we end up with a series tied at 1 apiece with the Heat taking the 2nd game, 103-84.  This was the classic "the game wasn't even as close as the score indicates" games, and the score indicates the Spurs lost by 19.  The first half was well played by both teams, but the 2nd half was absolutely brutal for the Spurs, as the Heat took it to them in pretty much every way imaginable.

The first quarter and even first half of this game was much like the start of game 1, with lead changes on both sides and both teams fighting for every inch of ground.  The 1st quarter ended with both teams tied, and halftime got the Spurs down by only 5 points.  After having been down by 3 at the halftime of game 1, you have to think that Popovich was telling his team just that in the locker room - they were down at the half then, and still managed to find a way to get it done.  There would be no such miracle comebacks in game 2; in fact, about as far from it as you can get. When guys like Cory Joseph, Patty Mills, and Tracy freaking McGrady are getting run, you're know the Spurs are either blowing someone out or getting blown out themselves.  It was the latter on Sunday night.

Final

• 1
• 2
• 3
• 4
•  
• T

Spurs

(58-24, 23-18 away)

• 22
• 23
• 20
• 19
•  
• 84

Heat

(66-16, 37-4 home)

• 22
• 28
• 25
• 28
•  
• 103

The problems didn't start and end with the Spurs only scoring a total of 39 points in the 2nd half, but it certainly didn't help.  Where game 1 saw the Spurs limit their turnovers (and thus, the Heat's ability to get out in transition) to a Finals low 4, they gave the ball up 16 times in this contest.  Tony Parker coughed it up 5 times on his own, and as he goes, so often do the Spurs.  Tony's +/- rating of a -27 tells the story of this game perfectly for San Antonio.  The Spurs also didn't shoot well again, connecting on only 41% of their attempts.  In fact, everything the Spurs did the Heat did just a little bit better, losing the all the percentage splits (41% FG/50% 3PT/71.4% FT versus 49.4% FG/52.6% 3PT/78.6% FT) across the board.

(Photo courtesy of the AP/Lynne Sladky)

The 3rd quarter ended with the Spurs only down by double digits, but it was the start of the 4th quarter that really did the Spurs in in this one, with the Heat swarming defensively on everything the Spurs attempted.  The athleticism and tenacity of the Heat defense was on full display in the 4th and Pop waved the white flag sending in the bench with about 8 minutes left.  The signature defensive play of the night belonged to Lebron James, with an incredible block on Tiago Splitter that has to be seen to believed.

So without further ado..

Listen - I'm not a Heat fan (nor a Spurs fan either) but this block is pretty damn ridiculous.  My wife asked me the other day if Lebron was really that good or if it was all just hype.  The video you just watched above pretty much answers that question.  Kevin Durant is my guy, and dude is epic level talented, but game recognize game and Lebron is the real deal in every way you can imagine.  So after this block, you can guess what happens next: the home crowd goes crazy, the Spurs take a psychological hit, and the rest is a blowout of the double digit variety.

There IS a silver lining for the Spurs - based on the NBA Finals format, the next 3 games will be in San Antonio.  The Spurs did what they needed to do; win 1 game on the road to steal home court advantage from Miami.  The Heat know this, and are going to do everything in their power to try to take it back.  The Spurs are a great home team, and usually your bench performers play better in front of the home crowd too.  San Antonio is a professional team and will move past this loss quickly and get ready for game 3.  Miami is an athletic defensive minded team whose game will travel to any city in America.  Game 3 is going to be a pivotal one for both teams - should be some more great basketball.