NBA Finals thoughts - Game 3

Whoa - didn't see that one coming!  After getting blown out and run out of the gym in a game 2 loss, everyone wondered how the Spurs would respond.    Well it turns out pretty well, as the Spurs returned the favor to the Heat by absolutely dismantling the Heat, winning 113-77.  San Antonio was lead by playoff career games from both Danny Green and Gary Neal.  Didn't see that one coming either.

I think most of the coverage after game 2 was focused on the Spurs getting a split on the road in the first 2 games of the series, and then heading home following the blowout loss.  I'm pretty sure folks weren't saying things like "hey what would happen if 2 of the Spurs players crush Miami for 13 made 3s combined?" or "who's got the over on the combined point total of Neal and Green being 50?"  And yet, that's exactly what happened on Tuesday night:  Danny Green had 27 points in 31 minutes of play, hit 7-9 from long distance, and chipped in 2 steals and 2 blocks.  Gary Neal was not to be outdone, dropping 24 points in 25 minutes off the bench, hit 6-10 from long distance, and was an eye popping +21 while on the floor.   I think if you told Miami before game 3 that Duncan, Parker, and Ginobili would combine for 25 points and that Parker would leave the game in the 4th quarter, they would have thought this was a Heat win going away.  But it was not to be.

Final

• 1
• 2
• 3
• 4
•  
• T

Heat

(66-16, 29-12 away)

• 20
• 24
• 19
• 14
•  
• 77

Spurs

(58-24, 35-6 home)

• 24
• 26
• 28
• 35
•  
• 113

Tim Legler from ESPN.com mentioned something in last night's coverage of game 3
that stood out to me:  he said Coach Spoelstra isn't on the bench game planning for what do do if the Spurs "other guys" drop big numbers on them.  I'm paraphrasing here, but the same thought occurred to me during the game - this surely wasn't the Heat had in mind might happen.  The Spurs passing was crisp, the Heat's defense was a step slow all night, and the Spurs made shot after shot after shot after shot.  And no, that's not a run on sentence.

There is much ado being made in the media about how Lebron seems disconnected in this series, how his offense is missing (being held under 20 points for 3 straight games) but could the reality simply be that the Spurs have a good defensive scheme, Kawhi Leonard is playing LBJ about as well as you can, and his jumper just isn't falling?  And speaking of Leonard - as big as Green and Neal were last night (and they were HUGE) Leonard was just as important.  Witness his +29 rating (the highest on the team), his double dip (14pts, 12rbs) and 4 thefts - some of which were against Lebron, robbing him and the Heat of offensive possessions.  And San Antonio did a lot of their damage in transition, usually Miami's forte.  While in game 2 the Spurs got outdone by the Heat in almost every statistical category, Tuesday night the Spurs had 20 fastbreak points to the Heat's 11.  This was due in large part to Miami turnovers (16) and the steals from the Spurs (10).

The Spurs squad has been built and rebuilt first as a post up first team behind Tim Duncan, and then around the perimeter talents of Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker.  They have then brought in role playing guys to help fill the void, and over the years its been guys like Richard Jefferson, Stephen Jackson, and Boris Diaw.  Now, guys like Kawhi Leonard, Gary Neal, and Danny Green have stepped up and delivered in situations where the rest of the country might be saying "who the heck are these guys???"  But if you've been watching NBA hoops for any length of time (like my brother in law Antonio, who is a huge Spurs fan and is from Texas, sending me pics of my niece and random gods wearing Spurs gear) you know that San Antonio knows how to scout talent and get their guys ready in the "next man up" philosophy.  And its pretty usual for the bench guys to play better at home than they do on the road - just unusual that 2 role players would combine for 51 points in one game.  They are the Western Conference Champions and a damn good team otherwise.  Miami has to play their very best game at all times if they hope to win against their opponent.  They didn't do that on Tuesday night and paid the price for it.

Its not all doom and gloom for the Heat - they are only down 1 game and the have a quick turnaround to get to the next game.  A lot of times its easier to let go of a big loss than it is a close one, and I'm sure the Heat have already accepted they got their butts kicked and have moved on.  The Spurs have the home court, but the Heat didn't win 27 games in a row during the regular season if they couldn't win on the road.  Miami has a pretty good record in games following a loss, so San Antonio will have their hands full in game 4 for sure.  One good blowout deserves another; now we've had that.  Tony Parker's status at this point in time is unknown - he's got a calf sprain and is listed as day-to-day.  How that will impact the Spurs remains to be seen, but one thing is for sure: we will be in for a treat on Thursday night.  The NBA Finals Game 4 starts at 6pm pacific.