Game 6 Thoughts

It took me a while to really understand what happened in this game and honestly I still have no idea. This game was over. I already had texts and tweets typed up ready to hit send. I was ready to talk trash to both the Heat fans in the world. Lebron had two awful late game turnovers and bricked a couple shots. He was about to face a looong summer of criticism. He was never to be compared to Jordan again..

And then it happened.

Manu Ginobli. Wow what a game by him. He really showed up and made some big plays. 8 turnovers in an Nba Finals game. That doesn’t even happen by accident. You have to wake up with the mind state of “I’m going for double digits tonight baby” to be able to accomplish something like this. The man had goals and tried his best to reach them. If he hits both of his free throws, the Spurs win the championship.

Kawhi Leonard. Kawaghilli! Why man?? You played the game of your life. All you had to do was hit both free throws. The Heat were down 2. If the Spurs went up 4 they would have raised the trophy that night. Kawhi would have smiled for the first time in his life.

Lebron played terribly for the first 3 quarters in this game. His legacy was going to take a real hit. Then it got hot in there and he and Mike Miller started taking their clothes off. Lebron lost that headband, let his hairline flow freely in the wind and completely dominated the fourth quarter. You have to give him credit there. He knew what was on the line and he went after it. Why doesn’t he ALWAYS play like that? Bigger guys can’t keep up with him. Quicker guys are too weak for him. I don’t understand why he continues to give me reasons to criticize him. Even with that amazing fourth quarter, he still turned it over twice with under a minute left and he got bailed out in this game.

Ray Allen of all people had to do it. The same Ray Allen that broke my heart when he left my Celtics. I hate you so much man. He back-peddled like 10 feet and somehow knew exactly where the 3 point line was, raised up and buried the 3. The shot was amazing.

The team that won this game turned the ball over 3 times in the last minute of regulation. This game made no sense.

Stop crying about the referees. Neither the Ginobli drive or the Bosh block at the end was a foul. I’m glad this game wasn’t decided by a call made by the refs.

I won’t make any predictions about this game tonight. I don’t even know what to think anymore.

Game 5 Thoughts

This series has just been one big time machine. Duncan is pulling out vintage spin moves in the post at the age of 37. Wade went back to 2006 to find himself and his Converses in game 4. It was Emmanuel’s turn to go back in time in game 5. He and his nose went all the way back to 2005 and brought back a guy who was once one of the best in the league at getting to the rim. He was also always one of the most underrated passers in the game. Ginosebli finished with 24 points and 10 assists. Vintage.

Lebron James himself had a vintage game of sorts. As he has in the past, Lebron once again came up short in a Finals game. He actually got off to a hot start scoring 7 quick points in the first quarter. Then Boris came in and put the clamps on him. Boris Diaw defended Lebron as well as I’ve seen anybody do it. Boris aka Young French Toast. It was really a sight to see with Boris even picking Lebron up full court at times. Young French Toast kept Lebron to 1 for 8 shooting. He stops Lebron and he stops Krispy Kreme from going out of business. Why is Lebron letting this happen? Picture Boris guarding Michael or Kobe in an Nba Finals game.

We’re one Spurs win away from Danny Green winning a Finals MVP on the best player in the world’s homecourt. Think about that. A championship series that includes 7 potential hall of famers in Lebron, Wade, Bosh, Allen, Duncan, Ginobli and Parker. Daniel hit another 6 threes in game 5 bringing his total to a record setting 25 in the Finals. That’s in only 5 games. He’s not done yet. He’s shooting 66% from beyond the arch. Guys couldn’t even do that if they were just shooting layups. Why does he continue to be wide open? Figure it out Spoach. If the Heat win the title Tiago should get the MVP.

Can someone check on Norris Cole for me? Tony Parker had him looking real stressed out there. There was a new gray hair in Norris’s flattop every time Parker put him in the mixer and got by him for a layup. I pray he’s okay.

Looking ahead to game 6, the Heat are facing a real challenge here. The Spurs are 14-2 in closeout games. These boys don’t mess around when they have a chance to take you out. Tim Duncan has never trailed in an Nba Finals series. They tend to always win championships on the road. They’ll have to do it again this year. I predicted the Spurs win this series in 6 games and I’m sticking with it.

This time machine needs to bring 2003 T-Mac back for me one time. Just one time.

P.S

The jay-z album is going to be hot fire. *Dylan voice

Game 3 Thoughts

“The Greatest of All Time” huh? Well Lebron sure didn’t play like it in game 3. You’re the best player in the world. There is no way in hell your team should lose by 36 points in the Nba Finals. Lebron finished with 15 points on 7 for 21 shooting. Honestly he played a lot worse than those numbers indicate. They were daring him to shoot and he seemed scared to. I thought we were done with this Lebron when he won that championship last season. I hate the guy but even I was tired of bashing him for always coming up short. I don’t want that back in my life. SIKE! I love this.

Mike Miller won’t be able to carry you to a title Lebron. Wake up. Two years ago Lebron had these terrible games and let the likes of Jose and Juan Barea outscore him in the finals. Now he’s letting Gary Neal and Danny Green do it. Danny Green is actually averaging more than Lebron over the first 3 games. You can’t keep coming up your smallest on the biggest stages and continue to get mentioned with the greats. Where’s Game 6 in Boston Lebron? The Heat need that guy to show up if they want to win this series.

Tony Parker had 6 points. Manu Ginobli had 7 points. Tim Duncan ended up with 12 points.. And the Spurs still beat the Heat down by 36 points. This team is so much more than just their star players. Danny Green is the MVP of this series thus far shooting lights out from 3 point range and playing great defense on Wade and Lebron. Gary Neal just caught fire last night. I still think he takes too many shots but when he’s shooting the way he was last night, LET GARY SHOOT! Kawhi Leonard finished the game with 12 rebounds and 4 steals. He was the defensive MVP last night and really has been throughout the first 3 games. This guy will be an All-star in this league soon enough.

Tony Parker hurt his hamstring last night and isn’t a guarantee to play in Game 4. It would really be a shame if he can’t be healthy and effective for the rest of the series. This Finals matchup is too good to have a major player go down with injury. At this point of the season you want both teams to be at full strength. If you don’t then you’re not really a fan of basketball.

The Spurs aren’t boring.

Game 1 Thoughts

What a game ladies. We’re in for a great series here. I’m hoping the rest of the games in the series are just like this first one.

There are plenty of things to take away from this game. Not many of those things are positives from the Miami perspective. For three quarters everything was going perfectly for Miami. Wade looked like the Wade of old getting to the basket and hitting turnaround jumpers off one leg. Chris Bosh was feeling it early hitting several jumpshots. The role players were on fire from three point range shooting 40% in the first half. Tim Duncan started the game 0 for 5 and got into some early foul trouble. The rest of the Spurs couldn’t hit an open 3 to save their lives.

And all that only got the Heat a 3 point lead going into the 4th quarter. That wasn’t enough. The Spurs continued to clog the paint forcing Miami to shoot from the outside and those 3’s and jumpshots the Heat were making in the first half weren’t going to fall forever. The Heat need to find other ways to score if they are going to win this series.The Spurs want them to shoot jumpshots.

Chris Bosh wants to be Steve Kerr soo bad. Seriously when did Bosh strictly become a spot up 3pt shooter? He’s on a 110 million dollar contract. I thought for sure that when Jason Collins revealed his secret that it would positively affect Bosh. I thought Bosh would start playing like a fabulous Hall of Famer. The complete opposite has happened. Bosh hasn’t been the same since that day. In his last 3 games he’s shooting 10 for his last 37 with 17 rebounds. 17 rebounds in 3 games. From your Power Forward! Lebron had 18 rebounds himself last night. You’re one of the best post players in the league, act like it Boshy.

Lebron had himself a good statistical night with 18, 18 and 10. That was Lebron’s 10th triple double in the postseason (tying the great Rajon Rondo for 3rd all time). Even with those numbers, I still feel Lebron was being too passive especially in the 4th. There were a couple of times where Lebron seemed to have good shots available but passed them up. Chris Kerr should not be taking the most shots out of any Heat player in the 4th quarter. Lebron should win those games in late situations.

The 4th quarter, as it usually does, decided the game. Tony Parker took over the game. He was hitting several jumpers in a row, spinning Norris Cole out of his flattop on his way to the basket and hitting a shot that Heat fans will have nightmares about for years to come. Parker scored 10 points in the 4th. The Heat as a team scored 16 points in the quarter.

Turnovers were a major story in this game. The Spurs as a team only had 4 the entire game. The Heat had 9 (which isn’t bad at all actually). The problem was that 5 of those turnovers came in the 4th quarter. Can’t have that. The inexperienced Pacers were constantly hovering around the 20 turnover mark. These aren’t the Pacers that the Heat are going up against in this series.

Can’t wait for Game 2.

Nba Finals Preview

It’s here girls. The Nba Finals are finally upon us and we really got a treat this year. The two best teams in the league are meeting each other and that’s all we really could’ve asked for.

We also have two teams that couldn’t be any more different from one another. On one hand we have a bandwagon (lead by David Vielmann) that completely filled up once Lebron decided to take his talents and gigantic headbands down to South Beach. Girls that don’t even watch basketball (David Vielmann) are Heat fans. On the other hand we have a completely empty bandwagon. People don’t like watching the Spurs. I’ve heard stories of people falling asleep and not waking up til two days later when they turn on a Spurs game. Tracy McGrady now has two sleepy eyes. The Heat are always in the spotlight and seek it out while the Spurs run from it.

There are so many different storylines to look at in this series. Tim Duncan is looking to win his 5th Championship and remain undefeated in finals appearances. You start to wonder whether he’s going to ride off into the sunset if he wins it this year much like David Robinson did. Greg Popovich said he’s leaving once Timmy leaves. It would be the end of an era and kinda bittersweet to see.

The last time Lebron met the Spurs in the finals it was the worst Championship series I’ve ever seen. It was really kind of embarrassing how much better the Spurs played that season. Lebron shot an atrocious 14% (8 for 56) on shots that were outside the paint. The Spurs were daring him to shoot and he couldn’t hit them. It’s a different Lebron now. This guy is easily the best player in the world now. You struggle to find weaknesses in his game. You now have to be in his face even on 3pt shots. Kawhi Leonard and the rest of the Spurs have their hands full .

Lebron will get his. The key for the Spurs is to slow everyone else down and don’t let guys like Almario Chalmers, Norris Cole and Birdman Birdman beat them. They actually matchup very well with all of these guys and should be able to keep them in check. The Spurs are a very disciplined team and don’t give up as many points in the paint and offensive rebounds as the Pacers allowed against the Heat.

Erik Spoelstra decided to rest Wade and Bosh for the first 6 games of the series against Indiana. It ended up being a brilliant coaching move but it won’t work against the Spurs. Miami will need the Wade and Bosh of past years to be able to win this series.

Speaking of brilliant coaching. Greg Popovich is the best coach in the league. He just got an extra 10 days to prepare for the Heat. Huge advantage for the Spurs.

We talked about the trouble San Antonio will have guarding Lebron. Miami should have similar problems covering Tony Parker and Tim Duncan. Roy Hibbert caused the Heat all kinds of trouble. Timmy should be even more difficult for the Heat. Mike Conley and Tony Allen were all defensive team selections. Marc Gasol was the defensive player of the year. They couldn’t do a thing to prevent Tony Parker from doing whatever he wanted. That doesn’t bode well for the Heat. It’ll be interesting to see whether Lebron tells Spo to decide to put Lebron on Tony. Miami might not want to put that kind of burden on Lebron though. He didn’t cover Paul George in the Pacers series.

There are 4 former Finals Mvps in this series in Tim Duncan, Lebron, Wade and Tony Parker. The first time that has ever happened.

It’ll also be interesting to see whether Tracy McGrady decides to put the team on his back and make the league his again. Only time can tell.

This is gonna be good.

Spurs in 6 bubba.