El Conclusión: San Antonio Spurs 98, Miami Heat 120

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San Antonio Spurs 98 Final
Recap | Box Score		 120 Miami Heat
Tim Duncan, C 27 MIN | 4-10 FG | 0-0 FT | 7 REB | 3 AST | 8 PTS | -5LeBron’d. Technical foul seemed to spark the Spurs early. Wasn’t heard from since.
Richard Jefferson, SF 23 MIN | 0-3 FG | 0-0 FT | 2 REB | 5 AST | 0 PTS | 0LeBron’d.
DeJuan Blair, F 24 MIN | 6-10 FG | 1-2 FT | 6 REB | 0 AST | 13 PTS | -10For a quarter DeJuan Blair seemed intent on making all those old Chris (Like A) Bosh jokes relevant again. Joined Duncan in second half obscurity.
Tony Parker, PG 25 MIN | 7-12 FG | 4-4 FT | 2 REB | 3 AST | 18 PTS | -2Had a great first half. It was especially good to see the teardrop falling again. However, only two points in the paint in the third quarter falls directly on his shoulders.
Kawhi Leonard, SF 31 MIN | 5-12 FG | 0-0 FT | 6 REB | 1 AST | 12 PTS | -9LeBron’d. Kawhi had a good game and I’m not going to be too critical of him for not being able to stop something no one in the world could have stopped. When LeBron is hitting pull-up three-pointers there’s just not much anyone can do.
Matt Bonner, PF 21 MIN | 1-3 FG | 0-0 FT | 6 REB | 1 AST | 3 PTS | -11Bosh’d.
Daniel Green, G 23 MIN | 7-11 FG | 0-2 FT | 2 REB | 0 AST | 20 PTS | -21At times looked like the only Spurs player not phased by Miami’s excellent closeout defense.
Gary Neal, PG 16 MIN | 5-12 FG | 1-1 FT | 0 REB | 1 AST | 12 PTS | -11Did not have his three-pointer going, but found ways to contribute going to the basket. Also, Mike Miller’d.
Tiago Splitter, C 10 MIN | 1-1 FG | 2-2 FT | 0 REB | 1 AST | 4 PTS | -13Foul trouble. Showed a better looking hook shot when he finally got a minute.
James Anderson, SG 9 MIN | 0-1 FG | 3-4 FT | 0 REB | 1 AST | 3 PTS | -4When Danny Green broke into the rotation, Gary Neal returned early from injury. James Anderson just broke down.
Malcolm Thomas, F 8 MIN | 0-1 FG | 1-2 FT | 1 REB | 1 AST | 1 PTS | -4Austin awaits.
Cory Joseph, G 23 MIN | 2-4 FG | 0-0 FT | 4 REB | 4 AST | 4 PTS | -20Cory Joseph will never be the reason the Spurs win or lose this season. He just exists, no more no less. His only role with this team is to keep Danny Green and Gary Neal in their comfort zones and away from point guard duty until T.J. Ford comes back.

Five Things We Saw

  1. Tonight Kawhi Leonard learned that sometimes no matter how solid your defense is, it won’t matter. There is no defense in the world that can stop LeBron James when he gets going like that. If there is a positive, it does not appear Leonard was overwhelmed by it. We’ll see how he responds.
  2. Miami’s defense in the second half was incredible. They were very physical, closed out perfectly on all of the Spurs shooters, and the Spurs folded. Their defense deserves just as much credit as LeBron.
  3. A difficult game to grade, and probably one to forget. It’s hard to completely fail everyone when Miami starts hitting step-back three-pointers like they were nothing. The Spurs got punched in the mouth and showed little resolve, but the game was so bizarre there probably isn’t a lesson to be learned from it.
  4. Danny Green finally looked like a rotation player on the road. Appeared to be the only decisive player on the Spurs in dealing with Miami’s closeouts.
  5. Danny Green is a better healer than the Phoenix Suns training staff. Gary Neal returned earlier than expected from injury and played well. Likely because he feels Green breathing down his neck for more minutes in addition to the one’s he’s already taken.
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  • Bushka

    Its pretty evident to the world our defense is the inconsistent part of our game.

  • Tyler

    Blair is forced to gamble, and 90% of the time it leads to him fouling or his man getting a high % look.

  • Thomasholdren

    To your first paragraph, the bigs average 4 more ppg against us. Doesnt matter if we score. Thats 2 buckets. Doesnt scream Domination, or white flag to me.

    Your second paragraph backs up my point. Yes, we are a scoring team (who needs to shoot better from 3) notice how if we dont score 100 we dont win. Why? We arent a defending team….

    We dont have athletes or specialists. WE HAVE TO SCORE TO WIN.

    And I agree with the poster whom said let the group play and figure it out; good call. Which is why MCDYESS WASNT A GOOD ADDITION.

  • Thomasholdren

    you are EXACTLY right in reference to manu and the momentum. This is EXACTLY why Parker is not a legit PG. HE SHOULD be the one busting momentum, but he cant.

    And again, you are SO RIGHT about media influence. Its the same damn thing with why people still think we are a defensive team right now, or building up on interior defense will make us contenders.

  • Thomasholdren

    Not true. Tony has ZERO open court vision. Hes a score first PG who only has speed and finishing as an asset. He cant carry the load or get anyone involved.

    TD is correct when he says that role players play better when involved.

    There are 10 PGs we would be better off this year.

    It would be different if Parker could make a defensive stop, but he gets worked essentially by every other PG in the league….

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