El Conclusión: Miami Heat 103, San Antonio Spurs 84

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San Antonio Spurs 84 Final
Recap | Box Score		 103 Miami Heat
Tim Duncan, PF 30 MIN | 3-13 FG | 3-4 FT | 11 REB | 1 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 1 TO | 9 PTS | -14

After a classic Duncan line in Game 1, the Big Fundamental couldn’t buy a bucket in Game 2.
Kawhi Leonard, SF 33 MIN | 4-12 FG | 0-1 FT | 14 REB | 2 AST | 1 STL | 0 BLK | 1 TO | 9 PTS | -21

Kawhi Leonard had eight offensive rebounds. I find that fascinating. His defense on LeBron was spectacular through two and a half quarters, and even then it wasn’t so bad. James did most of his damage off San Antonio turnovers. His shooting needs to improve, though.
Tiago Splitter, C 23 MIN | 2-5 FG | 0-0 FT | 1 REB | 1 AST | 0 STL | 1 BLK | 1 TO | 4 PTS | -2

Oh, I’m sorry Tiago.tiago-splitter-spurs-block-lebron-heat-finals
Tony Parker, PG 33 MIN | 5-14 FG | 3-4 FT | 3 REB | 5 AST | 0 STL | 1 BLK | 5 TO | 13 PTS | -27

Tony looked gassed throughout much of this game. He took a beating physically that was worse than anything he faced in the Memphis series. He needs a bounce-back performance in Game 3.
Danny Green, SG 30 MIN | 6-6 FG | 0-0 FT | 1 REB | 1 AST | 0 STL | 1 BLK | 1 TO | 17 PTS | -9

Gold star for Danny Green. He shot the ball incredibly well and played solid defense.
Matt Bonner, PF 8 MIN | 2-4 FG | 0-0 FT | 1 REB | 0 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 0 TO | 5 PTS | +5

I swear to you that I saw Matt Bonner beat LeBron James off the dribble with a hesitation move in this game. LeBron may have been sleeping, but it happened.
DeJuan Blair, C 8 MIN | 1-4 FG | 0-0 FT | 4 REB | 0 AST | 1 STL | 0 BLK | 0 TO | 2 PTS | +5

Garbage time run.
Boris Diaw, C 11 MIN | 0-0 FG | 0-0 FT | 0 REB | 2 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 0 TO | 0 PTS | -3

Nothing from Boris, really.
Patty Mills, PG 8 MIN | 1-3 FG | 0-0 FT | 0 REB | 0 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 0 TO | 2 PTS | +5

#PattyMillsShotCount: 3
Gary Neal, PG 22 MIN | 3-7 FG | 2-2 FT | 2 REB | 0 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 3 TO | 10 PTS | -28

For a stretch of this game, Neal and Danny Green were the two most dangerous players in black.

Cory Joseph, PG 9 MIN | 3-3 FG | 2-3 FT | 3 REB | 1 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 1 TO | 8 PTS | +12

This just isn’t the series for CoJo. His skills aren’t as necessary as Neal’s.
Manu Ginobili, SG 18 MIN | 2-6 FG | 0-0 FT | 2 REB | 1 AST | 1 STL | 0 BLK | 3 TO | 5 PTS | -23

Manu Ginobili lost control of his dribble more times in this one game than he had the entire season combined. It was the strangest thing.
Gregg Popovich

With the quick turnaround to Game 3 on Tuesday, Pop pulled the plug on this one at the right time. I’m curious why we didn’t see as much of Tony Parker running off of screens away from the ball in this one, but maybe I’m just imagining things.

Three Things We Saw

  1. Watching LeBron James kick the ball out on penetration is a treat. He’s easily the best passer in the league, which is amazing when you factor in just how large of a man he is.
  2. The shooting for the Spurs’ core guys was abysmal, but there were a lot of makable shots. At the same time, the Heat defense was impressive. What I’m curious to see is if the Spurs will feel the need to adjust or if they think Miami’s defensive effort will slip some.
  3. Kawhi Leonard’s impact on the boards in these playoffs continues to impress me. He’s averaging 8.5 rebounds per game in 16 postseason games. He’s going to be a beast.
  • Danny

    A little generous with that grade on Manu. Solid D in my opinion.

  • Danny

    Plus I think the big adjustment was the hard doubling of the ball handler on pick and rolls. This was mostly on Tony and led to TOs and easy buckets. Pop will switch it up.

  • Regan

    There was one play where Kawhi didn’t jump to block Chalmers attempt in the second half. I wondered why. It seemed either he was tired or something. I wonder if anyone else know what Im talking about

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  • senorglory

    3 of 13 and no blocks does not a B- make.

  • Bob

    CJ’s not needed? I have to disagree. The Spurs can’t have Chalmers scoring 19+ points.

  • NYC

    Sadly, I agree. As much as it pains me to say this, anything but an F for Manu’s performance is much too generous.

    “Manu Ginobili lost control of his dribble more times in this one game than he had the entire season combined.”

  • NYC

    Have to agree here as well. B- also too generous for this night.

  • NYC

    I’m not worried about Chalmers. If the Heat are going to beat us w Chalmers, I’d say go right ahead. I’ll happily live w that.

    Neal will occasionally go off for 19 or so pts as well, but no one would suggest the opposing team alter their priorities to shut down Neal. That would be an overreaction to a single anomaly.

    Au contraire: If you told me we can keep Allen, Miller, Battier, Bosh, Wade in check but have to give up 20+ pts to Chalmers every game, I couldn’t sign that deal fast enough.

  • STIJL

    Grading on the curve? ; ) Favorite pupils getting benefit of doubt?

    Spurs stars played like it was a B2B though having 2 days rest. Spurs bench was horrific. Both need to play as a common unit.

    No one said it would be easy. Hopefully with a game one win on the road…if the Spurs can in the least play good “team” basketball every other game…they have a shot.

  • TheFG21

    We have been there. In 2005 we lost by 31pts vs the Pistons. Overall, it was a good game until five minutes into the third quarter. 33-5 run? Ridiculous. It felt similar to that second game vs the Warriors in the way that the other team was in a gear we couldn’t keep up with.

    I doubt we can win 3 straight games at the AT&T Centre, but we are in a good position w/ that 1st Game win.

  • David G

    a C grade for Ginobili is being incredibly kind. He was awful and the worst player who played last night.

  • junierizzle

    I agree but you can’t also give Miller and Allen open looks which they did.

  • junierizzle

    VI’m happy with the split but at the same time The Spurs did things I thought they wouldn’t do. 1)Turn the ball over 2) Not move the ball when Miami “turns it on” 3) Let Miller and Allen shoot

    Is that really the plan, suffocate LeBron and make Miller and Ray Freaking Allen beat you? Because LeBron is just fine and dandy with that. He’s not Kobe, he isn’t going to shoot through a triple team. I say let him post up all night long. Stop all the other guys. I thought Pop would play them like the Pacers di and take away the three. They are focusing too much on LeBron if you ask me. He had 8 points after the initial blow out. Why are you getting blown out if dude only has 8 points?

  • http://www.nba.com/spurs/?tmd=1 TheRealDirtyP1

    Where was the timeout? Multiple timeouts? That just hurt and could have saved maybe 10 points. I’m not saying the Spurs win but you stop the bleeding.

  • http://www.nba.com/spurs/?tmd=1 TheRealDirtyP1

    B- for Neal? Was I watching the right game? He gives you nothing on defense, nothing. Tiago was a -2 in 22 mins? Neal was a -28. Come on man.

  • AHeights

    Pop should’ve sat Ginobili for Joseph, and told him “You don’t got it this game, we’ll see what you can do in San Antonio.”

  • NYC

    I agree and remain optimistic. The Warriors sustained a higher gear throughout most of that night. For this second Heat game, it was only in that 5 min stretch near the end that the Heat took over. Up until that point, we were still keeping pace, even leading at one point. After the Heat explosion, Pop pulled the plug early (as he rightly should). That indicates to me that this team is still capable of keeping pace w the Heat. It won’t be easy, and it may not be possible any given quarter of any given night, but it’s very much doable. For a repeat of such a lopsided victory, the Heat will still have to work for it and play at their peak while the Spurs hit a low at the same time. That’s unlikely. Not impossible, but unlikely.

    We can still win this in 6. We need better production from our bench, as others have noted, and a rebound from our stars. We just need to win 2 of the coming 3, making each game in Miami an elimination game. Totally doable.

    (However, we absolutely cannot afford to lose game 3.)

  • NYC

    The turnovers were really tough to watch. But the silver lining in that wretched performance is that it was so bad, it is unlikely to happen again. 4 TO in game 1 was a statistical anomaly, but so is 16 TO in game 2. It wasn’t that the Heat were imposing their will on us all night long as much as we were handing the ball to them.

    Regression toward the mean for the Spurs equates to being closer to 4 than to 16 in coming games. How close to 4 we can get will determine how successful we will be. 4 TO is really tough to beat. 16 TO is really tough to come back from. Our destiny is still in our own hands.

  • NYC

    Unleash Patty Mills!!

    Joseph is great at securing the ball, distributing, and defending but doesn’t generate offense. Mills can put up shots in a hurry, and if he catches fire, suddenly we’re right back in it. Neal too.

  • Jonas

    TMac Doesn’t get a grade?

  • TD BestEVER

    Ya I saw it he picked up a quick foul and Chalmers still made the layup…….. just tired i think

  • Titletown99030507d

    Timmy, Tony, and Manu should all get D’s in this one.

  • Titletown99030507d

    CJ isn’t going to make a difference in this game. Need some height on Chalmers. And somebody who can make a bucket.

  • Titletown99030507d

    Man Andrew you just hate Tiago don’t you. We didn’t lose because of that greatly timed block by Lebro. (becasue of the humiliating vid you posted. Nice going spurs fan) Actually Tiago was too far away when he jumped. If he would jumped one more step towards the rim I think we would have seen Lebro’s head in the rim. If your going to post a stupid video like that, then why don’t you put up a highlight reel of Timmy missing a shit load of important buckets. D- not B-. I don’t care who he is he should get the correct grade if your going to be posting elementary school grades.

  • Titletown99030507d

    Sorry ass shooting, sorry Timmy, sorry ass defending the arc, sorry Manu, Kawhi, Neal, Danny and whoever was responsible for those wide open frikin 3’s they kept bombing away. And Tony remember you have 4 other team mates on the court they wear black and silver just like you. I don’t see how our home court now translates into a series win. Let’s hope and pray.
    Oh yeah I forgot what the hell is Diaw on the court for? Put Bonner in instead. At least he’s got height and is more aggressive than Diaw. Besides Diaw won’t shoot the damn ball. At this point his passing alone isnt going to matter anyway. We need help in the front court. Tired ol Timmy and Tiago need it. Tiago and Diaw - a no no. Rather see Boner and Splitter while Timmy is on the bench gasping for air.
    And lastly Timmy practice for the next 48 hrs shoot at the top of the key. Because that’s all we can hope from you at this point. I’ve never seen Timmy get rejected this much this season. It’s almost heartbreaking to see.