Once more, a hiccup in our weekly time-table has me posting on Wednesday instead of Tuesday. Therefore, this column is now "Weener Wednesday" instead of "Tweener Tuesday."
It would be wrong of me to talk about anything other than last night's Game 6 of the NBA Finals. So let's get a few things out of the way.
1. The Spurs missed some free throws. I don't mean to imply I would have made them. But everything else can be taken with a grain of salt through the lens of...they could have made their free throws and it wouldn't have mattered.
1.5. I just want to make sure I'm clear...the Spurs missed some free throws.
2. WHY WAS TIM DUNCAN NOT IN THE GAME AT LEAST FOR THE SECOND TRIP DOWN WHEN THE HEAT NEEDED A THREE AFTER THEY GOT AN OFFENSIVE REBOUND THE FIRST TIME ray allen that was a great shot BUT SERIOUSLY POP WHAT WERE YOU THINKING DID YOU LEARN NOTHING FROM THE INDIANA DEBACLE YOU PLAY YOUR BEST PLAYERS PERIOD END OF STORY WHAT HAPPENED
3. The Spurs didn't foul Chris Bosh on his second (SECOND - WHERE WAS TIM DUNCAN) offensive rebound in the last 30 seconds. Which is a tough thing to keep in mind in a scramble like that, and it would have been a remarkably gutless play, but as Paul said, it would have been the most "Spurs" move ever.
4. I don't like that the refs swallowed their whistle in the last minute of regulation and OT. You don't want the refs deciding the game. But not calling a foul when there was a foul is still a bad call. Like when Ginobli got whacked across the arms. (Although he also took about 7 steps.)
5. It baffles me that Lebron and Wade continue to complain about not getting calls. Like when Lebron elbowed Danny Green, still got the ball stripped, lost it out of bounds, and was complaining to the ref before he even landed. Or when Lebron just stayed seated on the floor and gave up an easy two.
6. Ginobli popped open on that inbounds play before Leonard. Just saying.
7. Chris Bosh: (a) had two huge rebounds (POP WHERE WAS TIMMY), (b) had a huge block on Parker, (c) made a fantastic read on the final pass to Danny Green (who should have pump-faked) and made another big block.
8. Lebron continued to be the best and most mystifying player in the league, absolutely dominating the first 10 minutes of the 4th, and then committing 3 turnovers in the final 1:30, and then hitting a big three to keep the game competitive, and then missing his next look?
9. Tim Duncan had his close-out performance. 30 and 17. But got no help from Green and Neal...and for that matter Ginobli, and for that matter Parker until the final 1:30. And then his coach DIDN'T GIVE HIM THE CHANCE TO WIN THE GAME. I would (a) rather have Tim shooting my free throws, and (b) rather have Tim rebounding.
10. Are Parker and Ginobli both 42 years old? (Paul: Ginobli was...like...really bad.)
11. Mike Miller hit a three without his shoe on to give the Heat all kinds of momentum. That was actually really cool.
Given all of that, here are the two things I found most interesting.
>>>> Up double-digits going into the 4th, Popovich chooses to sit Duncan and Parker to start the 4th. Lebron does not sit. Guess what, San Antonio's offense becomes "lets let Ginobli mess up some," Lebron takes advantage of San Antonio not having a rim protector, and suddenly the lead is only 4.
Look, I know Duncan had already played 30 minutes and was clearly tiring, and I know Parker has been struggling with a hamstring issue. But this is Game 6 of the NBA Finals. You put this game away now, and you can rest for the entire summer! Or retire and rest for the rest of your life! Look if the Spurs win tomorrow, it will have plenty to do with Popovich. But I think he over-coached in game six by leaving Duncan out too long, and then pulling him out at the end. I guarantee he gets one of those two defensive boards if he's in the game.
>>>> If I'm a Heat fan, I'm conflicted. With 3:40 to go, the Heat had made a run and were about to take control of the game. Spoelstra put Wade back in. Jeff van Gundy noted this was a tough decisions given how well the Heat were doing. The truth is - in a half-court setting, small ball works the best without Wade. They can space and spread the floor better, and nobody wants to help off of a shooter, allowing Lebron to go 1-on-1. But with Wade, suddenly Danny Green can crash and force Lebron to turn the ball over, which happened twice once Wade came in.
Obviously you're not benching Wade. But that's a tough call for Spoelstra to make. It probably paid off (Wade was in the mix mucking things up on those offensive rebounds), but don't be surprised if Wade stays on the bench if the Heat need to start a run in Game 7.
----------
I predicted the Spurs would win in 6 before the series started. Obviously, thanks to a monster quarter from Lebron, a great couple of plays from Bosh, and a killer three from Ray Allen, that prediction was wrong. But I came pretty close.
Do I think the Spurs can still pull it off? They'll be tired. They'll need Duncan to score more than 5 in the second half. But, against the odds, I'm going to believe Tony Parker will have a better day. I'm going to believe Ginobli will. I'm going to believe Danny Green gets two open looks instead of just 1. I'm going to believe Leonard is 22 and won't get tired. I'm going to believe Gary Neal hits a three (just one). I'm going to believe Tim Duncan knows he can reach deep in the tank, and I'm going to believe in Tim Duncan's tank. And I'm going to believe Pop will do what's best, because he always does whether we know it or not.
And I'm going to believe they'll make their free throws.
No comments:
Post a Comment