Jun 6, 2013
Well, it happened, Miami made it into the Finals again and does it shock anybody? Not really. What is surprising is that it’s not the Lakers, it’s not the Thunder, but it’s the Spurs who are going to have the gift of playing a brutally talented team. San Antonio does have the size and pieces to take out Miami but so did Indiana and they took the Heat to a Game Seven, but what the Spurs have over the Pacers is their veteran knowledge. They’ve been to the promise land a couple of times and every Finals appearance they were in, they won (98-99, 02-03, 04-05, 06-07). So what can Miami do to try and break the streak? Well, let’s look more in-depth.
Miami Heat vs. San Antonio Spurs
The Summary: The Miami Heat and the San Antonio Spurs are two great teams. That’s obviously why they’re in the Finals. But what’s the outcome, there’s no definite answer I think anyone can fully back-up 100% just because the Spurs have overcome so much talk about old-age and not being able to take on young legs. However, they haven’t taken on the legs of the Big 3, who can devour any team when all play at a high level and spread the floor. The Heat met the Spurs twice in the regular season and took them out even in one without Dwyane Wade and LeBron. I feel like if I keep going on about the Heat I’ll just start praising them to the point where San Antonio gets no love and when the actual game starts playing, I’ll look like I haven’t watched any of their play-off performances. What I’m saying is, nobody should under-estimate a team where their veteran point-guard, Tony Parker is dropping almost 40 points on a team, that’s just uncanny. Oh, and we can’t forget Tim Duncan, a guy who can dominate boards and shoot floaters (Yeah only once and he was shocked about it but how many times do you see that?) Again, I could keep going on, I could praise both of these teams endlessly because of the long list of their good qualities. But, I want to look into the problems of both the teams as well.
Team’s Problems: Miami has been a team that was undersized and they are here again, not like the margin they were at against Indiana but it’s still not hard to see the size differential there’ll be. In the two games Miami face San Antonio in they were out-rebounded 94-70. (Game 1 – 45-37, Game 2 – 49-33) but what Miami did is outscore with efficient shots only 13 threes were taken and 5 were made, whereas San Antonio shot 30 threes and only 10 paid off. With those missed shots, 13 were rebounded by Miami. That’s not that bad, getting seven offensive rebounds where almost every time; it resulted in an easy lay-up shot. That’s where we go back to Miami’s small size, they’re getting beat on the glass and that could mean the Spurs’ best offense is just letting their Bigs rebound and make easy shots near the basket. So what we’ve recorded for both teams is that, Miami is small and bad at rebounding (What’s new) and San Antonio is prone to make inefficient shots at times (But it’s been toned down a bunch in the post-season). We also need to factor in the inconsistent play of Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade who gave it their all in Game 7. If they don’t play at a high level they’re done. LeBron can only take a team so far and when you have two other All-Stars on the team, there should be no excuses to it.
The main guy Miami needs to play well is Chris Bosh. Each game Bosh has put up good numbers, spread the floor on offense and has been a force on the defensive boards. He’s opened the lane for drives with his three-ball and if his outside shots stop hitting then how will Dwyane or ‘Bron get over an active Tiago Splitter and Tim Duncan? Well that’s the issue, you can’t and you’ll be forced to take jump-shots. That’s not a big problem for Miami is it, though? Miami has been on fire against the Spurs with their shooting almost 50% from the field when you’ve combined both games.
What does San Antonio need to do? Play defense that’s all they can do. Now, I want to talk about something I’ve heard before I go into my prediction and it’s not something I agree with.. It was about LeBron being able to guard at any position when he’s needed. What they mean is that he’ll guard Tony Parker, Manu or Timmy if they get red hot from the field and shut them down just like the 2011 playoffs where Rose couldn’t get any shots off. I don’t believe anything that they said and how do you expect LeBron to guard Tim Duncan, yes he’s athletic but I’m pretty sure Duncan will pick him apart and pick and rolls will easily make it more difficult for ‘Bron to become an efficient 6’8 defender on a 6-11 legendary power-forward. Maybe he’ll take out Parker just because of the speed and size but Duncan? Splitter? No, that’s not possible for me to see and if he proves me wrong then go ahead but really, I’d feel terrible for Tim if he couldn’t get a shot because LeBron was guarding him.
The Prediction: Miami in 7. Yea, it’s not a popular opinion for Miami haters but I know they’ll pull through, but this will be a close series and will probably be the hardest to actually figure out the victor. I think Miami would win just because of the offense, I think Bosh plays excellent against San Antonio and he’ll be a huge factor within the series, as for Dwyane Wade. I feel like he’ll need to have a few big (Medium sized) nights just to keep the series within reach and I know he’ll do it. San Antonio even with their old big three that look so young, I just feel like they can’t do it again. If they do, then they’re five for five when in the Finals. I’d love to watch this series unfold and it’s going to fluctuate so the first game isn’t going to decide anything, I guarantee that.
