Last night there was an excellent basketball game between the Spurs and the Heat. Tim Duncan had an incredible first half, then disappeared in the second. Lebron had a terrible (for him) first three quarters, then dominated in the fourth the way only he can. The Heat won in overtime, and pushed the series to a game seven.
My enduring images of the game though will be a headband-less LeBron, a shoe-less Mike Miller, and an overreaction on social media. After all, San Antonio led by three with 20ish seconds remaining, there was no possible way a team with the best shooter ever would be able to tie it up, right? Especially against a team that has had trouble on the offensive glass in every game this season? (Hate to say I told you so but...)
I can't have been the only one to notice that the story on Twitter was not about the game, but about the peripherals. James's headband. Miller's shoe. To be clear, this was not only friends, but also media personalities stressing these non-stories. Maybe this is just me, but I expect my sports to, well, still be about sports sometimes. The beauty of social media is that it allows fans, analysts and everyone in between, whether professional or amateur, to interact in real time. Twitter can give a viewer something new to look at, a new focus or a different perspective that can change or at least muddle a complex impression of an event. In this case though, it can also bring attention to the fact that LeBron looks really old (he is already 28 after all) without a headband, and that San Antonio had this game locked up to the point where people could head home for the night.
Maybe I'm asking for too much seriousness from a game. But I'd bet that there's a middle ground where amusing tidbits can be mentioned as side notes to credible commentary.
Following that rant, here's what I noticed about the Spurs:
1) Tim Duncan was overpowering in the first half when the Spurs made a concerted effort to get him the ball, then couldn't do much in the second half when the Heat realized that they should probably double team the surefire hall of famer who almost had a 30/10 in the first half.
2) The Spurs forgot that they won game five behind an absurdly fast paced offense that was entirely predicated on preventing the Heat's halfcourt defense from locking them down. In the fourth quarter and overtime, San Antonio used at least 20 seconds off the shot clock on over ten of their possessions, indicating a much slower pace. This allowed James to stick on Tony Parker like glue and forced bad shots late in the clock.
3) After only giving up 65 points through three quarters, the Spurs gave up a whopping 30 in the fourth quarter alone. Miami shot 64.7% from the floor that period, San Antonio shot 35%. For everyone saying how well tuned a machine the Spurs were on offense, they looked like they were on life support in the fourth quarter and just couldn't catch their breath.
Here's what I noticed about Miami:
1) If the Heat lose in game seven, a valiant effort by Chris Bosh throughout this entire series will have gone to waste. He's been a better rebounder this series than in the entire postseason leading up to this series, and made several key defensive stops down the stretch. When James and the supporting cast are making jumpers from the outside, Chris Bosh should be grabbing offensive boards and dishing out to shooters. It's what kept Miami in the game in the first place as he had the assist on the late Ray Allen 3-pointer that tied the game. Even if they win game seven, he's still not going to get any credit, but at least he'll get a ring out of it.
2) If it wasn't clear before, Miami has an on/off switch. If someone can give me a different explanation for the disparity between their play in the first three periods and the last two, then I'd gladly welcome it. If the Heat are playing defense the way they were for the fourth quarter (and not the first three) then no one is beating them.
3) Even with the great fourth quarter, Miami got really lucky that both Manu Ginobili and Kawhi Leonard only made 1/2 free throws late. San Antonio lost because of those free throws. An extra points here or there, and Allen doesn't tie it, and LeBron doesn't bring them to within three in the first place.
4) Credit where credit is due. LeBron James has received a lot of scrutiny for his career based on his fourth quarter performances. Last night he submitted an exceptional performance, not all of which shows up on the box score. If he isn't guarding Tony Parker, the slash and kick game is still an option, Miami's defense gets discombobulated, and Danny Green is open for maybe just one more dagger.
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