Let's get right down to business:
There were times
against Indiana where Miami’s offense looked stagnant and hesitant to make
plays. The Pacers did a fantastic job of
pushing the Heat to the brink, but when Miami had no choice but to execute down
the stretch, they did so. Even a highly
powerful Indiana defense could not stop the Heat when the momentum was in
Miami’s favor. What happens in the first
half of a game can be a significant indicator of the result, but Miami has
shown their ability to completely flip the game around in the second half.
Miami doesn’t
just suddenly click on offense because of their offensive talent alone. It all starts with their terrific effort on
defense. Miami’s athletes do a great job
of cutting off passing lanes and forcing their opponent to settle for
off-balance, contested jumpers. Their
tremendous effort on defense allows them to take advantage of the game when
they get the ball back. Almost any
turnover committed by their opponent results in a quick two or three points at
the other end.
For the Spurs,
that means making sure they protect the ball at all times. In the regular season, Miami forced the most
turnovers per possession and they did so at a rate of 16.8 percent. That strength has carried over into the
playoffs and it was an absolute killer for an Indiana team that had a great
opportunity to win that series. San
Antonio had the second best assist to turnover ratio in the regular
season. When not taking the assist
statistic into account, they do a fairly good job of taking care of the ball. However, taking care of the ball against
Miami is much more difficult because of their top-notch athletes and tendency
to go for steals.
On the other
hand, San Antonio is a team that is known for weathering the storm. Miami might make a few huge exclamation
points, but Tony Parker will often come back down the court and catch the
defense off guard. We may see the tempo
of the game change as the series goes on as a possible result of Miami wearing
down San Antonio. In order for that to
happen though, Miami needs to prove early that they have a strategy to outlast
the competitive Spurs.
It’s no secret;
if you don’t get enough stops on defense, you are going to lose games. If there is absolutely no answer to an
overpowering offense, games will get out of hand and that will take a dramatic
toll on the outcome of the series.
In the
semifinals, both Miami and San Antonio were the superior offensive teams. Indiana had the fight and the heart to keep
up with Miami but they lacked the offensive execution. Memphis couldn’t have looked better in the
first two rounds but they ran into a trap when they met the Spurs, as the
Grizzlies found very little success knocking down outside shots. Because both teams have such great offensive
stability, it’s hard to assume that one team will regularly give the other team
trouble scoring.
However, we can
do our best of assessing this situation by taking what we do know. Indiana was the best in the league at
stopping teams from scoring in the paint but their constant turnovers offset
that. Duncan and the Spurs did a
fantastic job of shutting down Memphis’ inside scoring after the Grizzlies
dominated teams in the paint in the first two rounds. On top of that, Gregg Popovich’s highly
structured and well-organized offense will not present Miami as many
opportunities to get easy buckets. The
Spurs’ chances in this series may lie on whether they will be able to make
these games strictly half court.
Tony Parker has
brought his best in the playoffs and no team has been able to limit his impact
on the game. Parker may see a variation
of defenders being thrown at him throughout the game. He could have Mario Chalmers and Norris Cole
often chasing him around the court, he could have D-Wade playing lockdown
defense on him, and he could have a super athletic defensive anchor in LeBron
James hounding him at the end of games.
Other perimeter players such as Danny Green, Manu Ginobili, and even
Cory Joseph are going to have to cut Parker some slack.
It doesn’t
really matter which individual player is going to guard LeBron James because
his game has gotten to the point where it is impossible for one man to take any
sort of power away from him. You can
only stay in front of him for as long as you can, and even if you put him in a
very tough position to score, he could easily make a play for another
teammate. No matter how inconsistent
Dwyane Wade has been, we know he has a wicked ability to finish, and being set
up by LeBron James makes it even easier for him.
It is a given
that LeBron will continue to create plenty of space for three point shooters
such as Ray Allen and Mario Chalmers.
It’s just a matter of the shooters being able to capitalize, which they
did very well against the Pacers.
San Antonio has
shot considerably well in the playoffs.
Danny Green is one of the best percentage long-range shooters in the
game, and they have other notable guys who can shoot from the perimeter like
Gary Neal and Manu Ginobili. Tim Duncan
and Tony Parker are the players most responsible for opening up the court for
three point opportunities.
However, when
sizing up the shooters from both teams, the amount of shooters Miami has, combined with LeBron’s unbelievable ability to set up other teammates may give
Miami the edge when it comes to outside shooting. Ray Allen needs to play the way he did in
Game 7 and knock down any open three that comes his way. The sooner Miami starts hitting outside
shots, the more momentum and encouragement it’ll give them to continue doing so
throughout the series.
One last factor
of this series that I’d like to talk about is rebounding. Minus Game 7, Indiana demolished Miami on the
boards in the Conference Finals.
However, being the better rebounding team always seems to be a top
priority for Popovich and the Spurs. I’m
not sure that having a rebounding advantage will be the X-factor in this
series, but at the very least, it will keep the series close and
competitive. Indiana had no choice but
to control the glass in order to knock off the Heat. That being said, San Antonio will have to
hold a similar type of advantage that the Pacers had on the rebounds.
Prediction: LeBron James gives Miami too many
advantages and even the dynamic duo of Tony Parker and Tim Duncan may not be
able to do much about that. LeBron James
wins his second straight championship ring as the Miami Heat take down the San
Antonio Spurs.
Heat in 6
