Before we reached overtime, this was about to be the story of how LeBron James messed up in the clutch, and Tony Parker coming out of nowhere. But James hit one big three to take the Miami Heat out of the grave, and Ray Allen hit a game tying three pointer to send the game into overtime. In it, it came down to playing good defense, and Chris Bosh with two huge clutch blocks on Tony Parker and Danny Green. More
There are a lot of heroes in the performance the San Antonio Spurs are putting on in the NBA Finals, with Danny Green and his three point shooting probably being the most obvious of them, but the key to their wins has always been about the man making the decisions with the ball, which was Tony Parker in the first two games and finally getting Manu Ginobili to join him in the last one. More
Those who doubted Manu Ginobili were wrong, and so were those who thought Tony Parker couldn’t have enough in him to put on a show in the second half, or that Danny Green would stop hitting three pointers at some point. Tim Duncan and Kawhi Leonard completed the offensive juggernaut of a game the San Antonio Spurs had, now only one win away from winning the 2013 NBA Finals. More
In the two games the San Antonio Spurs won in the 2013 NBA Finals so far, it seems that either a slightly lucky break (game 1) or a shooting spree (game 3) that won’t happen again were the main reason for the win, while in their losses, it was simply the case of being outplayed by a better team, while Tony Parker collapsed both times in the second half, and the man who should be backing him up, Manu Ginobili, was nowhere to be found. More
What will it take for the San Antonio Spurs to win their fifth NBA finals? Their defense, which so far did a good job in keeping LeBron James out of the paint on three of four occasions, and playing quick and smart offense that slices through all the traps and double teams, but that can’t happen with Tony Parker at less than 100% or Manu Ginobili playing like he can’t wait to retire. More
Manu Ginobili had one of his worse games ever, and Tony Parker forgot to show up to the second half. Danny Green and Gary Neal stopped making three pointers at an insane rate, while Tim Duncan was left alone with his finger in the dam as the San Antonio Spurs lost game 4 by 16 points, and once again find themselves at an even (2-2) series, with the momentum going the other way. More
At their best moments in the previous game, the San Antonio Spurs had Gary Neal and Danny Green doing most of the damage, not the more traditional suspects of Manu Ginobili, Tim Duncan and Tony Parker. And although trusting your role players to carry the offense certainly brought in more confidence to the team, if Parker is in fact limited or worse by an injury heading into game 4, that smells like trouble for the Spurs. More
Assuming the San Antonio Spurs needed a big game from their original big three, consisting of Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili and Tim Duncan, to win game 3 of the NBA Finals, was reading the signs wrong. Gregg Popovich did enjoy a triplet performing the way stars should, but it was the trio of Gary Neal, Danny Green and Kawhi Leonard that gave them the lead in the series once again. More
Having Danny Green and Kawhi Leonard hit three pointers (which only one of them has been doing so far) is big for the San Antonio Spurs. Tiago Splitter being dominant on both ends of the floor is crucial, but that’s not what the team is about, and unless Tony Parker, Tim Duncan and to a lesser degree, Manu Ginobili, are able to bounce back from their game 3 performance, the NBA finals will end in a disappointing manner. More
The losing teams usually need to make adjustments, but the San Antonio Spurs weren’t that good in the NBA finals opener to feel too confident going into game 2, which resulted in a slightly embarrassing collapse late in the game, as Tony Parker lost his magic-lucky touch for once, while Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili had one of these days when they simply look old. More