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NBA Finals – Spurs vs Heat Game 3 Predictions
There’s some cliché about game 3 being the one that usually decides the series, but it seems a lot of the conclusions in NBA Finals are determined by who is the team that is able to gather momentum while making adjustments on the fly quicker than their opponents, which leads to the very important question: Which team, the Miami Heat, or the San Antonio Spurs, have more reasons to feel confident heading in the third game?
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Miami Heat – LeBron James Comfortable With Letting Others Score
Through the first two games of the NBA finals, LeBron James has averaged 17.5 points, 13 rebounds and 8.5 assists, in two games that weren’t that different on the stat sheet for him individually, but looked completely different on the floor and in the end result, giving the Miami Heat quite a lot of confidence heading towards three straight road games.
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San Antonio Spurs – Role Players Aren’t Going to Win the NBA Finals
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.
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NBA Finals – Spurs vs Heat Game 2 Predictions
No team that has lost its first two games at home in the NBA finals went on to win the NBA title. That’s why the Miami Heat are in a must-win situation heading into game 2, while the San Antonio Spurs are feeling confident without trying to show it too much, unlike other teams that lost to the Heat along the way.
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San Antonio Spurs – Tim Duncan & Kawhi Leonard Need to Keep Stopping LeBron James
Keeping LeBron James on 18 points while shooting 43.8% from the field is as close to stopping him as you can get, and in order to keep him “down” at that level once more, it’s up to Tim Duncan and Kawhi Leonard to continue to play at the same defensive level they showed in game 1 of the NBA finals.
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Miami Heat – LeBron James and the Fine Fabric of the Big Three
In order to win their first NBA title together, Dwyane Wade had to sacrifice his own standing with the team, clearing the way for LeBron James to become the number one go to guy on the floor, all the time. Chris Bosh? From a superstar power forward he became a role player with certain duties on defense and offense, nothing more.
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San Antonio Spurs – Tony Parker Getting Luck Isn’t How to Win Championships
The default option is praising the San Antonio Spurs; their head coach Gregg Popovich, along with Tony Parker and Tim Duncan, for their intelligence, and how they’re so much different from the rest of the NBA. But in game 1 of the 2013 NBA finals they didn’t win because they played brilliant basketball, they won because Tony Parker got a little bit lucky.
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Miami Heat – LeBron James Needs Erik Spoelstra to Do His Job
The Miami Heat didn’t play a good game of basketball in Game 1 of the NBA finals, but it’s not the right thing to do and pin it all on LeBron James and usual clutch cliches. Erik Spoelstra, not for the first time in this playoffs, struggled making adjustments inside a game and giving the right kind of instructions to his MVP, Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade in order to somehow come out with the win.
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Miami Heat – LeBron James Can’t Leave the Game up to Chris Bosh
It’s not that LeBron James needs to be the one to take the final shot every time for the Miami Heat; Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade are on this team for a reason. But if Tim Duncan feels very comfortable with letting Bosh shooting three pointers, the defending champions needed to get a little more creative in finding a way for James to be more efficient offensively for the rest of the NBA finals.
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San Antonio Spurs – Tony Parker is the Hero Thanks to Tim Duncan & Kawhi Leonard
The San Antonio Spurs couldn’t prevent LeBron James from reaching a triple double, but with the kind of defense Tim Duncan and Kawhi Leonard used on him for most of the game and especially the fourth quarter, they forced the ball out of his hands, leaving it up to Tony Parker to give the Spurs a dramatic win in game 1 of the NBA Finals.