Two Games into the NBA Finals, it's Impossible to Tell Who Has the Advantage. I Say Miami.
By Jason McIntyre
It’s been a bizarre NBA Finals, no? The Spurs and Heat are tied at a game apiece, and the series shifts back to San Antonio for three games on Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday.
After 96 minutes and two games, most people I’ve talked to fall into two camps:
1) San Antonio, despite getting blown out by 19 Sunday, is still the better team. Hey, the Spurs led 62-61 in the third quarter of Game 2 before Miami went on that blistering 33-5 run. Let’s be honest – things just snowballed there, and San Antonio already had one game won, so read nothing into the blowout. The Spurs have contained LeBron (just 35 points in two games), and why does anyone think all the role players like Chalmers/Wade/Bosh/etc will show up on the road for the next three games in Texas?
2) The Spurs got a lucky, freakish shot to win Game 1, and Miami was clearly tired in the 4th quarter. How often are the Spurs going to only have four turnovers? They had 16 in Game 2. Miami made defensive adjustments (especially on Tony Parker) in Game 2, locked down the way they did against Indiana in Game 7, and is in control of this series. If Danny Green isn’t 5-for-5 on three-pointers, the Spurs lose Game 2 by 30, right?
The biggest surprise, by far, has been LeBron James only scoring 35 points through two games. He’s attempted only six free throws and taken eight three-pointers. If you don’t find that odd, he was well over 2:1 in attempted free throws and three-pointers in the postseason prior to the series (136:62).
For the Spurs, Manu Ginobili has been something of a letdown (6-for-17 shooting, four turnovers, four assists, two rebounds), but it hasn’t been a huge deal because Green (shooting) and Kawhi Leonard (rebounding) have picked up the slack.
The script for Game 3 is already written: LeBron, again, will start the game by trying to get others involved. In the last two Game 3’s Miami has played, both on the road, both with the series 1-1, the Heat were overpowering. Chicago tried to turn the game into a street brawl and rattle Miami, but lost. Indiana was just overwhelmed from the jump and the Heat couldn’t miss (70-point 1st half). In Game 3, give me Miami, 101-95.