by Kent Sterling
One of these guys plays basketball like a champion.
There are series where a game one road win is fool’s gold, and then there are those that foretell things to come. The last two champions lost game one in the Finals, righted the ship, one won the Larry O’Brien Trophy. Last night was not like the last two game ones.
The San Antonio Spurs sliced and diced the Miami Heat defense, executing so well that the 20+ turnovers by the Indiana Pacers in game seven three nights earlier were trimmed to four.
Kawhi Leonard was also a huge factor in limiting LeBron James effectiveness and efficiency. With Leonard matched up on James, he shot 2-8 from an average distance of 16 feet. When defended by someone else, James made 5-8 from an average of nine feet.
Anyone who watched “Sports Science” on ESPN will remember that despite being only 6’7″, Leonard’s wing span is over 7’4″, and that he can cover 240 cubic feet of space with his mammoth hands without leaning or moving his feet. Leonard’s hand is 11 1/2 inches from the tip of his thumb to the tip of his pinky.
What’s that mean? It means he is genetically predisposed toward being an amazing defensive player. If you have average sized hands, you would need to add pinky to your other pinky to have hands that damn big. It also means that LeBron James is not going to be able to be counted upon for 30+ points every night.
With Chris Bosh relegated to the role of a 6’11” wing, and Dwyane Wade playing on one leg, the Heat are in big trouble.
Long layoffs don’t usually help a team opening on the road, so it’s likely the Spurs weren’t at their best last night either, and that’s trouble for the Heat.
The Spurs averaged 25.1 assists per game during the regular season, and 23.1 for the postseason. Last night, they cashed only 16 and shot 48.1% in the regular season and 46.5% in the postseason. They shot a slightly lower 41.7% last night.
All that spells trouble, as does the lack of production for the Heat in the fourth quarter. James scored six points on 2-4 shooting, and two free throws. Ray Allen had four free throws. Bosh made a 19-footer (a shock only in that he made it), and Chris Anderson knocked down his only two shots. Wade chipped in two misses.
Only six players in NBA history have ever scored at least 18 points, notched 18 boards, and dished 10 assists in a Finals game. LeBron is the only player to do it twice, and he’s also the only guy to lose while doing it – and he lost both times.
The Spurs have won game one in each of their trips to the NBA Finals, and they have won the series each time.
The Spurs are now 13-2 in the playoffs, while the Heat are 3-4 in their last seven.
Gregg Popovich is 20-3 in seven-game series when winning the first game.
But it’s not the wacky statistics that will seal the Heat’s doom – it’s the excellent brand of basketball that Popovich teaches and the Spurs play. They do it the Indiana way with crisp ball movement, fundamentally sound defense, and their ability to hit open shots.
If the Pacers couldn’t beat the Heat, it will be fun to watch them be vanquished by a team that plays basketball the right way.