Lakers 2014 NBA Draft Picks (Comment and Grade)

Round 2, Pick 46 (Trade From Washington): Jordan Clarkson, PG, Missouri

Comment: So this is originally a draft pick from the Washington Wizards before he was dealt to the Lakers. A decent pickup in the 2nd round via trade. From the highlights I'm seeing, he has decent athleticism, can penetrate, shoot, unselfish with the ball, and can clamp down the defense very well. The Lakers needed to get younger at the point guard position since Steve Nash is 40, Farmar and Marshall are unknowns if they're going to stay. I say Clarkson is gonna be another 2nd round project for the Lakers to try and develop into a decent player in the NBA. Also, not to mention, he is part Filipino, nice to have some Pinoy pride representing my team. Overall, nice value pick by the Wizards and props to Mitch for negotiating a trade during draft day because point guard is one of the Lakers' many needs. Clarkson is not a solution, but he adds depth.

Highlights:

Grade: B+

Round 1, Pick 7: Julius Randle, PF, Kentucky

Comment: The Lakers drafted the best player available on their board. I've seen some tape on Randle and he brings hustle and energy and he's physical when he drives to the hoop. He was a double-double machine in his time under Coach John Calipari in Kentucky. I think it's a good pick and a great fall back plan since Embiid, Exum, and Smart were already taken (I had those 3 as potential mock draft picks for the Lakers personally). With the disarray the Laker roster is in now, I wouldn't be surprised if Randle's the starting PF right away, depends on who the Lakers' coach would be and how he would utilize him in the rotation. Not a bad pick, I think he's gonna contribute decent double-double stat lines in his rookie year. He's still young (he was a part of an outstanding underdog Kentucky team consisting of freshmen this year), so he's got a lot of time to improve his game to the NBA level, especially playing with Kobe and I think he'll learn a lot from him.

Highlights:

Grade: B+

Spurs Thrash Heat Again to Clinch NBA Championship

Alright welcome in to the full recap of game 5 of the 2014 NBA Finals where the San Antonio Spurs capture their 5th NBA title, routing the Miami Heat 87-104 to dethrone the now former-2x defending champs in 5 games.

Many thought this would be a great series again, full 7 game series, every game would go down to the wire, but man did the Spurs make sure they don't let a title slip away again. The Spurs dominated the Heat in every way possible all 4 games the Spurs won ended up being won in a rout and the Heat were able to come away with 1 victory in San Antonio with by a whopping 2 points. I thought this series would go 7 and San Antonio pulling out a nail biter, but they beat the Heat with ease these 3 games through team work, ball movement, and defense.

Miami Heat

The Positives

LeBron James, 31 points, 10 rebounds, 10-21 shooting. I am not going to bag on LeBron just because he lost his 3rd finals because out of the whole Miami Heat team, he has been the constant this finals. This finals for LeBron definitely remind us about his days in Cleveland where he was the only spark plug and trying to create offense for his team (not to mention they had an atrocious head coach in Mike Brown). Other than that, bottom line is LeBron came to play in these finals, while the rest of the Heat didn't.

The Negatives

The other two out of the Big 3. Dwyane Wade, 11 points, 4-12 shooting, Chris Bosh, 13 points, 7 rebounds, 6-14 shooting. Let's talk about D-Wade here for a bit. He's obviously showing some decline. Wade doesn't have the same explosiveness, the same jump in his legs as he once had. By the time the offseason starts, Miami's going to critically decide what to do with him, either make him stay and finish career in South Beach or release him, pave some way for the future. For Chris Bosh, if the Heat are considering keeping him, they need to give him cheap money because he's better off as a stretch 4. He couldn't hang with the Spurs inside the paint and that's been the Heat's biggest problem since the Big 3 era is the lack of a true rim protector.

The rest of the Miami Heat team. Yeah true Michael Beasley and Mario Chalmers gave some lift, although it was in garbage time. Let's face it, aside from the Big 3, the role players for the Heat were downright atrocious. Ray Allen is getting up there with age, Birdman is getting up there with age, they didn't play Shane Battier or Udonis Haslem that much until it was too little too late. I said in my preview, the loss of Mike Miller will hurt them because nobody provided the hustle, shooting, and scoring he had and it greatly showed here in these finals because the players couldn't carry the burden of being the X-factor of the Heat. 

San Antonio Spurs

The Positives

Kawhi Leonard, 22 points, 10 rebounds, 7-10 shooting. The 2014 Finals MVP. He's come a long way, having missed a critical free throw last year that could've given San Antonio the championship, slow start the first two games this year, but he has responded at the right time, putting up stellar numbers the last 3 games for the Spurs. Since Pop gave him a pep talk to be aggressive, Kawhi has averaged 23.7 points per game these last 3 games. He proved it's not about how you start, but how you finished, and he definitely finished strong. Leonard will get better from here, only 22 and has a huge amount of upside.

Ginobili and Mills. Manu Ginobili 19 points, 6-11 shooting, Patty Mills, 17 points, 6-10 shooting. Early on the Spurs weren't getting anything from their starters, but once they inserted their bench, it gave the team new life. Ginobili played a much better game this year, barely turned the ball over while being aggressive, he has a true competitive heart, whenever adversity falls on him, he'll rise to the challenge and Manu did just that. Patty Mills, once he's hot, he's hot and when he gets hot, the momentum skyrockets for the Spurs. He filled in the void Gary Neal left behind very well and he'll get better from here. Mills is the definition of heart and team player whether he's on the floor or on the bench. 

Tony Parker, 16 points, 7-18 shooting. What a slow start for Parker, missing his first 7 shots, but like Leonard's performance in these finals, Parker may have started slow, but he finished strong, hitting a couple key jump shots and floaters late in the 4th quarter. That goes to show the depth of the Spurs, Parker was missing shots, but the Spurs were up big and when he got it going, all was pretty much lost for the Heat.

The Negatives

Danny Green, 0 points, 0-5 shooting. I guess you can say the only Spur who under performed was Danny Green. He had an unbelievable finals performance last year. This year, he was nowhere to be found. Lucky enough the Spurs are that deep. I think the Heat's defense really gameplanned against him this year, but they slouch on the other players that could shoot.

Conclusion

For the Spurs, they did it. They saved the dying beauty of team basketball in a professional level. As a Laker fan, I respect their philosophy of team first over individuality and they were always a tough team to go up against in the playoffs whether in the first round, second round, or conference final. With Tim Duncan winning his 5th ring, the debate is open whether or not him or Kobe dominated the 2000s. Personally for me, they deserve equal honors of being dominant players of the 2000 era and no doubt they're 1st ballot Hall of Famers and top 10 players all-time. For the Heat, a lot of questions to be asked in the offseason with the most important question of all "is the Big 3 era over?" Now where does LeBron go now that he's had success with Miami? Credit to the Heat though, 4 finals trips, really a tough task to make the finals and win it all multiple times. Other than that, this concludes my coverage of the 2014 NBA Finals and the 2013-14 regular season. It was a frustrating start, but I finished strong and that's all that matters. Aside from the NBA draft, Lakers' offseason activity, and the Kobe-Shaq article, I am not going to post that much until late August, but I will be collaborating with my friend, Stillmattic again on his Bleach blog http://bleachzealot.blogspot.com/. Until then, I'll see you guys later, stay classy.


Congrats San Antonio Spurs 2014 NBA Champions!

2014 NBA FINALS: Miami Heat @ San Antonio Spurs Game 5 Q-by-Q Reaction

Q4:

Score: MIA 87 SA 104

Congrats to both teams for making it this far in the finals this season, but in the end there can only be one. The Miami Heat's quest for a 3-peat has ended, but the Spurs wanted it more, they wanted to prove that last year they were the better team and Tim Duncan, Gregg Popovich cement their legacy even more among the all-time great players and coaches. Stay tuned for the full recap.

Q3:

Score: MIA 58 SA 77

Explosive, explosive quarter from San Antonio. A block by Splitter on Wade started everything and especially Patty Mills getting hot at the right place at the right time. Now the Spurs are one quarter away from capturing that elusive 5th title, unless the Heat have something else to say to try and go on an improbable run to prolong the finals.

Q2:

Score: MIA 40 SA 47

GINOBILI! The Spurs, in the midst of an awful start the 1st quarter stayed calm and poised and their effort showed here lead by Kawhi Leonard and Manu Ginobili in the 2nd quarter capturing a 7 point lead. Onto the halftime report.

Q1:

Score: MIA 29 SA 22

Slow start for the Spurs, but fast start for the Heat. Give the ball to LeBron and get out of his way and the results? LeBron already has 17 points in the quarter. Rest of the Heat players have to step up if they want to stay away from elimination. The Spurs offense, yikes, horrendous start for the starters, but once Pop put in the bench, they start generating some to go on a run, but currently Miami has the lead because of LeBron's hot start.

Game 5 Halftime Post

Score: MIA 40 SA 47

Alright welcome in to the halftime post of game 5 of the 2014 NBA Finals where the Spurs come back from a horrendous 1st quarter that saw the Heat capture a lead for the first time in the finals at the end of a quarter and now the Spurs answer back and hold onto a 7 point lead at the half.

The Positives

LeBron James, 20 points, 8 rebounds, 6-12 shooting. He's setting the tone alright, the King is setting the tone and he's the only Heat player in double-figures in the half. James is doing his part, he has been the most consistent in the finals for Miami, the only problem is, he's not finding help the last few games and that's why the Heat saw their fast start evaporated.

Kawhi Leonard 15 points, 6 rebounds, 5-7 shooting. If the Spurs win today, hands down Leonard deserves to be Finals MVP. It's really a tough decision on the Finals MVP because this Spurs team plays so well that the whole team needs one. But individual-wise, Leonard deserves it putting up great games the last 2 games and now he's helped the Spurs come back from a mini slump this game.

Manu Ginobili, 14 points, 5-7 shooting. GINOBILI! Let me shout it again GINOBILI! He's shown some vintage strides this game with a sweet coast-to-coast layup and a dunk. 

The Negatives

Tony Parker, 0 point, 0-7 shooting. Yikes Tony Parker. One could wonder how much the Spurs lead would stretch if Parker hit any of those shots. The Heat made the adjustments putting big bodies on him on defense, but from what I'm seeing, Parker is missing shots that he's usually making in these finals.

Heat role players. Like I said before, LeBron's doing all the work, the rest of the Heat have to step up. So far, no one has stepped up outside of LeBron. Ray Allen in the lineup, not doing anything, Lewis nothing, Wade, though 8 points, nothing, Bosh, nothing. They're riding the fact that LeBron will do the work to set the tone and get the team going, but they're not performing better even with LeBron's hot start this game. Someone has to step up.

Bottom Line

The Spurs need a better start at the beginning of the 2nd half if they want to end this. Do what they do best, suffocating defense and great ball movement and Kawhi's hot, give him the ball. For the Heat, who's going to be the X-factor outside LeBron to push the series back to Miami?


KEY: TEXT = San Antonio; TEXT = Miami

Spurs Breeze By Heat in Miami Again to Take Commanding 3-1 Lead

Alright welcome in to the full recap for game 4 of the 2014 NBA Finals where the San Antonio Spurs deliver a sequel to their stunning game 3 performance in game 4 against a demoralized Miami Heat team that have not found their championship swagger not once, but twice on their home floor in the big stage.

Well first off, good to be back and healthy and getting this game 4 coverage on the blog without any setbacks. I wasn't feeling well the last two days hence why I didn't post game 3 (I still watched the game in bed though), but it is what it is. So the last few games, Miami bounced back in game 2 and with the series shifting to Miami, people must be thinking "uh-oh San Antonio's in trouble" because of how Miami has been perfect at home. But since, San Antonio took it to the champs in their home floor, twice now. That is shocking, but credit to the Spurs, they were not going to be intimidated and they were going to do what they do best and that's play Spurs basketball.

San Antonio Spurs

The Positives

Kawhi Leonard, 20 points, 14 rebounds, 3 steals, 3 blocks. Kawhi Leonard has bounced back in a big way these last 2 games. After putting up whopping 9 points in the first two games, Coach Pop gave him a pep talk he needed and he told him to be more aggressive. Leonard took Pop's words to heart, putting up 29 points in game 3 and putting up a double-double this game. His activity has been relentless on both sides of the ball since the series shifted to Miami, now he has to put up the same performance at home as the series shifts back to San Antonio.

Tony Parker, 19 points, 8-15 shooting. Tony Parker was looking to be in attack mode all game long. It kinda surprised me that the Heat didn't go big on him early to disrupt his game, but as I said, he exploited that and ran around circles around the Heat didn't matter if it was Norris Cole or Mario Chalmers defending, Parker was hurting them pretty bad in this game and that hurt the defensive game plan adjustment of the Heat in this game.

Boris Diaw, 8 points, 9 rebounds, 9 assists. He's been spectacular facilitating the ball for San Antonio the whole playoffs. Pop pushed the right button inserting in the starting lineup in game 3, then here in game 4 and the results should be pleasing for the Spurs' fans.

Patty Mills, 14 points, 5-8 shooting. If there's anybody that I like on this Spurs squad it's the Australian native Patty Mills. Regardless if he's on the bench or on the floor, he lifts the spirit of that Spurs team up either way and he shot lights out from the bench. His 3 pointers this game were back breaking when Miami looked like they were making a run.

The Negatives

None. Aside from the turnovers, I don't see any negatives at all from this Spurs team this game. The full 13 man rotation for the team scored at least some points and San Antonio never let up, which is really impressive and they've done that all season while at the same time respecting their opponents regardless if they're the best team or the worst team.

Miami Heat

The Positives

LeBron James, 28 points, 8 rebounds, 10-17 shooting. The lone bright spot for the Heat this game is none other than the 2x Finals MVP himself. Looked like he was playing with 2007 Cavaliers squad all over again, the way he carried the team this game. Aside from Bosh and Wade, LeBron put up fantastic double-digit point totals, while the rest of the team didn't even step up. The same guys that helped him power this team to 4 straight finals took an off night.

The Negatives

Dwyane Wade, 10 points, 3-13 shooting. Just a bizarre game for Wade overall. He was missing free throws, missing shots that the old D-Wade would've made. It was a shocker to see him struggle like that especially in a critical game where your team could be facing a 3-1 hole if you don't respond back. He didn't look right this game.

Team effort on both sides of the ball. The team effort for the Heat was just awful. Looking at this game, they didn't look aggressive. We grow accustomed to this Heat team being aggressive, playing suffocating defense, trying to beat you by playing lights out offensively, but credit to the Spurs, they have dominated the Heat in the last two games, especially this game on both the offensive end and the defensive end. If you're a Heat fan, where does Miami go from here? How do they get back to playing with that aggressive mentality that every game is like a game 7?

Conclusion

Overall, brilliant display of basketball by the Spurs on the road, especially at the point of adversity where they looked like they lost home court advantage blowing game 2, but they responded back in a big way to be on the verge of capturing their fifth NBA title. For the Heat how do they respond after two lackluster games at home? They could've been the ones up 3-1, but they have been deconstructed, demoralized, and dejected so far in this rematch of last year's finals. The Heat are just looking for answers now, while the Spurs, they're not happy yet. You could see in the sideline expressions of Parker and Duncan, especially with a big lead, they're not satisfied yet. Crucial game 5 on Sunday, the Spurs trying to end the depressing memory of last year, while the Heat are not thinking 3-peat, they just want to prolong this series. I'll see you guys for that game.

2014 NBA Finals: San Antonio Spurs @ Miami Heat Game 4 Q-by-Q Reaction

Q4:

Score: SA 107 MIA 86

Two straight routs against the Heat in Miami for the Spurs. They are now one win away from a fifth NBA championship after displaying another exhibition of team basketball. Miami has not lead all game since the opening shot by Bosh and that is shocking to hear. Stay tuned for the full recap.

Q3:

Score: SA 81 MIA 57

The Heat continue to find no answer to the Spurs and the boo birds keep growing in South Beach. Only lone spot is that LeBron's mini sparks provided Miami some lift, but other than that, everything is still going wrong for Miami while everything is still going right for San Antonio heading into the 4th.

Q2:

Score: SA 55 MIA 36

The Spurs have dominated last game and now again this game with two things so far: with ball movement and suffocating defense. The Heat looked lifeless out there till LeBron's 3 pointer in the final seconds, maybe that'll spark some momentum in the 2nd half, but the Spurs taking it to the 2x defending champs on their home floor yet again. Onto the halftime report.

Q1:

Score: SA 26 MIA 17

Spurs, like game 3, close out onto an impressive lead after 1. Since the series shifted to Miami, the Spurs have hit their offensive stride not as much here as credit to the Heat, they adjusted somewhat defensively so that the Spurs don't get off to a fast start, but the Heat missed some opportunities to narrow it down to a very close margin and that's why the Spurs have a 9 point lead.

Game 4 Halftime Post

Score: SA 55 MIA 36

Alright welcome in to the halftime post of game 4 of the 2014 NBA Finals where the Spurs try to  repeat their dominating performance from last game, building a 19 point lead, yet another huge lead over the champs heading into the half.

The Positives

Tony Parker, 12 points, 6-10 shooting. TP is straight up in attack mode this game. Whatever happened to Miami putting bigger bodies on him? Parker's done a great job exploiting that observation and he's taking it to Mario Chalmers. Off topic, but Chalmers has not found the range nor found his game on D and Parker straight up is just taking him to school.

Chris Bosh 8 points, 3-6 shooting. The lone positive this game for the Heat as I can tell. Bosh has been on his offensive game for this finals so far aside from last game where he only took like 3 shots and he's not finding help from his other two musketeers.

Boris Diaw. He doesn't have to put up good scoring numbers, but just the way Diaw facilitates has been impressive. His no look pass to Tiago Splitter this game is definitely one of the highlights of the night.

Kawhi Leonard. 8 points, 8 rebounds, 1 steal, 2 blocks. Leonard had an epic bounce back game 3 offensively, here he's doing it all over the floor, harassing LeBron, getting after the ball and being aggressive. I like how he's responded after 2 disappointing outings early on in San Antonio. His putback dunk after the Patty Mills miss is also another highlight of the night.

The Negatives

Dwyane Wade, 4 points, 1-7. A lot of the Heat players I don't like, but I respect Wade and I think it's sad that he's missing shots that he could make. Wade missed a couple free throws, a couple of open shots in the first half, it seems that he hasn't found the lift in his legs. 

Heat defense. Where's the championship defense the Heat have put on the last 3 finals appearance? Heat fans in the crowd are booing them (typical bandwagoners *cough*) I see this Heat team demoralized right now not just on defense but trying to find their range on offense. What is going on with them?

Bottom Line

For the Spurs, continue to pound the ball, press on D, and take it to the champs just like game 3, for the Heat it's a disappointing display, but they never lose 2 straight games in the playoffs, they're on the verge, let's see how they respond.



KEY: TEXT = San Antonio; TEXT = Miami

Under the Weather

I am recovering from symptoms of dizziness, upset stomach, and fever. Today's coverage of game 3 is cancelled. I'll see you guys for game 4. Sorry guys, I am also frustrated at this terrible start.

LeBron Goes Beast Mode in 2nd Half as Heat Take Game 2

Tied 1-1

Alright welcome in to the full recap for game 2 of the 2014 NBA Finals once again between the Miami Heat and the San Antonio Spurs where the Heat refused to go down 2 games and capture their 13th straight playoff bounce back victory against the Spurs 98-96 behind a 2nd half clinic by LeBron James.

First off I have to address an apology yet again for another screw up and I take full responsibility. I thought today's game 2 would start the same time as game 1, which is at 6:00. So I had to run some errands a little bit until 6:30, meaning I would've missed half of the 1st quarter until I checked my phone on Yahoo Sports to see that the game was at halftime already so I rushed to get home and I checked the time that it started at 5:30 and I just shook my head a little. Yeah quite a slow start for my NBA Finals' coverage, that was my error, hence why there was no halftime post and it's just only Q3 and Q4 posted in the Q-by-Q reaction. Luckily, I didn't miss the whole game, I thought saw a great 2nd half where the Heat and Spurs exchanged blows and the Heat later delivered the knockout blow with Bosh finding Wade.

Miami Heat

The Positives

LeBron James, 35 points, 10 rebounds, 14-22 shooting. Even with the leg cramps in the 2nd half and the broken down A/C, I thought LeBron was very efficient in Game 1 with 25 points. This game right here showed why he is currently the NBA's best player. I said in my finals preview, that LeBron has no excuse to foil under pressure since he has 4 years of NBA Finals experience and he is 2/2 now in putting up big numbers early on in the finals. Last year the Spurs were daring him to shoot and he couldn't hit just one jump shot until games 6 & 7. This year, LeBron is taking it to the Spurs, especially this game, he was hitting his jump shots and answering time after time when the Spurs looked like they were making a run.

Chris Bosh, 18 points, 6-11 shooting. Bosh so far has played surprisingly good in the finals this year. He doesn't have to put up great numbers, he just has to be an efficient contributor and answer the call whenever and he hit a really big shot in the closing seconds in the 4th quarter to give Miami a two point lead and made the extra pass handing the ball to Dwyane Wade after the Spurs trapped him for an open layup to pretty much seal the deal. 

Rashard Lewis 14 points, 5-9 shooting. A better game from Rashard Lewis, he made some vintage shots that made him a deadly shooter at the 4 spot back in the day. I remember when he went off against the Lakers in game 2 in '09 and he didn't have a great 3 point shooting this game, but he made shots that were just back breaking for the Spurs as they were trying build the momentum to their side. 

The Negatives

Bench play. The Heat bench only scored 12 points compared to the Spurs' bench with 37 points. I'm glad Coach Spo is mixing up with some role players I mean James Jones and Udonis Haslem saw some action this game, but an inconsistent rotation is a factor for poor bench play. Ray Allen contributed decent, but not too much to bolster the poor bench play. As the series shifts to Miami, I'm expecting at least most of the bench players to light it up and be that X-factor aside from the trio of Wade, James, and Bosh.

San Antonio Spurs

The Positives 

Big 3. Tim Duncan 18 points, 15 rebounds, 7-14 shooting, Tony Parker 21 points, 7 assists, 8-15 shooting, Manu Ginobili, off the bench, 19 points, 7-15 shooting. The Spurs' big 3 have been spectacular the first two games. From what I heard from the 1st half, Duncan got off to a real great start and Miami's defense had no answer for him and every time they stop him, it's a foul. Like I said before, the key to effectively hurt Miami's defense is give Duncan the ball inside and they just couldn't stop him. Ginobili and Parker, they played great, Parker obviously with that huge shot to give the Spurs a brief 92-93 lead and Ginobili hitting a 3 that if the Spurs drew that up earlier, they could've saved time and play the foul game.

The Negatives

3rd Quarter free throws. Just a tough pill to swallow for the Spurs who were so good at the charity stripe during the regular season. Parker had a chance to give the Spurs some cushion when he drew the flagrant one foul on Chalmers, couldn't hit one and then Duncan, drew a foul, free throws, couldn't hit one and free throws especially when game 2 is an early critical game in the finals are huge and those misses came back to bite big time in the 4th.

Tiago Splitter, 2 points, 6 rebounds, 1-3 shooting. Huge regression for Splitter after having a great offensive outing in the 1st game, he just wasn't involved as much as he was last game.

Kawhi Leonard and Danny Green. Danny Green 9 pts 3-5 shooting, Kawhi Leonard 9 points, 3-9 shooting, fouled out. The Spurs' X-factors didn't show up this game. The Heat's defense have checked Green very good in the first two games and he hasn't put up big numbers yet. Leonard, you talk about a major letdown from the future franchise player, just 9 points in his first two finals games. He wasn't afraid to take gambles and create his own shots last year. I don't know what's going on with Leonard and if you're a Spurs fan, you gotta be frustrated because your future franchise player when Duncan is gone is not playing up to par the last 2 games and what more when the series shifts to Miami?

Conclusion

The Heat haven't been down 2 games in a long time and they got just what they wanted to try and take a 3-1 lead as the series shifts to Miami. For the Spurs, it's a hurtful loss this game and it definitely blows their home court advantage, luckily the finals shifts back to a 2-2-1-1-1 format so Miami would not win on their home floor again, but the Spurs need to at least take 1 game on the home floor of the 2x defending champs. Once again I apologize for the mishap, but I was able to cover game 2 as much as I could for you guys today. I couldn't stay up for the re-run on ESPN nor watch the replay on NBA TV tomorrow because I have a summer class on that day. Hopefully you guys read my announcement regarding the halftime post and it will be effective starting game 3 on Tuesday. I'll see you guys later.

2014 NBA FINALS: Miami Heat @ San Antonio Spurs Game 2 Q-by-Q Reaction

Q4:

Score: MIA 98 SA 96

Too little too late for the Spurs as they ate up too much time in the final seconds. LeBron was a beast this game, the Heat big 3 made huge plays down the stretch and credit where credit's due, Miami does what it does best in the playoffs, bounce back after a loss. Stay tuned for the full recap.

Q3:

Score: MIA 77 SA 78

Sorry, sorry guys, I'll explain later in the full recap. What a 3rd quarter! Very physical, refs are letting them play. It was the King's court this quarter with LeBron going off hitting 6-7 of his shots to give Miami some momentum, but after LeBron heading to bench for a rest, the Spurs start coming alive and Patty Mills has become that spark off the bench with the exception of Ginobili. Spurs' bench hasn't played well the whole game, but Mills' big shots in the 3rd should inspire the bench to play better and one of the reasons why the Spurs are up 1.

Minor Tweaks Concerning The NBA Finals Halftime Posts

Alright well the NBA Finals is underway and I'm bringing the coverage to you on my blog. The 1st game so far was just an experiment on how I should cover it and one thing that's most concerning to me is the halftime post. If you guys remember my coverage of Super Bowl XLVIII between the Seahawks and Broncos, I was able to post their "positives" and "negatives" section separately; that's because well it was the SB and along with the halftime show, it gave me more time to post my thoughts on both teams separately. Well, that method is totally not going to fly because the halftimes in the NBA Finals are just like that in the regular season, they go by quick and last game's halftime post was evident that I couldn't deliver the post on time before the 3rd quarter while posting my thoughts on both the Heat and the Spurs separately (though Blogger did give me problems). So for a minor tweak, I am going to do a joint "positive" and "negative" list for both teams and I'm just going to highlight what stands out to me on either team. So how am I going to place both of them together? With the benefits of me collaborating with my friend Stillmattic on his blog for Bleach Fantasy month last month, the Heat's text are going to denote in this color and the Spurs' text in this color so people can tell the difference when I'm adding both teams' "positives" and "negatives" together rather than separate. Just a minor tweak, I'll see you guys in a few hours for game 2.

Spurs Pull Away in Game 1 With Fantastic 4th Quarter Finish

Spurs 1-0

Alright welcome in to the full recap for game 1 of the 2014 NBA Finals between the Miami Heat and the San Antonio Spurs where the Spurs completed 1 game of the revenge rematch pulling away from the champs 95-110 with a 36 point performance in the 4th quarter.

Some things I have to get off my chest, I was dealing with all kinds of issues on Blogger during this game from the halftime post to the 2nd half of the Q-by-Q, where usually my 3rd and 4th quarter are set to update over the halftime post and Blogger said "an error occurred in this page" something like that. Same with the halftime post, hence why there are some texts that are missing that Blogger didn't save as I was typing. So hopefully those issues get resolved before the next game or I'm going to be really angry because I want to cover the Finals in real time as much as possible. So I apologize for that.

Miami Heat

The Positives

Big 3. LeBron James 25 points, Chris Bosh 18 points, and Dwyane Wade 19 points. In my opinion, I thought both big 3s from both teams did well for the most part. LeBron, we all know with him in the early stages of the big moment, he tends to be a little passive not looking for his shot. Well I'm not going to give him crap because he turned it up in the 2nd half and gave Miami the lead at the end of the 3rd, 9-17 from the field is a decent stat in shots for the current best player on the planet. Bosh definitely stood out this game firing the first shot in the game and hitting 3-4 from beyond the arc, also finished with 9 rebounds and part of the fact was that Chris Andersen didn't play much, Udonis Haslem didn't even play at all so Bosh had a lot of work to do banging with Tim Duncan and Tiago Splitter in the paint. Wade, he had a decent game, showed some vintage moves when his knees were not bothering him.

Ray Allen 16 points, 6-12 shooting. Allen's gonna pick up the slack that Mike Miller left behind considering he's a prominent bench player that provides shooting and scoring, he had a good showing defensively too racking up 5 steals, expect Allen to get involve more in future games. Though he's getting up there in age, he's still a dangerous, streaky shooter from beyond the arc and no Mike Miller, Allen's providing the shooting unless guys like Battier or Cole step up. 

The Negatives

Point guard play. Really lackluster point guard play from the Miami Heat. Mario Chalmers 3 points, 5 turnovers and Norris Cole 2 points, 5 assists, 2 steals. The offense just wasn't there for Chalmers and Cole couldn't stop an ankle injury-riddled Tony Parker this game. Chalmers or Cole are one of the X-factors for the Heat and if one of the point guards step up, sky's the limit for the Heat, but the point guards were ice cold this game.

Rashard Lewis 10 points, 4-10 shooting. Spoelstra's finding answers to the 4 spot and Lewis didn't play great today, so expect Battier or Haslem to be in the starting rotation at the 4 by next game.

San Antonio Spurs

The Positives 

Big 3. Tim Duncan 21 points, Tony Parker 19 points, Manu Ginobili 16 points. Sensational game by Ginobili also adding 11 assists, he was one of the key reasons why the Spurs were able to clamp Miami's defense down a bit. As I said, one of the keys for the Spurs is for Ginobili to limit his turnovers while being aggressive and Manu only committed 2 TOs. Didn't take any shots and he provided the perfect balance for scoring and facilitating. Duncan, the Big Fundamental getting some touches in the paint, I mean they got to him early and he was hitting every shot, well nearly, he finished shooting 9-10 from the field. Feeding the ball inside to Duncan pretty much exposed Miami's lack of defense within the interior. Parker bad ankle at all, also finished with 8 assists, he was missing shots he could make early on, but he finished strong in the 2nd half.

Tiago Splitter 14 points, 5-6 shooting. Splitter surprised me this game, he was well-respected defensively, but offensively he was a laughing stock. What a difference a year makes. Splitter was the X-factor this game for the Spurs and his improvement on the offensive side definitely showed. 

Danny Green 13 points, 4-9 shooting. I said in my halftime post, if Danny Green or Kawhi Leonard, or both get it going, the Spurs pull away and Green came alive in the 4th. He was a non-factor early on this game, but he was able to adjust and find his rhythm at the right time. 

The Negatives

Kawhi Leonard 9 points, 3-5 shooting. Also a non-factor early on, but hit his shots when it mattered the most, but he didn't reach his double-figure point totals and the Spurs need a really fluid, balanced game from him if they want to pull away from Miami early on in this series.

Turnovers. San Antonio barely commit any turnovers, but they committed like 22 turnovers this game, part of it was that I heard that the Spurs' arena, the air conditioning malfunctioned and caused some fatigue among players. Not using that as an excuse, but the Spurs will correct those turnovers, if it continues, then credit to Miami's defense.

Conclusion

The Spurs take a 1-0 lead to begin the NBA Finals. Like I said it's a dog fight, so don't be surprised if the Heat respond back because they barely go back to Miami down 2-0, they possess the art of stealing home court advantage. For the Spurs, the turnovers should be easy for them to correct, I'm sure Coach Pop will give them an earful after learning they committed 22 turnovers. Game 2 on Sunday. I'll see you guys then, I'm out.

Game 1 Halftime Post

Score: MIA 49 SA 54

Alright welcome in to the halftime post of game 1 of the 2014 NBA Finals where the Spurs have a 5 point edge against the 2x defending champs, Heat 49-54 heading into the locker room.

Miami Heat

The Positives

Dwyane Wade, 12 points, 5-8 shooting. Wade looks as healthy as ever giving some vintage moves from his young self, especially the dream shake he pulled off on Tim Duncan. As much as LeBron was inactive in the first half till the last few minutes in the 1st half, the offense was centering around Wade and he was able to find his shot. 

Chris Bosh, 10 points, 7 rebounds, 4-7 shooting. Bosh's 3 point shooting gives another reason why the Heat are dangerous. I liked Spoelstra's move of putting Lewis and Bosh on the same floor, they were able to draw Duncan and Splitter out of the paint and Lewis may not be hitting his shots, but Bosh cashed in on the opportunity shooting 2-3 from beyond the arc.

Ray Allen, 10 points, 3-6 shooting. He may have missed his last 3 shots, but Allen filled in the Mike Miller-esque role so far providing the shooting touch and scoring off the bench. 

Turnovers. The Heat generated 6 turnovers and able to disrupt the Spurs' ball movement. That's the only category that stands on their defensive standpoint. 

The Negatives


LeBron James 13 points 5-9 shooting. He started getting it going, but I need to see LeBron be more aggressive and well be LeBron penetrating and giving the Spurs D all kinds of hell.

Mario Chalmers. Norris Cole is outplaying Chalmers in the point guard position. He's doing his job in the defensive side, but he's gotta pick it up offensively. 

San Antonio Spurs

The Positives

Manu Ginobili 11 points, 5 assists, 3-7 shooting. He may have gotten cold on shot, but Ginobili has done a great job drawing attention towards the Heat defense, hence why Miami clamp down on rotations and giving other Spurs players open looks. 

Tim Duncan 15 points, 6-7 shooting. Near perfect half for Duncan. I like how the Spurs are attacking in the paint by feeding the ball to the Big Fundamental and that's one way to crash Miami's defense.

Marco Belinelli 8 points, 2-2 shooting. Hasn't played significant minutes, but Belinelli has provided the scoring off the bench for the Spurs. 

The Negatives

Danny Green 0 points. I said in my preview, the Heat's defense is gonna find a way to contain his 3 and the Heat's D have done a good job making Danny Green a non-factor.

Kawhi Leonard 0 points. Like I said in my preview also, Leonard needs to answer the call to take off load from Parker, Ginobili, and Duncan, and he's not finding his shot and missed a couple of open opportunities.


Bottom Line

Overall, if Kawhi Leonard and Danny Green get it going, the Spurs have a chance to pull away and if LeBron gets it going, the Heat have a chance and both teams are having none of it.

2014 NBA FINALS: Miami Heat @ San Antonio Spurs Game 1 Q-by-Q Reaction

Q4:

Score: MIA 95 SA 110

Danny Green and Kawhi Leonard came alive at the right time and Spurs' big 3 edged the Heat's big 3 in game 1. Stay tuned for the full recap.

Q3:

Score: MIA 78 SA 74

LeBron and Allen carried the Heat's offense this quarter. LeBron as usual, turned it up in the 2nd half and went beast mode, which why he's the only player whose point totals is in the 20 this game. Still close game, let's see how the Spurs respond.

Q2:

Score: MIA 49 SA 54

Heat keep generating the turnovers, but the Spurs continue to correct their turnovers with excellent ball movement. Boris Diaw this quarter, I like his unselfishness this quarter and they keep finding Duncan in the paint. Onto the halftime report.

Q1:

Score: MIA 20 SA 26

Quoting Charles Barkley "GINOBILI!" One of the primary reasons why the Spurs edge the Heat in the 1st quarter. Ever since Pop put Ginobili in, you know he's going to give the Spurs a spark. He shot 3 of his first shots from beyond the arc and causing the Heat's D all kinds of hell. I'll give the benefit of a doubt to the Heat defense for generating 6 turnovers on this Spurs team that barely turns it over, but Ginobili's play and the Spurs finding Tim Duncan early in the paint is why the Spurs have a 6 point lead.

2014 NBA Finals Preview: Miami Heat vs. San Antonio Spurs II

Alright welcome in to your preview for the 2014 NBA Finals between the Miami Heat and the San Antonio Spurs. Same two teams, same goal, different home court advantage. I believe this is the first time the same two teams have faced each other in the finals for a second straight year since the Chicago Bulls and the Utah Jazz in 97-98, yup during the days of Jordan-Pippen and Stockton-Malone. The Heat are trying to complete a 3-peat in 4 straight finals and try to be the team to win 3 straight championships since yours truly, the 2000-2002 Lakers while the Spurs are trying to get the taste of last year's finals loss out of their mouths by dethroning the 2x champs.

Miami Heat

Since the Big 3 era began in 2010, the Heat have made a trip through every NBA Finals and are 2-1 with that one lone loss coming from the Dallas Mavericks in 2011, but since then, the trio of LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh have helped Miami capture 2 consecutive titles after that loss, against OKC 2 years ago and last year against the Spurs. By today's standards, it is hard to reach a 4th straight NBA Finals. If you ask, my Lakers tried to do that, but didn't do so because 4 straight 82 game seasons took its toll on them. Not putting the Heat down, but they have had a benefit of the lockout two seasons ago. With a short season and two 82 game seasons before and after the lockout season, the Heat have had the benefit of not logging too many games. However early on in the season they did show signs of complacency, hence why Indiana had the best record, but down the stretch of the season, Miami played at a championship level as expected from the 2x defending champs. Competition in the East was a complete joke come playoff time and Miami just strolled through to make that 4th finals trip. They beat a Bobcats team that is 0-8 all time in the playoffs, they beat the Nets, though the Nets swept Miami in the regular season, the Heat proved that regular season matchups don't matter and they avenged that season sweep, and against the Pacers, a team that started great in the regular season, but showed great inconsistency down the stretch and during the playoffs. No East team was able to push the defending champs on the brink of elimination and most of the playoff games Miami won weren't in a close margin.


San Antonio Spurs

How does Gregg Popovich do it? Time after time, he keeps the Spurs relevant and keeps them on top as the best team in the West. However, it does not just revolve on just Coach Pop, it does not just revolve around the perennial nucleus of Duncan, Parker, and Ginobili, it revolves around team play and moving the ball. The Spurs were always an overlooked franchise by the media, but they were respected around the league because the team puts team first over individuals and Coach Pop has emphasized that since day 1 when he became coach of the Spurs. That's why they made the playoffs every year, have won 4 titles in the last decade, and made now a total of 6 trips to the NBA Finals. This time the Spurs are out for blood; they really came close last year to being 5 for 5 in the finals in game 6, but Ray Allen's 3 reversed that fortune and the Spurs suffered their first finals loss in history in the decisive game 7. Now they're back at it again, but they had to overcome a really, really difficult Western Conference. The Western Conference as a whole proved why it is a nightmare to play there come playoff time; 3 first round matchups came down to a deciding game 7. The Spurs were on the brink of elimination against overlooked Dallas Mavericks team. The Mavs gave Spurs fans a huge scare after Dallas got a 2-1 lead over San Antonio, but the Spurs rebounded and outlasted them in a blowout in game 7. The Spurs then got a little break having to face an inexperienced Portland Trailblazers team and disposed them easily in 5. Then in the Conference Final, they go up against the MVP in Kevin Durant and the OKC Thunder. The Spurs were able to dispose them in games 1 and 2, but heading OKC with Serge Ibaka back from injury, the Thunder bounced back and Spurs fans are probably thinking deja vu because the last time the Spurs took a 2-0 lead, the Thunder were able to come back and win 4 straight to reach the finals. However, the Spurs were able to correct that mistake and blew out the Thunder in game 5 and outlasting them in game 6 in OT to reach the finals. 

How the Heat match up:

As the two time defending champs, the Heat are gonna rely on their same formula they have followed their last three trips: tough defense and for each role player outside of LeBron, Wade, and Bosh to step up. The Heat had no choice but to lose their key championship role player Mike Miller to the amnesty clause. Someone has to fill that Mike Miller void and guys like Shane Battier, Ray Allen, Norris Cole, Mario Chalmers, etc. they have to be that Mike Miller-type role player whose scoring, hustling, and 3 point shooting gives Miami a huge lift. As much as LeBron is currently the greatest player on the planet, he hasn't impressed me in last year's finals till the last two games. If he's the best player in the league, he has to bring his A game in every game, the guy has had 4 years experience in the NBA Finals so there's no excuse for LeBron to foil under pressure on the biggest stage, especially if he wants to rip the Spurs' hearts out early. Dwyane Wade has been as healthy as I've seen him in the playoffs, so if he as long as his knees don't nag him, he's going to bring it 100%.

How the Spurs match up:

For the Spurs, is Tony Parker good enough to go for game 1 considering he suffered an ankle injury in game 6 against OKC? The ball movement starts and ends with Parker because he's able to command players into positions, set pick and rolls, generating rotations. I know it contradicts the Spurs' emphasis on team play and ball movement, but the point guard is always the important position in the NBA in order to set a team's offense and defense formations, so Parker is basically the primary key if the Spurs want to dethrone the Heat because the Spurs' slow pace will effectively counter the Heat's fast pace. Another point is that Manu Ginobili has to play turnover free. No disrespect to Manu's competitive fire, but his wreckless play was one of the key reasons why the Spurs couldn't seal the deal against Miami last year. Also, Kawhi Leonard and Danny Green, also key reasons why the Spurs loss with Green going ice cold in the last 2 games and Leonard missing a free throw that allowed Miami to tie the game, I'm sure Miami has drawn up a defensive game plan so Green doesn't go off on them like last year so Green has to adjust his game if Miami is able to contain his 3 game early on. For Leonard, he's the future franchise player for the Spurs by the time Duncan, Parker, and Ginobili are gone and he's gotta answer the call come crunch time when he's needed.

Prediction:

As usual, a really tough prediction to make considering these are the teams many expected in the finals and it is the rematch of last year's finals. It's going to be a dog fight like last year with Miami or San Antonio drawing first blood and Miami or San Antonio responding back to even the series up. However, the Spurs have last year's finals loss on their mind and they want to restore the fact that a great NBA team is built through the draft rather than buying a group of superstars from other teams to form a super team in free agency.

Spurs in 7

Game 1, Q-by-Q, Halftime Post, and Full Recap on Thursday