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2013 NBA Finals Miami Heat at San Antonio Spurs Game 5 Preview

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June 16, 2013

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Today’s Games (All times are Eastern):

 

Time (ET) Visitor Home Prediction
8:00 PM Miami Heat San Antonio Spurs Spurs

The Miami Heat and San Antonio Spurs both come into Game 5 of the 2013 NBA Finals two wins away from earning an NBA championship. The winners of tonight’s matchup will cut that all-important number down to one. The losers will have to do something that neither team has been able to do through the first four games of this series—win two consecutive games—if they want to earn the title.

The defending champion Heat tied the series at two games apiece by totally dominating the final 13 minutes of action in Game 4. With 54 seconds remaining in the third quarter, Danny Green hit a three-pointer to pull the Spurs within three, 79-76. On Miami’s ensuing possession, the Heat grabbed two consecutive offensive rebounds and cashed in on their multiple scoring opportunities with a layup by LeBron James. The quarter ended with Tony Parker missing a short jumper and the Heat holding a five-point, 81-76, lead.

For the Spurs, the fourth quarter was mired in turnovers and missed layups. Miami took advantage of San Antonio’s miscues and missed opportunities and outscored the Spurs 28-17 in the fourth en route to a 109-93 victory.

With the series tied at two games apiece, Game 5 may prove to be the pivotal moment of these Finals. When the NBA Finals have been tied 2-2 heading into Game 5, the winner of Game 5 has gone on to win the title 20 of 27 times.

The Spurs have won the odd-numbered games of this series and are a perfect 3-0 in Game 5s of the NBA Finals. If San Antonio can continue those trends with a victory tonight, the Spurs would put themselves one step closer to their fifth NBA championship.

Miami, who is 2-1 in Game 5s of the NBA Finals, can pretty much take control of this series with a win tonight. With the series tied at two games apiece, this best-of-seven has now turned into a best-of-three, and the Heat hold home-court advantage. If the Heat can win Game 5 tonight, they would return to Miami with two opportunities to win one game at home to claim their second consecutive NBA championship.

And that is a scenario that the Spurs want to avoid at all costs.

Manu Ginobili summed it up when he said, “This game is huge. We don’t want to go to Miami knowing that we have to win both. Going there to win one of the two is a different situation. So Game 5, regardless of where you play, it’s huge for you at 2-2. We’ve seen it too many times. We really want to win this one.”

“It is a must-win. We don’t want to go back down there down a game with two games remaining at their house,” added Tim Duncan.

The stage is set, and by the end of Game 5 one of these two teams will be just one win away from earning the 2013 NBA Championship.

Thursday’s Results:

 

Visitor Home Prediction Result
Miami Heat 109 San Antonio Spurs 93 Spurs Heat

Random NBA Fan’s Record in Thursday’s Games: 0-1
Random NBA Fan’s Record for the Playoffs: 52-30

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2013 NBA Finals Miami Heat at San Antonio Spurs Game 4 Preview

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June 13, 2013

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Today’s Games (All times are Eastern):

 

Time (ET) Visitor Home Prediction
9:00 PM Miami Heat San Antonio Spurs Spurs

The Miami Heat will try to bounce back from their worst playoff loss in franchise history when they take on the San Antonio Spurs in tonight’s Game 4 of the 2013 NBA Finals.  San Antonio hit an NBA Finals-record 16 three-pointers en route to absolutely destroying the Heat, 113-77, in Tuesday night’s Game 3.  The Spurs now lead the series two games to one and can take a commanding 3-1 series lead over the reigning NBA champions with a victory tonight.

Miami, who is 5-5 in its last 10 playoff games, have alternated between wins and losses since winning four straight against the Chicago Bulls in the second round.  The Heat have not dropped two straight games since consecutive road losses to the Indiana Pacers and the Portland Trail Blazers back in early January.  They will need that trend to continue if they hope to tie this series at two games apiece.

However, if Miami wants to earn its second consecutive NBA championship, the Heat will have to do much more than simply avoid consecutive losses.  To have any chance at winning this series, Miami will have to find a way to beat San Antonio three times out of four over the next week—which means that the Heat will have to find a way to beat the Spurs two times in a row at some point.  But before they can even think about winning two in a row, the Heat will have to find a way to win a game in San Antonio just to push the series beyond Game 5 and back to Miami.  And the sooner the defending champions can get that road win, the better their chances of defending their title will be.

But it won’t be easy.  The Spurs, who are 7-1 at home this postseason, have won eight of their last 10 and 14 of 17 overall during these playoffs.  San Antonio, whose core group of Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker has won 100 playoff games together, is just two wins away from winning the franchise’s fifth NBA championship.  Duncan, Ginobili and Parker (who strained his right hamstring in Game 3) know how big this game is and will approach it accordingly.  The Spurs understand that a 3-1 series lead is much better than a 2-2 tie—particularly when two of the remaining three games would be played in Miami’s AmericanAirlines Arena—and collectively, they will do “whatever it takes” to maintain their series lead, earn their eighth home win of these playoffs and move one step closer to their first title since defeating LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers back in 2007.

Tuesday’s Results:

 

Visitor Home Prediction Result
Miami Heat 77 San Antonio Spurs 113 Spurs Spurs

Random NBA Fan’s Record in Tuesday’s Games: 1-0
Random NBA Fan’s Record for the Playoffs: 52-29

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2013 NBA Finals San Antonio Spurs at Miami Heat Game 1 Preview

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June 6, 2013

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Today’s Games (All times are Eastern):

 

Time (ET) Visitor Home Prediction
9:00 PM San Antonio Spurs Miami Heat Spurs

The Miami Heat are four wins from earning their second consecutive NBA championship and will try to cut that number down to three when they host the San Antonio Spurs in Game 1 of the 2013 NBA Finals tonight. Both teams have completed the first 12 steps of a 16-step postseason process and only one of them will earn four wins in this series to complete the process.

The Heat opened their playoff run by defeating the Milwaukee Bucks in four straight games and then dispatched the Chicago Bulls in five in the Eastern Conference semifinals. Miami felt a little heat and needed a seventh game within the friendly confines of AmericanAirlines Arena to get by the pesky Indiana Pacers in the conference finals.

San Antonio had a slightly easier path to the Finals. The Spurs easily swept the Los Angeles Lakers in the first round by winning all four games by double-digits. They did need six games to get by the Golden State Warriors in the second round. But in the Western Conference finals, San Antonio needed just four games to defeat the Memphis Grizzlies.

So while the Heat were embroiled in a grueling seven-game series with the Pacers that did not end until Monday, the Spurs were resting—or were they getting rusty—and getting their minds and bodies prepared for the Finals.

San Antonio, who has not played since their Game 4 victory over the Grizzlies back on May 27, will have to protect the ball and use their precise ball movement to spread the floor and force Miami to shift its half-court defense from side to side if they want to give themselves a real chance at stealing Game 1 of the Finals. Precise ball movement will open the floor up for Tony Parker penetrations which will help create open shots for San Antonio’s shooters. And once the floor is spaced, Tim Duncan will have even more room to operate in the post.

Defensively, the Spurs will have to limit the number of times that LeBron James and Dwyane Wade are allowed to freely get to the rim. That means that Danny Green and Kawhi Leonard must not only accept the challenge of going up against Miami’s perennial All-NBA performers, but Green and Leonard must also remain consistent and disciplined in their approach. And when James and Wade do penetrate the lane, San Antonio’s bigs, particularly Duncan and Tiago Splitter, must protect the rim and challenge James’ and Wade’s shot attempts without fouling.

The Heat will try to force San Antonio into as many turnovers as they possibly can. Miami uses its opponent’s miscues, particularly live-ball turnovers, to launch its deadly fast-break attack. If James and Wade get out into the open court and are allowed multiple uncontested layups and dunks, it will be a very long night for the Spurs.

On the offensive side of the ball, to put it bluntly, LeBron James and the Heat will need Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade to perform at a level much higher than they did in the Eastern Conference finals against the Indiana Pacers, if Miami hopes to complete the final four steps of the process and win back-to-back NBA titles.

The final steps of the process will begin tonight in Game 1 of the 2013 NBA Finals. The Heat and Spurs, who have not played each other with all of the principal players (Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili, Tony Parker, Chris Bosh, LeBron James and Dwyane Wade) in uniform since a 110-80 Miami home win back on March 14, 2011, will feel each other out tonight. Both teams have their full cast of characters available for this opening act of what will prove to be a dramatic NBA Finals.

Monday’s Results:

 

Visitor Home Prediction Result
Indiana Pacers 76 Miami Heat 99 Pacers Heat

Random NBA Fan’s Record in Monday’s Games: 0-1
Random NBA Fan’s Record for the Playoffs: 50-28

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2013 NBA Playoffs Game of the Day: Miami Heat at Indiana Pacers

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May 28, 2013

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Today’s Games (All times are Eastern):

 

Time (ET) Visitor Home Prediction
8:30 PM Miami Heat Indiana Pacers Pacers

After splitting two close games at home, the Miami Heat decided to use LeBron James in the post in Game 3 of their Eastern Conference finals matchup with the Indiana Pacers. The change was effective and the Heat reclaimed home-court advantage with a commanding 114-96 victory in Indiana Sunday night. Now the Pacers will have to find a way to adjust to Miami’s new wrinkle and find a way to rebound from their first home loss of this postseason if they hope to tie the series at two games apiece.

The Heat, who have not lost a road game in the playoffs since Game 1 of last season’s NBA Finals, will try to take a commanding 3-1 series lead by extending their postseason road winning streak to an impressive seven games. Miami has been absolutely dominant on the road during these playoffs. The Heat have won all five of their road games this postseason by double digits and are going into opposing team’s buildings and beating them by an average of 15 points a game.

To stay in this series, the Pacers will have to put an end to Miami’s playoff road winning streak. Indiana, who has for the most part allowed Paul George to guard LeBron James one-on-one, will have to reconsider that strategy in tonight’s Game 4.

In Game 3, with George guarding him one-on-one, James went to the post where he was able to dribble the ball multiple times without having to worry about a second defender coming at him. That allowed James to simply back George (who weighs nearly 30 pounds less than James) down into spaces where he could comfortably make plays for himself or his teammates. James, who committed two critical turnovers in the final 45 seconds of Game 2, did not commit a single miscue in 41 minutes of action in Game 3 and finished the contest with 22 points, four rebounds and three assists.

Indiana’s defense, which has been the Pacers’ calling card all season long, failed to adjust to Miami putting James in the post during the game. That is a mistake that the Pacers are not likely to make again.

Look for the Pacers to double James off and on in Game 4, particularly when he goes down to the post. Indiana will likely send a second defender at James from different areas on the floor throughout the game to try to keep the four-time Most Valuable Player off balance.

Miami adjusted their offensive attack after dropping Game 2. Now the onus is on Indiana to adjust its defense to counterattack the wrinkle that the Heat employed in Game 3. Game 4 will be a chess match. If the Pacers can keep the game close, they will give themselves a chance to tie the series 2-2. But if Miami can find a way to get out to a double-digit advantage at any point in this game, the Heat will probably take a stranglehold on the game—and likely the series.

Yesterday’s Results:

 

Visitor Home Prediction Result
San Antonio Spurs 93 Memphis Grizzlies 86 Spurs Spurs

Random NBA Fan’s Record in Yesterday’s Games: 1-0
Random NBA Fan’s Record for the Playoffs: 48-26

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2013 NBA Playoffs Game of the Day: Indiana Pacers at Miami Heat

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May 24, 2013

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Today’s Games (All times are Eastern):

 

Time (ET) Visitor Home Prediction
8:30 PM Indiana Pacers Miami Heat Heat

LeBron James scored on a driving layup as time expired to give the Miami Heat a hard-fought 103-102 overtime victory over the Indiana Pacers in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals Wednesday night. James finished the contest with a triple-double (30 points, 10 assists and 10 rebounds) and the Heat needed every bit of his Herculean effort—and an overtime—to get over the hump. If Game 1 is any indication of how competitive and hotly contested this series will be, this series will likely be an epic battle that will be remembered for years to come.

Although it will be tough for tonight’s Game 2 to live up to the thrill and drama of Game 1’s buzzer-beater, there is no doubt that both teams can play better. Game 1 was exciting and dramatic from start to finish because neither team could ever build a cushion larger than seven points, but it was also fraught with turnovers (20 for Indiana and 21 for Miami). The multiple miscues combined with the 58 personal fouls that were called on the two teams led to a choppy and somewhat disjointed game.

If the Heat and Pacers cut down on the turnovers, Game 2 will likely be played a little more fluidly. But no matter how fluid Game 2 may be it is highly unlikely that any player will put up as perfect a stat line as Chris “Birdman” Andersen did in Game 1. Andersen, who made all seven of his field-goal attempts and both of his free throws, finished Game 1 with 16 points, five rebounds, three blocks and a steal. A single turnover was the only blemish on his stat line.

Although they lost a great opportunity to snatch home-court advantage from Miami in the final 2.2 seconds of Game 1, the Pacers still have a chance to earn an all-important 1-1 split before heading home to Indiana for Game 3. Despite losing Game 1, the Pacers have to come into Game 2 feeling confident that they can indeed earn that split.

The Pacers fought and battled the defending NBA champions until the bitter end and were just 2.2 seconds—and a LeBron James layup—away from victory. Besides, had it not been for LeBron James’ Herculean effort and a nearly perfect 18 minutes from the “Birdman,” the Pacers know that the final result could have gone in their favor. And that knowledge will give Indiana confidence heading into Game 2.

But confidence alone will not be enough for the Pacers to get a win tonight. Execution and poise will be the key. Both teams will play better than they played in Game 1, and the team that protects the ball, executes efficiently and maintains its composure will walk away with the victory.

Wednesday’s Results:

 

Visitor Home Prediction Result
Indiana Pacers 102 Miami Heat 103 Heat Heat

Random NBA Fan’s Record in Wednesday’s Games: 1-0
Random NBA Fan’s Record for the Playoffs: 47-23

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