By Charles Jay
The air conditioning (or lack of same) at the AT&T Center was a big problem for both teams on Thursday night, more for the Miami Heat than the San Antonio Spurs. No one would expect that kind of thing again on Sunday, but that doesn’t mean that Miami will have left its troubles behind, because it appears as if this collapsed completely without LeBron James. That may give the Spurs a clue as to how to deal with James in upcoming games. As basketball bettors have undoubtedly noticed, San Antonio has done a good job in neutralizing many big scorers, from Dirk Nowitzki to LaMarcus Aldridge to Kevin Durant.
In Game 1 of this NBA Finals series, however, the Spurs did not exactly stop the Big Three cold; in fact, between James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh, they hit over 50% of their shots (24 of 46). The problem was that they lost LeBron at the wrong time. The Spurs outscored Miami 36-17 in the fourth quarter and went on a 16-3 run to close out the game. They had the edge, whether it was in the paint or from long-range (when they went 6-for-6 from the arc).
Miami has won twelve consecutive playoff games following a loss. So there is little hope that they are going to “go quietly” in Game 2. By the same token, the Spurs have won eight straight post-season games by 15 points or more. So that sets the stage for the second game of this series, slated to begin at 8 PM ET on Sunday. In the basketball betting odds at VietBet, the Spurs are favored:
San Antonio Spurs -5
Miami Heat +5
Over 198.5 Points -110
Under 198.5 Points -110
Miami is playing in the championship finals for the fourth straight season, and that is the first time that has happened in the last 27 years, so they are very used to encountering adversity. They just didn’t expect that San Antonio was going to hit 14 of its 16 shots in the fourth quarter. Part of this involved the absence of James, who has an impact at the defensive end of the court. The Spurs hit all six attempts from three-point range, and they were uncontested for the most part. Basketball bettors know they can’t afford to do that again.
It was hoped that Tim Duncan could establish some superiority inside the lane, and that is exactly what he did, making nine of his ten shots and scoring 21 points with ten rebounds. It’s hard to deal with him underneath with the likes of Chris Bosh and Rashard Lewis. All told, San Antonio (now -230 to win the series at VietBet) shot 59% from the field, and that is unacceptable. The idea that this team won by 15 points while turning the ball over 23 times is rather incredible. But that just goes to show you what the effect was of LeBron James leaving the game with cramps. They just did not know what to do, and you are left wondering what good it is to have a “Big Three” if they roll over when the “Big One” is not available.
Can Duncan go 9-for-10 again? Can Boris Diaw grab ten rebounds, or can Manu Ginobili hand out eleven assists – off the bench – again? Can the Spurs hold LeBron to just one drive in the second half, as was the case in Game 1? Basketball bettors would have to think not. But there are more people who can make plays on the San Antonio side, and Miami will have to solve that before they can extend that 12-game “bounceback” streak to thirteen.
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