Post your level-headed, reasonable 2014 NBA Finals Game 3 observations

[Springsteen]

Are you forgetting Your World Champion Los Angeles Lakers?

I still see pictures of these 5 and think "how the hell DIDN'T this work out?".

Obviously I know all the reasons why, but still.

[no pun intended]

Copied from the other thread......

I dunno, to me it shows me he(Lebron) doesn't have the offensive arsenal of other greats...Like, he doesn't have one move to go to where he feels like, "ok, I know I can score on this move every time". When he gets the ball, half the he passes it and hopes to get it back and catch his man with a quick first steps...He just doesn't have the type of handles and 1 on 1 game that an MJ or a Kobe has. Its like when he dominates, he's kind of doing in the flow of the game still...He's not exactly DOMINATING like when you saw MJ score 63 or even Kobe's huge outbursts.......I dunno, he's a team first player too....

Agreed. The thing about LeBron is that he only has two dependable moves: driving in and pulling up for a jumper. Although the latter is the lesser of two evils, LeBron has been able to excel at it due to the space the defender gives him. This is what separates LeBron's offense from that of MJ and Kobe's. Defenders hardly gave any space to MJ and Kobe because they were both extremely potent at the mid-range jumper; therefore the two had depend on posting up for turnaround jumpers and fadeaways. LeBron hasn't worked on these moves because he doesn't need to in order to dominate. But when the defense plays the Carlisle-type zone on him, this places massive restrictions on what LeBron could do. This is why LeBron needs to work on his post game to avoid these types of situation, and he knows that for himself too.

[the mesiah]

20-turnovers for the Heat
4-fast break points for the heat
Both these numbers in game 4 will change in opposite directions .

[KevinNYC]

He's not exactly DOMINATING like when you saw MJ score 63

MJ lost that game.

The Spurs slowed down a lot in the second half.

Lebron had a lot of turnovers.

Can the Spurs rely on Leonard and Green having unbelievable first halves?

[Im Still Ballin]

Geoff

[Real14]

Michael Jordan's thoughts on Lebron and tonight's game.....

[tpols]

MJ lost that game.

The Spurs slowed down a lot in the second half.

Lebron had a lot of turnovers.

Can the Spurs rely on Leonard and Green having unbelievable first halves?

Leonard scored 0 points last game in the first half and spurs were up.. they have like 8 guys who can potentially go off..

[RedBlackAttack]

MJ lost that game.

The Spurs slowed down a lot in the second half.

Lebron had a lot of turnovers.

Can the Spurs rely on Leonard and Green having unbelievable first halves?

I think this argument misses what is so special about the Spurs. No, it doesn't have to be Leonard and Green in the next game. Maybe it'll be Patty Mills and Tiago Splitter. Or, maybe Parker, Ginobili and Duncan totally dominate one of the final four games. Or, maybe Boris Diaw pulls off a 12 point/12 assist game where he controls the flow for large portions.

You just don't know who is going to step up for San Antonio, and that is precisely what makes them so difficult to defend.

At this point, Leonard and Green knocking down a bunch of jumpers and playing stellar defense can't be a surprise to anyone... that's pretty much what they do in the playoffs.

Also, those James turnovers were created (1) by an awesome Spurs team/gameplan and (2) James and his team having to climb uphill all night long. That will wear on you. That's why you'll often see two teams look really close at the start of a series, and by games 5, 6 and 7, one looks far superior.

If you're constantly playing from behind, you're going to get worn down really quickly. Let's not forget that the Spurs had a double-digit lead in the second quarter of last game before getting uncharacteristically sloppy (much due to Miami's pressure D).

This Spurs team is scary.

[Keno]

spurs had a fluky ass shooting half that won't ever happen again. and the refs helped the spurs for the 3rd straight game. heat in 6.

[Mrofir]

Heat in 5.

[La Frescobaldi]

I think this argument misses what is so special about the Spurs. No, it doesn't have to be Leonard and Green in the next game. Maybe it'll be Patty Mills and Tiago Splitter. Or, maybe Parker, Ginobili and Duncan totally dominate one of the final four games. Or, maybe Boris Diaw pulls off a 12 point/12 assist game where he controls the flow for large portions.

You just don't know who is going to step up for San Antonio, and that is precisely what makes them so difficult to defend.

At this point, Leonard and Green knocking down a bunch of jumpers and playing stellar defense can't be a surprise to anyone... that's pretty much what they do in the playoffs.

Also, those James turnovers were created (1) by an awesome Spurs team/gameplan and (2) James and his team having to climb uphill all night long. That will wear on you. That's why you'll often see two teams look really close at the start of a series, and by games 5, 6 and 7, one looks far superior.

If you're constantly playing from behind, you're going to get worn down really quickly. Let's not forget that the Spurs had a double-digit lead in the second quarter of last game before getting uncharacteristically sloppy (much due to Miami's pressure D).

This Spurs team is scary.

They are one of the great teams no doubt.
This will go down as one of the Great Finals to me because both these teams are just awesome!!

[no pun intended]

spurs had a fluky ass shooting half that won't ever happen again. and the refs helped the spurs for the 3rd straight game. heat in 6.

Didn't some say the Spurs Game 1 4th quarter was a fluke as well? How many flukes are we going to go with until it's the reality of how good San Antonio is? They've done this shit many times this season already where they go on streaky shooting streaks. Nothing new.

[Mrofir]

as for the Heat side, Rashard Lewis is scaring me. If he continues to knock down those corner 3's, this may force the Spurs to make some adjustments.

Rashard Lewis is a defensive liability for the Heat, him making 3s just makes it more difficult to make a decision about who should be on the court

[leopoldstotch]

This "fluke" has happened in 3 quarters out of 12 (game 1 4th quarter, game 2 3rd quarter, game 3 end 1st/beginning 2nd). In the beginning we can say it's a fluke. happens 3 times? We can congratulate the Spurs on great passing, but there were multiple times the Heat failed to execute defensively. Spurs were driving in the paint at will.

[Mrofir]

spurs had a fluky ass shooting half that won't ever happen again. and the refs helped the spurs for the 3rd straight game. heat in 6.

heat in 6 means after what you saw tonight, you think the heat are going to win 3 in a row. I'm not saying it's impossible, but at this point it seems like if the Heat are going to win the series it's going to have to be in 7