Congratulations to the Miami Heat for becoming the first back-to-back NBA champions since the 2010-2011 Los Angeles Lakers.
LeBron James validated his superstar status with 37 points and 12 rebounds. Dwyane Wade showed he still had it with 23 points and 10 rebounds. My fellow ACC’er Shane Battier scored 18 points off the bench while going 6 for 8 from 3-point land. And let’s not forget head coach Erik Spoelstra coaching the game of his life last night.
Having said all of that, it’s hard for me to be convinced that the Miami Heat were a better team than the San Antonio Spurs.
I mean I can’t help that the Spurs gave away Game 6. The same game where the Spurs went up by 10 during the fourth quarter AND had a 5-point lead with 20 seconds left.
Let’s be real about something folks: the Heat had NO BUSINESS winning Game 6.
And let’s not forget the Spurs hung with Miami and led for a big portion of the game. Tim Duncan had another big game to follow his monster Game 6 with 24 points and 12 rebounds. Kawhi Leonard became a budding star with 19 points and 16 rebounds.
However, I have to take the good with the bad. Tony Parker’s hamstring limited him to the tune of 10 points. Manu Ginobli capped his nightmarish series with 4 turnovers. Danny Green came back to earth on 1 of 12 shooting.
And let’s not forget the Heat stepped up when it mattered most in the 4th quarter. It may have helped that the Spurs were out of gas in the end.
Look, I’m not here to poo-poo on the Heat’s championship achievement. As I said at the beginning of this rant, props to Miami for winning back-to-back NBA titles.
Sometimes though, one has to wonder “what if?”…
Categories: NBA
“Did the Best Team Choke?” Better headline!
My answer No! Almost though. “Missed it by That Much” ( Old school “Get Smart” saying) Heat found their lucky charms the last 2 games! They were still the best team in the regular season & that should count for something like HOME COURT ADVANTAGE! That what helped them BIGTIME in the FINALS! You know the old “TOTAL BODY OF WORK” saying. Seeding makes the regular season play count for something in the playoffs.
Yes, the Heat clearly deserved to win game six. Pop left Duncan out to get better FT shooters in the game. Well, that blew up in his face. Miami hit two threes off second chance shots when they got offensive rebounds from a Duncanless defense. Then the Spurs missed crucial free throws anyway.
I’m not saying Pop had the wrong strategy. I’m just saying it was executed about as poorly as possible.
Congrats to LeBron. All Ohioans await your return after the 2014 season.
What a devious, ingenious plan. Leave the Cavs, let them accumulate great young stars with #1 overall picks, then return to lead a young, loaded team. Incredible!