Sunday, June 16, 2013

Spurs 114 Heat 104 Spurs lead 3-2

6 Thoughts

1) Damn.  Just: damn.  I thought we were going to win that game, I thought we played hard, and for long stretches, very well.  But every time I thought we were going to wrestle control of it away from San Antonio, something went wrong.  That one hurts.  Damn. I'm in Puerto Morales, Mexico - if you hear a loud crashing sound while reading this blog, that's the sound of the waves hitting the reef offshore.  Should take the sting off the loss a little, right?  It doesn't.  Damn.  Okay, maybe a bit! This is gonna be short, I'm on vacation.  Vamanos!

2) Mostly what went wrong was the Spurs making shots.  They started off making their first, I don't know, hundred in a row?  And.  They.  Never. Stopped.  Making.  Shots.  Early, Parker and Ginobili got wherever the wanted off the dribble, and the Spurs generally took it to the Heat.  But as the game wore on, I thought Miami was able to settle in defensively, force turnovers, and the longer possessions which benefit their athleticism.  But each time they would creep close, someone on the Spurs would throw in something ridiculous.  Danny Green, 6-10 on 3s again, made a 26 footer over strong contests from Dwyane Wade and Shane Battier after the Heat had cut it to one late in the third.  Kawhi Leonard made a bizarre fallaway hook shot in traffic.  Ginobili made several impossible wrong foot tosses after missing everything all series long, and when Tony Parker made a running 14 foot hook shot over Dwyane Wade late in the fourth quarter, that about did it.  The Spurs shot a scorching 60% from the field - that's crazy.  I might have been a little loopy from margaritas and the sea breeze, but I honestly didn't think Miami played that poorly defensively.  Hats off to the Spurs.

3) I also thought some tough calls went against Miami.  During the Spurs late run, KJ James had a play where he went to the basket in transition, Danny Green gave a foul on purpose, James missed the finish, and the refs brain-locked the call.  It was the classic "all-others-get-that-call-but-KJ James-is-required-to-finish-through-contact" play.  James shot 9 free throws, but if he's Tony Parker, or Dwyane Wade, he would have shot 19.  To the Heat's credit, after getting down 20 in the fourth quarter, they battled back again, and got it to 11 with about 3 minutes to go on a Dwyane Wade runner only to have the bucket waived off by Tony Brothers so he could call a violation on Mike Miller for setting a screen out of bounds, away from the ball, well after Wade released the shot.  Tough one.  Moments later, Miami did get it to 11, and then Ray Allen drilled a triple off a KJ pindown - also wiped off for an illegal screen.  Not even saying either call was wrong - but both were the equivalent of the running Tony Parker hook shot over Wade - wrong place, wrong time, bad luck.  Just seemed like we couldn't catch a good break from the refs, either - it wasn't the worst reffed game, or anything, but when the other team can't miss anything, one big call going Miami's way would have helped.  Damn.

4) Best thing about watching the games in Mexico: you get Mike Breen and Jeff Van Gundy doing the game, but no ABC pregame or halftime show!  Don't have to mute the sound to avoid the inane "analysis" of Mike Wilbon (who after Game 4 said the Spurs "stink" - spot on, that one), Bill Simmons, Jalen Rose, and Magic Johnson!  Instead we got Alvaro Martin, whoever that is.  And he was speaking Spanish, so whoever he is, I didn't understand a word of it.  This might have been the most enjoyable national NBA broadcast I've ever experienced.  I'll be going to Finland for next year's Finals!  The less I can understand the language, the better!

5) I really honestly believe that if Miami plays as hard on Tuesday and Thursday as they did tonight, they can win both games at home.  I don't think they are favored to do so, but coming into this series, I didn't think they had a realistic shot to win - too banged up, bad matchup.  Now Wade (25 and 10 assists) is looking a little more confident, if not necessarily more athletic, and Chris Bosh (16 and 6) has been more active.  If the Spurs shoot 60% in one of these two games, yes, Miami is probably going to lose.  But I feel decent about it.  We all feel decent, right?  That's quite a rallying cry: WE FEEL DECENT!!! 

6) Puerto Morales is a small town, so most locals speak some English, but not a lot.  I speak no Spanish, so at times there can be a communication gap.  The beaches here are insane, so there is tourism, but I think a lot of it is tourism from other parts of Mexico, not the U.S., which was shocking to me, because before this week, I was unaware there were other parts of Mexico...My policy: no pandering.  I'm not going to give locals an imperialist, patronizing, "por favor," or "gracias," or "como estas."  Those are pretty much the only things I can say in Spanish, so I assume that the reverse is true, that most Mexicans have mastered those simple English phrases - I certainly haven't met anyone here who, in general, seems dopier than me.  So, for instance, when I leave a restaurant, I pay the bill, smile warmly, give a polite "thank you," and then slap on my sombrero and head back to the house where I'm staying.   The locals love me!
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Juego 6 is Tuesday.  I'll still be here, so the blog is guaranteed to suck - impossible to write under these conditions for whatever reason.  Don't know how Ernest Hemingway did it.  Might be the last one, though.  If you need me before then, I'll be impressing the locals with my Chicharrito t-shirt.  See you Tuesday!
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