In the aftermath of Game 1, the media has focused relentlessly on the air-conditioning debacle.
Heat can’t handle the heat. Did the Spurs do it on purpose? Does the heat hurt Miami’s short rotation the most or are the Spurs greater hit due to old people being more likely to suffer from heat exhaustion? And just how hot was it?
Don’t get me wrong, it did have a significant impact on the game, but several reports surfaced among all this, indicating a basketball game also took place.
Each member of the Spurs’ big three was firing from the tip. They were led by Tim Duncan, who sprinted out of the gates, nailed his first six shots, missed one field goal all night and finished with 21 points and 10 rebounds.
A story popped up on NBA.com before the game with the headline “Chalmers plans to test Parker’s ankle”, but it was the other way around when Tony Parker served an ankle breaker up to Mario Chalmers not one minute into the series.
Parker sliced and diced throughout the evening, particularly early on, getting to the bucket against Miami’s small interior.
Manu Ginobili was at his best on the offensive end, pulling up for the kind of outrageous threes you’d scorn most other players for taking, as he continued his impressive redemption campaign.
LeBron led Miami with 25 points, but was forced to sit during the final minutes due to chronic cramping.
The toasty conditions didn’t help, but neither did playing 376 games in four years (94 a year on average), playing into late June each of those four seasons, not including his Olympic and general team USA duties.
Even the indestructible machine that is LeBron James shows the slightest sign of wear occasionally.
The man almost never misses games due to injury and rarely gets any recognition for that borderline impossible achievement. Yet when he misses the final few minutes of a finals game, everyone loses their minds and gets on his back.
The Spurs’ 23 turnovers was a highly uncharacteristic byproduct of their usually disciplined game, and was their worst effort in that department in this year’s playoffs. Miami were unable to take full advantage, scoring just 28 points off those turnovers.
The Spurs took advantage of their larger rotation, getting up and down the court and really pushing the ball to wear out Miami’s troops.
Ray Allen was under the impression it was 1998, looking like a young buck (he was a Buck when he was young) as he drove to the hoop several times, one venture into the paint resulting in this surprising flush.
As we look ahead to game two, it’s all about making adjustments in the playoffs, and Chris Anderson has done just that, adding an extra two inches of beard since the conference finals.
Follow Nick on Twitter @nickjungfer
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