Spurs Flirtation With Perfection Continues

b-ballI mean, really, what’s left?

Could San Antonio actually hit all of its shots for an entire half? Maybe drain 85% for a game?

Double Miami’s rebounding total for the 48 minutes? They won the war of the boards last night, 44-27.

Have an assist on every made basket? Or double the number from LeBron & Co? (Oh wait, they just about did that last night: 25 for the winners, 13 for the vanquished.)

San Antonio’s Spurs trumped their thunderous Game 3 W, with a 21 point beatdown in Game 4, 107-86, to grab a 3-1 series advantage, in front of an early arriving, early leaving South Beach crowd, hoping to beat similarly minded scurrying masses, jumping ship to Joe’s Stone Crab.

The hyperbole has been cued.

San Antonio’s performance in the last two games is, frankly, beyond description.

Dumbfoundingly dominant, it’s been stupefying to watch.

As for the Heat? Truth: they be bewildered.

Tell ’em, James. (James Brown. Not LeBron James.)

* * * * *

After a thunderous follow slam, Jeff Van Gundy exclaimed of the perpetrator thereof, Kawhi Leonard, “Who, What, When, Where and Kawhi.”

Clever.

The former Knicks’ coach must have been looking to top his exclamation after a previous dunk the game before, when he compared the burgeoning Spurs MVP to Connie Hawkins.1

Let us also praise Boris Diaw, the fancy passing Frenchman, who has started the last two games, a most astute move by coach Greg Popovich.

Last night, Boris had what I feel compelled to dub, a “triple single.”

8 points. 9 boards. 9 assists. He was oh so very close to a you know what.

At the end of three, which concluded with San Antonio up 81-57, Diaw had 7 of those assists. Which matched the total for the entire Miami team.

* * * * *

Greg Popovich’s important game points:2

“Loose balls and boards.”

“The ball doesn’t stick.”

For all offensive panache the Spurs displayed, they heeded their coach’s admonitions and did the dirty work.

Blasting ahead 42-28 in the 2d, San Antonio forced Miami to call a timeout to regroup. Then the Spurs proceeded to steal the inbounds pass out of the stoppage and pushed their lead to 48-29.

The Heat called another gimme a break with 1:36 to play in the half. The Spurs drew an offensive foul out of the timeout. On the ensuing possession, Leonard crammed in that monster follow.

Still harboring some faint hope of a comeback, Miami, down 18, called a timeout with 9:05 to play. Followed immediately by a Patty Mills trey, after which the Aussie backup PG drew a charge.

* * * * *

Other telling things.

Eight different Spurs scored before the first quarter was completed. Every player on the roster tallied during the game.

Through four games, the Spurs have hit 54.2% of their shots. Only the ’84 Lakers, at 54.6% for the Finals have done better.

LeBron James had no help. Suffering some sort of gastrointestinal disorder, the star gamely gave it a shot in the 3d, scoring 19 points in the quarter. The rest of Heat scored two.

He and them are going to need a lot more to win the three in a row they need for a threepeat.

— Seedy K

 

 

One thought on “Spurs Flirtation With Perfection Continues

  1. as you had pointed out, the composition of the Spurs is very significant. As Klinsman ponted out with soccer players, in Europe skilled young players aren’t vying for college scholarships in hopes of then either 1&done or spending 20 hrs/week “trying to impress the NBA, they work hard to joint a “pro” club playing with older players, stronger, bigger but not necessarily as athletic and they have to play the same type of ball that allowed the Europeans to embarrass some USA teams in international ball, until we put nothing but 1st round draft type players out there.
    In addition Pop turned up the speed of his pass- and screen-pass-and-cut offense making the Heat players chase and chase for 20-24 seconds. Lebron and Wade did seem to tire and wayward dribbles, passes and rim rather than net ensued.
    Does Spoelstra try some funky match-up zones to avoid trailing Spurs all over the floor? Do NBA teams start realizing that the now much more ethnically diverse world of non-USA basketball is producing USA type athleticism with European mind set of team ball. Lebron seems to realize that and certainly has been a player who regularly tries to involve all his teammates, but doesn’t/can’t trust them to pass, pass, pass, so he pounds the ball into the floor hoping to be the only distributer on the team.

    As an aside, rather than the Rucker, Hawk from Boys High and Roger Brown from Wingatehad some epic battles at the courts at Manhattan Beach in Brooklyn.

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