NBA Finals: Spurs Over “Heat” Miami?…3 Lessons!

Jun 8, 2014; San Antonio, TX, USA; Miami Heat forward LeBron James (6) shoots against San Antonio Spurs forward Boris Diaw (33) in game two of the 2014 NBA Finals at AT&T Center. Mandatory Credit: Soobum Im-USA TODAY Sports

Well it looks like the NBA Finals has now started. The Miami Heat have now gone 6-0 in the “Big Three” era after losing the first game of a series. The Miami Heat tied the NBA Finals series after losing Game one for the second straight year beating the San Antonio Spurs 98-96 riding LeBron James’ 35 points and 10 rebounds. Chris Bosh backed up LeBron quite nicely scoring 18 points including a huge three pointer on a pass from James with 1:18 remaining in the game. Dwayne Wade and Rashard Lewis each finished with 14 points apiece.

Tony Parker scored 21 points and dished out seven assists to lead the Spurs while Tim Duncan tied Magic Johnson with his 157th double-double in the NBA playoffs with 18 points and 15 rebounds. Manu Ginobli finished with 19 points. But let’s be honest, the Spurs shooting got cooler when the air conditioning came back. After shooting a ridiculous 58% in Game one they only shot 44% in Game two. There may be 3000 stories that could be discussed about this series, but I’ll give you three.

Rumor mill (aka jokey-joke): There is no rumor that the check cleared for the bill just in time for Game two. Oh too soon? Sorry.

1) Boy there were a bunch of “Lance-A-Lots” out there

After Game one, LeBron James got it from everywhere. There were even reports about Gatorade references that were floating out there. Spurs fans had a lot of jokes about “Cramp Gate”. A lot of them were funny. Boy you Spurs fans put it on him. I have to give it to you. Now let me tell you something else. This was a huge, huge mistake. Didn’t you see  the Eastern Conference Finals? Lance Stephenson did his very best to get under the skin of LeBron James. Umm let’s see if it worked? After blowing sweet nothings in his ear in Game five and becoming a social media darling, the Miami Heat destroyed the Indiana Pacers to meet the Spurs in the NBA Finals. Come on Spurs fans, this is not your style. The San Antonio Spurs is the only franchise I know of that  can beat a team by forty points and act like it’s what is supposed to be done all the time. Tim Duncan and Tony Parker tried to defend James for his cramps, but that was because they know they have to deal with this guy for the next potential five or six games.

LeBron James is a sensitive guy. He takes these shots seriously. He was embarrassed after  Game one. Why needle the guy? Wait until the Spurs have won four games first. Spurs fans, I have a word of caution. You had better hope LeBron James doesn’t have the ability to hold grudges like Michael Jordan who could turn the smallest things into motivation for the next twenty years. Jordan holds grudges for a lifetime. LeBron James has to hold this grudge for about a week. The Spurs knew he would come out strong because…

2) LeBron James is still the best talent in the world.

What gets lost in Game one with the cramps is granted the Heat fell apart after he went out but points is not what they missed the most. It was the defense. For all of the offensive playmaking he does for the Miami Heat team, it’s the defense that was the key in the loss. You see the Heat REALLY could have won Game one as well. When LeBron left the game that’s when the Spurs went crazy and pulled away. Understand that James still had 25 points in Game one.

In Game two, James scored 33 points on a ridiculous 13-18 from the field after the first quarter. Here’s the thing though, he spent the first half in the paint. He came out aggressive and imposed his will on the game. After shooting 1-4 in the first quarter with three turnovers, he hit 11 of his next 13 shots. In the second half, he was in a rhythm and started knocking down jumpers. I mean like six straight coming out in the third quarter. Kwahi Leonard played GREAT defense but when a great player is in rhythm…game over.

I will say this in a side note: LeBron is one UGLY DUDE when he frowns…just sayin!

The next important impact LeBron James had on the game was switching over to Tony Parker in crunch time. Spurs fans, this is an issue that needs to be addressed. Sure Ray Allen knocked down that three last year, but Tony Parker struggling to get in the lane had a bunch to do with the loss as well. Speaking of Tony Parker…

3) Tony’s fallen…AND HE CAN”T GET UP!

Let me give you fans the backstory on my feelings about Mario Chalmers. I can’t stand him. I think he is stealing NBA dollars. My father, Walter Agers teases me to no end every time Chalmers does something good (It’s a good thing that it’s few and far in between or he wouldn’t be getting a Father’s Day gift!) I think he’s a overrated player who gets to ride the coattails of King James and D-Wade. Think I’m kidding? Wait until he leaves Miami for more money and see how bad he is.

For the first two games, Tony Parker was giving Chalmers the BUSINESS! He was tuning up Chalmers so bad that he was a non factor in the entire series. Until just about seven  minutes left in Game two. Mario Chalmers hit Parker with an elbow that had Parker looking like five-year old on the floor calling for his mom. He then missed two free throws and the momentum changed after that.

Look Spurs fans, if you’re going to clown LeBron James for the cramps, you have to be get mad at Tony Parker. Mario Chalmers can’t hold Tony Parker’s jockstrap in a suitcase. That elbow Chalmers threw was a sign of desperation knowing that he couldn’t do anything with him. Parker needed to get up and not show weakness. That bothered me with LeBron, it bothered me with Parker. Parker might not be the best player in the NBA but he’s the best point guard. You just can’t allow a scrub like Chalmers to impact a game in which he scores only five points. He only wanted to muck up the game and slow Parker down. This just in to Air Alamo…it worked.

Here’s my three lessons…now learn from this!

Tony Parker now has 1026 assists in the postseason, moving past Michael Jordan (1,022) for 8th place on the career postseason list. He also passed Scottie Pippen for 13th on the career scoring list with 3,655 points. Now when Chalmers hits you, get up!!!!