If Tim Duncan's Final prediction comes to pass, it will be because the Spurs came to pass. The way the Spurs play is no passing fancy, although they do some fancy passing. Pinpoint, too. They thread the needle like a team of talented tailors. They spot every seam in the defense (and the Heat's has more holes than moth-munched mohair) and, subsequently, are one win away from sewing up the series and fitting their fingers for rings. They're showing they aren't as buttoned-down as the press portrays them. The Heat, who were caught with their fly down in game 3, didn't zip it up in game 4, either. sse defense has more holes than moth-munched mohair, have folded like a beach chair. Down 3-1, a deficit never overcome in the Finals, parachute pants have a better chance of coming back than them (maybe those would halt the Heat's free fall).
The spotlight-shirking Spurs surely didn't go clubbing while in Miami, but they did club the Heat twice over two nights. They were right at home inside American Airlines Arena and now they get to go home to try to clinch a championship. In an encore, Leonard again supplied the Kawhighlights, providing 20 points and 14 rebounds. Gloria Estefan's presence wasn't enough to turn the beating around*. Not to (Ney)mar another nation, but Miami looked as unprepared to host a crucial competition as Brazil*.
The Spurs have better balance than a tightrope walker, but instead of no net, it's nothing but net, since they shot 57% in game 4 and are averaging 54% from the floor in the Finals. The most skilled player in the 305 - and all area codes - can't overcome the most skilled starting five in The Association. Aside from Pat Riley's pompadour, the Heat haven't encountered anything this well-oiled (barring bodybuilders on the boardwalk).
Sorry soccer, but basketball is the true beautiful game^. The Spurs are athletics as art and the court is their canvas. This is the closest sports comes to sonnets, symphonies and sculptures. A coach-composed opera; a Popera. Duncan, Parker and Ginobli aren't the "Big Three," but they may be the "Three Tenors" (what do you mean that nickname is already taken?).
*so far, it's been the Miami soundly defeated machine
^we'll grant that Nene is no Pele
No comments:
Post a Comment