If there are cheerleaders, then it is a sport.
Posted on 06/13/2014 7:53:28 AM PDT by laotzu
The Heat looks like a team out of answers, and worse, out of belief. The Heat looks like a team out of hope, and just about out of time.
Miami’s dream of a third straight NBA championship is expiring, and it is not doing so nobly, but rather wrapped in something uncomfortably close to embarrassment. This is not ending as much as it is crashing with the sound of something broken. Something shattering.
You heard booing in the downtown bayside arena Thursday night as the Heat was crushed 107-86 in a Game 4 Finals loss that put the Spurs in 3-1 command heading back to San Antonio.
A two-time defending champion chasing a three-peat, booed by its own fans, in its own building, in an NBA Finals. The booing was neither sustained nor loud, but you heard it, and it was a jarring sound, like heckling in church.
Miami must now make history to win this series and keep its budding dynasty intact. No team in league history has overcome a 3-1 Finals deficit to win. None. Not once. And the Heat must now win three games in a row – two in San Antonio – against a Spurs team that just dominated Miami at home for a second straight game.
Boxing champion Floyd Mayweather Jr., who sat courtside, reportedly lost $2.6 million on Thursday night by betting on Miami to win.
“They smashed us,” said LeBron James.
“Whipped our butt,” said Dwyane Wade.
And it was too obvious to ignore that James came here from Cleveland to get away from the very situation that enveloped him Thursday night:
Being a superstar alone.
Having no help.
(Excerpt) Read more at miamiherald.com ...
What is the purpose of the season when more than half the teams (16/30) get into the playoffs?
And don't get me going about the lottery picks in the draft...
I did not watch the game last night (commented on FR instead), but I had a growing anxiety as my husband explained it to me this morning. Maybe I have become too politically paranoid, but how come the NBA has not been infected with the accusation of racism?
A white coach demanding total cooperation with his mostly black players. They barely speak. They differ to him completely. They aren’t allowed to be colorful after a successful shot. Everyone has to pull their weight; no slacking.
Pure meritocracy must be stopped, right, isn’t that how they want it. Where is their openly gay player? Isn’t it time a black man to coach their team? How come they aren’t using their time in the limelight to voice grievances against white people, heterosexuals, people who can afford tickets, teams from red states.
Really, it is so pure. I do really admire Popovich and his team. Go Spurs!
My husband also emphasized to me, that they passed a lot, a strategy to make each player contribute rather than have just one star making all the points. Ego is subsumed for team cohesion and advancement.
He also said they were focused, disciplined and humbled, not wanting to explain, predict or crow after the game. They are in the zone until the last decisive game.
Bravo!
Did you ever stop to consider that by not fighting Manny Floyd is allowing Manny to pretend that he actually had a chance of beating him?
If there are cheerleaders, then it is a sport.
Thank-you. I shall also has it to my husband.
One extremely underrated four-letter word is part of why the Spurs exemplify a pure aspect of the game. The word is “pass”.
As LeBron James admitted: “They put you in positions no other team in the League does.” His reference was how the Spurs passed the ball to the weak side so quickly as part of a precise offensive set that the Heat did not get into the correct defensive position.
Two words explain how that happened: “Greg Popovich”. He is widely regarded as the best coach of grown men on the planet for a reason. He watched the first two games of the series. He saw his Spurs lose home court advantage and how they could have been down 0-2 but for LeBron James cramping amidst arena air-conditioning failures. He then did what great coaches do – make adjustments. “Pop” inserted Boris Diaw into the starting lineup because of his passing skills. Then Pop reconfigured some plays so that in essence, as LeBron also admitted, the Spurs were transformed into having “4 players with point guard passing skills.”
It’s true. What the Spurs have been able to do out of little San Antonio is amazing. It’s like Buffalo being in the hunt year after year in football.
The only thing I can think of that’s close is maybe Oakland in baseball. One of the lowest payrolls in the MLB, in a festering toilet of a city, and all they do is make the playoffs every year.
Here’s something people tend to overlook about the Spurs as a T-E-A-M — LOYALTY and COHESION.
Their 3 top players have been there for 10 years or more — Duncan, Parker and Ginobilli.
For 17 years Tim Duncan has worked at his craft. After this game, Duncan now has more double-doubles than anyone in the history of the game, passing Magic Johnson. And he passed Kareem Abdul Jabbar for most minutes played in NBA playoff history.
Coach Popovich preaches playing the game the right way and being consistent in doing it. And the team’s owners support him all the way. This is one well run organization.
“A white coach demanding total cooperation with his mostly black players. They barely speak. They differ to him completely.”
I read an article which differs somewhat from this. During timeouts when Pop is strategizing the next play, he doesn’t bark commands. Instead he asks questions, and the answers he gets from the players determine what they’ll do.
Also, Pop is an ex-military intelligence officer, so he uses info to plan his battles.
Couldn't agree more. Tim Duncan impresses me. He's a low key, articulate gentleman. And opposed to a great many other players in the league, has near perfect diction. Though not a Spur, David Robinson is another person cut from the same cloth.
Indeed. MLB has been plagued with this phenomenon for decades. Can you say Bill Buckner?
Who the heck taught him to field a ground ball that way? When I was a kid, my dear departed father (who played with the Brooklyn Dodgers for about a week) used to drill me in the back yard on proper fielding techniques.
He was most disdainful (to put it mildly) when Buckner booted that ball. I have seen many instances like it since. The other major sports are no different...except for NHL hockey. It seems you simply don't make the big show there without a grasp on fundamentals.
Basketball? It would seem that countless hours spent on a city or playground asphalt court is considered appropriate training for a college and a Big League career.
Yes. But then I rejected the premise because if they had fought when they first had the opportunity, Manny would have beaten the snot out of Floyd. Yes...my opinion...but I'm confident I am not wrong.
Ha ha haaaa that’s a Sperns fan for ya.
You did have it handed to you in ‘07 by Donnelly the cheating ref and the Sperns daddy, Commissioner Spern.., I mean Stern. Plus the one during the strike year is tainted too. But if you need those two to feel good well...go right ahead
You were worried though.
Congrats on them already winning this championship this year.
Three games left ONLY if they win. One/one/one, in a sense doesn’t equal three, strangely enough.
See how much attention I pay to the NBA?
You'll never get me into bed with that kind of hygiene.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.