Normally, people say that a series turns in Game 3. I think this one just turned in Game 4.
Game 4: San Antonio vs. Miami.
Prior to the Finals, Miami hadn't lost at home. Also, after each loss in the playoffs, they'd won the next game 13 times.
They lost Game 3 at home and then lost Game 4 as well. In neither game could anyone have said that they had an actual chance of winning.
Sure, there was that moment in Game 3 where they got within 10 points.
And there were a few minutes in the beginning of Game 4 where they looked like they could match the Spurs' intensity and execution. Unfortunately, it didn't last much longer than those first few minutes.
Now the Spurs are up 3-1 and I don't see how Miami mounts a comeback. They may win Game 5 in San Antonio...but it doesn't seem particularly likely at this point.
Even if they won Game 5, I can't imagine them being able to put together two more efforts like that in a row. Not when San Antonio has played as well as they have the last two games.
Before the series started I heard about the supposed advantage in depth that San Antonio possesses. This is a bit of a misnomer anyway since Popovich can alter his starting lineup due to the amount of versatility present. But there's really no way of getting around the fact that while San Antonio might not have as many big-money or big-name players as Miami (or most other NBA teams), they have more good players than just about any other team you can name. It's the reason they ran roughshod over Portland and then took out OKC, and it's the reason they're going to get their fifth title as a franchise.
Miami could counter the Spurs if it was just Duncan, Ginobili, and Parker they had to worry about. But now the Spurs have Danny Green to spread the floor, Boris Diaw to make plays and take it inside (where the Heat are at their weakest, in the most painfully obvious way), and Kawhi Leonard to do a bit of everything and generally look like the best player on the floor when he's on his game.
Hell, it might be enough to say that Kawhi Leonard playing better in Games 3 & 4 is what has made the difference. But that would be a mistake too, as it would discount the amazingly precise execution that every guy wearing a Spurs uniform has shown out there.
It was a good run for Miami. Based on this series, at least, it's time to add a couple peripheral guys that can help take the load off of the "Big Three". Guys like Danny Green, Boris Diaw, or Kawhi Leonard.
San Antonio leads 3-1. Game 5 is Sunday.
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