SAN ANTONIO – The San Antonio Spurs are on an unprecedented postseason roll that not even a boatload of turnovers in Game 1 of the NBA Finals could stop.
They probably ruined Tim Duncan’s hopes of a career change, though.
Duncan wants to be a point guard, Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich revealed Saturday, a wish that won’t be granted. But Duncan gladly would settle for another championship, and the Spurs would be halfway there by beating Miami on Sunday night in Game 2.
The Spurs have won eight consecutive postseason home games by 15 or more points – an NBA record – but know as well as anyone that a one-game lead means nothing against the Heat.
“That’s why I think we can’t be satisfied,” said point guard Tony Parker, who isn’t worried about losing his job to Duncan. “Because we was in the same situation, and we know they can win here, and so we just have to go out there and play our game and try to win this one. I think it’s a big game for the series.”
LeBron James fully expects to be ready for the Heat, who also dropped the opener last year in the finals against the Spurs, and in 2012 to Oklahoma City. Miami is 5-0 with James when dropping the opener of a series, rebounding to win Game 2 every time.
A 2-0 deficit surely would bring loads of unwanted attention to what’s already one of the most scrutinized players and teams in sports.
“I’m sure the series would be over from the outside,” Heat guard Dwyane Wade said, laughing.
“Our focus is on how we can win ballgames and understand in the series it’s the first one to four; not the first one to one, not the first one to two, not the first one to three. You win a series by being the first one to four. We understand the journey, we understand the path and what it takes to get there.”
The Heat were in position to win Game 1 before James departed with cramps. The Spurs committed 23 turnovers that not only led to 28 Miami points but also prevented them from getting the ball more often to Duncan, who shot 9-of-10 from the field.
Popovich said Duncan never demands more shots, even when he is in a good rhythm.
“No, the only thing Timmy has ever demanded is he wants to play the point and he thinks I’ve held him back,” Popovich said. “True story. He thinks he’s a point guard.”
Duncan is one of the best power forwards in NBA history but likes to think like a little guy, though he realizes he hurt his chances of getting to actually play the part of one.
“After my five turnovers the other night, I think I took a step back from that,” he said. “I don’t think that I’m going to be able to step up and fill that role for a little while. But, no, I enjoy getting in the middle of the floor and making decisions and getting the ball to the right place, and that’s what a point guard’s got to do.”
The Spurs don’t need one, not after Parker looked healthy while posting 19 points and eight assists in the opener after missing the second half of the Western Conference finals clincher because of a sore left ankle.
With Parker seemingly fine, James’ health remained the focus. He practiced Saturday and still was receiving treatments in hopes of preventing more cramping. It also should help that the air conditioning inside the AT&T Center has been repaired, but he won’t be worrying about that, anyway.
“You can’t think about what may happen in the third or fourth quarter. Live in the moment,” James said. “And for me, whatever I can give my teammates if it happens again, hopefully I can make an impact while I’m on the floor, and that’s all that matters to me.”
The Spurs knocked James into a 2-0 hole in the 2007 finals, but that was when he was still in Cleveland. The team James is on now gets out of trouble just as quickly as it gets into it.
“That’s why they are two-time champs,” Parker said.
Living by the 3-point shot
SAN ANTONIO – The teams with the best 3-point percentage so far in these playoffs are San Antonio and Miami, so it might seem logical to think the Heat and Spurs love the long-range game.
It also would be wrong.
“I hate it,” Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich said of the 3.
“We are not just a perimeter team,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra insisted.
Hate it or love it, the Heat and Spurs know how to use it, anyway. The 3-pointer is getting fired more than ever these days, and there’s some easy correlations to draw between Miami and San Antonio being good from long range and being the last two teams standing on the NBA playoff bracket for the second consecutive year.
San Antonio – which was the league’s most accurate team from 3-point range during the regular season, the third time in four years that it’s held that distinction – is shooting an NBA-best 40 percent from beyond the arc so far in the playoffs. Miami is right behind the Spurs, shooting 39.7 percent.
“To me it’s not basketball, but you’ve got to use it,” Popovich said. “If you don’t use it, you’re in big trouble. But you sort of feel like it’s cheating. You know, like two points, that’s what you get when you make a basket. Now you get three, so you’ve got to deal with it. I don’t think there’s anybody who is not dealing with it.”
He’s right. It’s an absolute staple of the NBA game now, more than ever.
Teams shot just under 53,000 3-pointers this season, smashing the NBA yearlong record set last season by nearly 4,000 attempts. It’s becoming nearly as prevalent as the free throw; teams shot 1.09 free throws for every 3-pointer tried this season, as opposed to the 1.62-1 ratio in that department merely a decade ago
“Pop’s a pretty smart guy,” said Spurs guard Danny Green, who set a record for most 3s made during a Finals series a year ago against the Heat. “Even though he hates it, he knows it’s a thing that you need to be successful in this league.”
The corner 3-pointer – like the Ray Allen one that kept San Antonio from winning the title last season – is all the rage in the NBA these days, and it’s a huge part of the game plans.
San Antonio was 13-for-25 from 3-point range in Game 1; Miami was 12-for-29. A year ago, the teams combined for 298 3-point tries in their seven-game series; at their current pace, they’d fire off 378 if this series also goes the maximum distance.
“I’m sure Pop doesn’t like it, but he understands it. There’s a difference,” Miami forward Shane Battier said. “You don’t have to love everything that you do. There’s a reason why they’re No. 1 in valuing the corner 3 over the last 10 years. Even though he may not like it, he values it.”
