Game 1 of the 2014 NBA Finals is in the books and while the Spurs took care of home court to little surprise, the circumstances were somewhat interesting. Jerry Lucas Jersey . Will Strickland and Duane Watson from TSN 1050s 1 On 1 With Will & Duane are joined on the Three Man Weave this week by On Points Drew Ebanks. On Point is a series of basketball films featuring prominent basketball personalities from across Canada. The trio look at what happened and what needs to happen for Game 2. The heat or The Heat couldnt slow the Spurs. Who and what can? Strickland: The HVAC Havoc in the AT&T Center is another in a long line of arena mishaps and strange occurrences in the history of San Antonio professional hoops, be it snakes in a locker, bats on the court or having the old Boston Garden heat trap trick in play. Whether you believe or not weather was the biggest culprit here, when history is at stake on both sides, you do what is necessary to improve your chances for victory. That said, Miami has to have better contributions from their bench or its One For The Thumb deep in the heart of Texas soon! Ebanks: Only the Spurs can truly stop the Spurs in these playoffs. When this collection of future Hall of Famers and highly productive role players and veterans are moving the ball, spreading the court and creating havoc for rotations they are almost impossible to slow down, never mind stop. If their 3 pointers are falling the only thing left to do is pray. San Antonio plays a beautiful style of basketball, making the game looks so easy and effortless, which in turn causes problems for opposing defenses. Watson: I wouldnt be entirely surprised if Spurs Head Coach Greg Popovich was behind the AC "failure" in the arena. Im sure it will come to light in an ESPN 30 For 30 one day. Despite Miami forcing 22 turnovers, it was the smaller stars for San Antonio that shined bright in Tiago Splitter, Danny Green and Boris Diaw. If the Heat expect to compete in this series, it cant be solely on the backs of the Big Three who scored 62 of their 95 points. LeBron James: Cant Stand The Heat... Or Human? Strickland: I loved the analysis of instant athletic trainers and non-athletes on social media who spent days pontificating on what they or someone else whose name rhymes with Michael Jordan would have done in that situation, but… There will always be a difference between fans and fanatics. Did LeBron shrink in the moment? No. Miami lost the game once James went down. Be sure that preventative maintenance will be the goal to keep James on the court for the rest of the Finals. Ebanks: Of course LeBron James is human. Look, this man is one of the most incredible physical specimens/athletes in the history of sports. 69", 265 lbs. who can play and defend all 5 positions, has the speed of a sprinter and the strength of a power lifter. Hes been pretty much an ironman throughout his career despite being hammered by defenders consistently in his career on his forays to tin. Plenty of players have succumbed to cramps. Heck, if youve played sports and havent had cramps you probably werent playing as hard as you should have. Watson: He cramped up, it happens and has happened in the past. It was a hotbox in the AT&T Center; that much was obvious. The only thing I found interesting was that he didnt seem to be taking any fluids while agonizing on the bench. How vital were bench contributions to Game 1? Strickland: Its no secret that the Spurs may have one of the most productive and diverse benches in NBA Finals history. It was surely an advantage in Game 1, where Manu Ginobili almost outscored the entire Miami bench alone and Boris Diaw combined with him to dish out 17 of the Spurs 30 assists off the pine. Vital? No question. The Heats subs not named Ray Allen have to show up for Game 2 to give Miami a chance to take their talents back to South Beach with a split. Ebanks: For any basketball team, especially at the NBA level, benches are extremely important. The less drop off a team has from its starters to their subs means more success, generally speaking. In this series, the Spurs clearly have a definite advantage. In Game 1, San Antonios bench of super-sub Manu Ginobili, Boris Diaw, Marco Bellinelli and Patty Mills outscored the Heats bench of Ray Allen, Norris Cole, Chris Anderson and Shane Battier, 34-20. The Spurs margin of victory was 15, so there you go. One other point: San Antonios bench is also more crucial for them because their main players are older and have more mileage than Miamis. Watson: There hasnt been a more obvious stat disparity between these two teams and it was clear in Game 1. The depth of the Spurs bench has never been secret, outscoring the Heat 34-20. Yet, the rebounding (20-10), assists (17-9) were both overwhelmingly in San Antonios favour. What does Miami need to do to win Game 2? Strickland: No wholesale changes by the Heat are necessary except preventing 36 point 4th quarter explosions. Other than that, continue to impose their defensive identity on the game, crafting live ball turnovers that they convert into fast break points and fouls for the Spurs and getting multiple Triple Singles off the bench from players other than Walter Ray Allen. Ebanks: They need to LEBRON! Hows that for an answer? As King James goes, so do the Miami Heat. Before LeBron James went down in Game 1, the Heat were actually right in the ball game. LeBron has to bounce back and lead Miami to victory in Game 2. If I were the Heat, Id bring in some Miami Air Conditioning specialists of their own, just in case. I mean who knows more about air conditioning than Floridians?!? Watson: The Heat were only down by 94-92 when James left the game for the final time with 3:59 left and then effectively choked on a Spurs 14-3 run to close out the game. They were very much in Game 1 and the defensive pressure on the ball clearly worked. They need contributions from the supporting cast not named Ray Allen. What does San Antonio need to do to hold serve in Game 2? Strickland: They won Game 1, which they did in Miami last year, only to lose the Finals in 7. It will be a long series and this veteran Spurs team knows it. Popovich will implore his charges to protect the pumpkin better despite shooting almost 60 per cent vs the Heat because 22 turnovers are never good. When players 1-12 contribute as they did in Game 1, Game 2 should be no problem because Teamwork Makes The Dream Work! Ebanks: The Spurs I think have to be smelling blood and its only Game 2. Their opponents best player (LBJ) is hobbling, meanwhile San Antonios leader and floor general, Tony Parker, coming off ankle issues, played well and says he feels great and is ready to go for the next game. Watson: More of the same, their game plan was effective. While only five players can play on the court at a given time, everyone gave them something; whether, scoring, defense, ball movement, three-point shooting, or rebounds. That balanced approach has been the cornerstone to the franchises success. The Three-Man Weave contributors are co-hosts of TSN Radio 1050s 1-on-1 with Will and Duane, Will Strickland (@WallStrizzle1) and Duane Watson (@byDuaneWatson) and guest air conditioning and 3-point specialist Drew Ebanks (@DrewEbanks) Brian Grant Jersey . Completely. Two days after releasing Peyton Manning, the longtime face of the franchise, the Colts announced they were cutting four fan favourites: running back Joseph Addai, linebacker Gary Brackett, safety Melvin Bullitt and tight end Dallas Clark. Mitch Richmond Jersey .com) - The fading Ottawa Senators have a chance to make up some ground in the playoff race on Tuesday night as they play host to the New York Rangers.SEATTLE -- Bartolo Colon watched the line drive fall into the outfield grass and applauded. It was all Colon could do after his attempt to toss the first perfect game in New York Mets history was thwarted. Colon came within seven outs of a perfect game on Wednesday afternoon, before giving up a two-out single to Robinson Cano in the seventh inning of the Mets 3-2 win over the Mariners. Colon left a 2-2 fastball elevated on the outer half of the plate and Cano served the pitch into left field, dropping it well in front of Eric Young Jr. "Youre a little disappointed when they get a hit, but thats what theyre trying to do," Colon said through an interpreter. "Theyre trying to get a hit and break up the no-hitter." New York manager Terry Collins went one step further than disappointment. He was certain if Colon was able to get Cano to finish off the seventh he would have completed the perfect game. Collins was the Mets manager when Johan Santana ended New Yorks franchise drought without a no-hitter in 2012. "No doubt. There is no doubt in my mind that if he got by Cano he ramps it up. You see it a lot," Collins said. "But you know, great game by him." A no-hitter is one of the few things missing from Colons resume. He has a Cy Young. Hes won a World Series title. Hes made a career comeback after injuries left him out of baseball in 2010. At age 41, Colon is pitching well enough that hes regularly being talked about as trade fodder for teams needing a starter with the non-waiver trade deadline rapidly approaching. "I dont know anything about that," Colon said. "Those are decisions for the upper management and you cant control that stuff." Colon retired the first 20 batters he faced before Canos single. Colon then had to hold on as Seattle rallied in the eighth and came within inches of tying the game on Brad Millers RBI double that hit off the top of the wall. Colon (9-8) improved to 13-1 all-time at Safeco Field, including his dominance of the Mariners when he was pitching for the Angels. Seattle had no answers for the rotunnd right-hander, who gave up two runs and three hits in 7 1-3 innings. Kings Jerseys 2020. "He was a Cy Young class guy," Cano said. "He knows how to pitch. Back in the day when the guy threw hard, everything was middle of the plate, fastball. Now you see a different guy that moves the ball, both sides, and a pretty good change up." Colon threw a one-hitter for the Angels against the Yankees in 2000 and was cruising until the seventh. He got the first two outs of the seventh, but Canos single ended the bid for perfection. Cano was hitting .400 against Colon entering the game. Corey Hart led off the eighth walking on a 3-2 pitch, just the fourth three-ball count Colon reached. After a fly out, Dustin Ackley singled to right, bringing the tying run to the plate. Miller nearly tied it with one swing, doubling off the top of the wall in right-centre, missing a home run by only a couple of feet. Colon was replaced by Jeurys Familia and Willie Bloomquists infield groundout scored another, but Endy Chavez struck out to end the threat. Jenrry Mejia got his 13th save pitching the ninth, despite giving up a pair of singles. "(Colon) was awesome today. Great command of his fastball. We didnt use his off-speed that much," Mets catcher Anthony Recker said. "... It made my job really easy." Daniel Murphy had an RBI double in the first and David Wright had an RBI single in the seventh. New York also had a score in the fifth when Ruben Tejada was hit in the helmet with a 94 mph fastball from Seattle starter Taijuan Walker. Tejada instantly crumpled to the ground before walking off the field on his own power. Tejada passed all initial testing and was expected to fly with the team to Milwaukee. "It scared me," Tejada said. NOTES: The Mets have 38 one-hitters in franchise history. ... Colons only loss at Safeco field came in 2001 during the Mariners 116-win season. ... Seattle LHP James Paxton (back) is expected to throw one more rehab start this weekend in the minors before possibly rejoining the club. ' ' '
top of page
bottom of page