2014 NBA Finals, Game 1: Not the Cramp Game

Miami's defense has thrived this season on aggressive pressure, instantly having a guy on the ball and forcing him to make another pass or heave up a low-percentage shot just to avoid a 24-second violation. If the defense works, and he doesn't do that, it ends in a turnover. So if the Spurs turned the ball over 23 times in a single game, then the Heat probably did their job. Just ask Coach Pop: "When we have games like that turnover-wise, invariably it's a loss for us." Thankfully for San Antonio, "invariably" didn't mean a thing last night.

It's easy to chalk the Spurs' 110-95 Game 1 win last night up to the heat (with a lowercase "h") forcing the best player in the world off the court midway through the 4th quarter. In a way, that's right. With James out and Chalmers facing foul trouble all night, the Heat had to play a super-small lineup consisting of Wade, Allen, Cole, and two of Lewis/Andersen/Bosh. This is small even for Miami, and there's not a lot of exterior defense on the court. And wouldn't you know it, just as this lineup hit the floor, Danny Green got a hot hand behind the line. Green's effective shooting spread the floor considerably, and the unusually fatigued Heat D clearly could not keep up. This sparked San Antonio's 31-9 game-ending run, and they win Game 1 in what appears to be a blowout.

James' absence from the game allowed the Spurs to run away with the game late, but it didn't automatically spell a Spurs win. Despite committing 9 of their 23 turnovers in the third quarter, San Antonio only trailed by four points. How did Miami fail to really capitalize on this opportunity?

The answer is nice and simple: the Spurs went so goddamn hard in the paint.

Not so hard that you'd notice anything really different, but that's the point: the outside shooters (Ginobli especially) were still a threat for much of the game, allowing for some excellent post-up play throughout the game from Duncan and Splitter. Timmy was a consistent presence in the game, going 9 for 10 from the field (which, for Duncan, was more or less 7 feet from the basket), finishing with 21. Splitter, meanwhile, finished with "only" 14 on a 5-of-6 night, but nine of those points came in a row straddling the 3rd and 4th quarter. At that point, the machine of the Spurs offense was struggling mightily; it seemed like every possession ended in an errant pass. Splitter's play on the inside is something that a lot of people will forget, but he was really the only one keeping them in the game during that time span.

The Spurs' affinity for the foul line last night was the other effect of the solid play in the paint. San Antonio got to the line twice as often as Miami (22 shots to 11), and got 17 of their points from the charity stripe. Interestingly, the players most in trouble during the night were Chalmers (5), Wade, and Allen (both with 4). This means that the Spurs driving to the hoop were able to take advantage of defensive mismatches, which is descriptive of each of those Heat guards to some extent, no matter which guy they're up against.

LeBron's cramp is the reason why the Heat lost by 15, but not the reason they lost. The Spurs showed that they could overcome some of the best Miami defense we've seen all year for a killer 59% shooting night, and pull out a win even with terrific guard play Wade and Allen on the other end. Here's to James returning in Game 2 to see if they can do it again, with the best player in the world on the court.