We are nearing the start of Game 3 of the NBA Finals as the Miami Heat and San Antonio Spurs meet in AT&T Center and somebody will have a 2-1 series lead once this one is over. Both teams left Miami with a victory, it is time for somebody to have the upperhand as the Heat look to defend their title and the Spurs look to give Tim Duncan at least one more championship.
Game Time: 9 p.m. ET, 8 p.m. CT
The Heat are coming off a huge victory in Game 2 where they simply demolished the Spurs 103-84. The score doesn't give the Heat credit for how badly they beat the Spurs. Similar to how the Heat couldn't score or keep the ball at the end of Game 1, the Spurs couldn't get anything to fall between the third and fourth quarters as Miami cruised to a 33-5 run. The Spurs threw in the towel early. With six minutes remaining in the game, the scrubs were already in the game getting a chunk of garbage minutes. Erik Spoelstra really wanted to make sure Miami didn't let this lead escape, so he played his starters for a few minutes in the final quarter though it was obvious they were going to win.
In Game 2, it was Chris Bosh, Ray Allen and Mario Chalmers who defeated the Spurs. LeBron James handled his business in the second half, but the role players were the one who locked things up for the Heat as the Spurs could not find an answer for these guys. Allen finished went 3-5 from three, Chalmers scored 12 of his 19 points in the second and third quarters, while Bosh was handling the boards in these quarters, keeping the ball alive from the Heat and removing second chance opportunities from the Spurs.
Manu Ginobili hasn't provided the adequate spark off the bench for the Spurs, making San Antonio heavily reliant on Tony Parker and Duncan. Duncan only had nine points in Game 2 and so did Kawhi Leonard. The Spurs will need to distribute the ball better and avoid turning the ball over as they finished Game 2 with 17 turnovers.
The key matchup in this one once is Parker vs. Chalmers. Parker needs to carry the offense, but if Chalmers scores at will, as he finished with a game-high 19 points, then the Spurs will be in trouble. They have to clog the paint and prevent Chalmers from getting easy layups.
Bosh has to remain active on Duncan and if possible, the Heat will have to team up and get Duncan in foul trouble early as the San Antonio crowd will surely invigorate this Spurs team.
