With the 2013 NBA preseason in the books for Chicago Bulls fans (8-0), it’s finally time to – yet again – revel in the moments just before the nautical dawn of the 2013-2014 regular season. The good news is we only have to sit close-fisted 96 more hours to see what many of us have been waiting upon for well over a year. The tantalizing notion of a championship in a city that has been swept under the rug by LeBron James governed teams for three of the last four seasons or the unlikely aptitude of a Thibodeau squad to remain in any way cohesive physically by season’s end.

While Mike Dunleavy, Tony Snell, and Erik Murphy are in no way transcending pieces, this team appears far more balanced and dangerous in the half-court than any since Thibodeau came on three years ago.

It’s almost humorous to consider the Bulls are looking to improve on what many believed to be a quasi-hollow 2012 season, a mixture of insatiable progress and unnerving torment. The desire for progression and respect from a battered yet dauntless coalition whose shear will-power kept a city afloat into the second round of the playoffs.

After reexamining their 2013-2014 regular season schedule, I have Chicago going 61-21. Still seeing the Heat coming out as the #1 seed in the Eastern Conference at 63-19 and taking the season series against the Bulls, but a closer conference hierarchy in 2013 than we’ve seen in a while.

Most intriguing games:

10/29/13 – at Heat: This is it. Here’s to hoping Nazr Mohammed isn’t starting at center with Noah doing his best rendition of Greg Oden in the past week. Expect beaming smiles, shiny rings, and explosions the whole family can enjoy.

11/06/13 – at Pacers: Noah/Hibbert Rose/Hill Butler/George, I’m sold.

11/24/13 – at Clippers: What will this Chris Paul – Derrick Rose matchup yield? An overwhelming amount of advertisements both are stars in? Please no more, State Farm. I’m also slightly hoping Jordan or Griffin have a fast-break opportunity on Boozer just because.

12/11/13 – at Knicks: A shootout or a shutdown. Jr. Smith going off or Thibodeau going hoarse by halftime, which one is more plausible?

12/19/13 – at Thunder: With Westbrook back, the Thunder transition game will be in full-effect. Boozer could do the impossible and out-muscle an opponent for the first time since his Utah days. God only knows what Kendrick Perkins’ off-season consisted of.

01/29/13 – at Spurs: When searching for Rose’s highlights, you’ll find a multitude of them coming against a Tim Duncan matchup: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZimlxGDbPi0

02/09/13 – at Lakers: With Kobe back and the all-time scoring ranks on his mind, this matchup is sure to produce something memorable: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YxHl9JYm-IM

03/03/13 – at Nets: Will Jason Terry make a fool of himself in front of a national audience? Will Noah blaze his pistols? All I know is this should end up being a game both of these teams desperately want.

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The NBA Playoffs 66 year history is marked by a nominal plethora of thumbnails and snapshots, names and images, that resonate with basketball aficionados each and every post-season, collecting like dust that rises and rises each year.  Sometimes these images haunt, sometimes they dazzle, but all of them stick, as if an adhesive placed upon the cerebral cortex of each and every fan who witnesses the magnitude of each moment, of each second, of each game.  Go ahead and add Ray Allen to the list of images that will forever remain in Playoff infamy, a permanent blemish that’ll find itself on the hearts of each Spur, even if they win the deciding Game 7.  A game that looked lopsided in the 4^th, which might as well have had the Larry O’Brien packaged, engraved, and mailed to San Antonio, will now have to wait upon a final Game 7 to receive its destination-and the Spurs couldn’t be more disconsolate.  Instead of rambling, I will just list off my notes from the game:

1)   Poor Manu Ginobili.  The 10-year veteran had the worst game of his career in terms of turnovers (8).  This isn’t a throwaway statistic, it was THE WORST game of any that he’s played in either the regular-season or post, and he played to a plus-minus ration of -21.  Arguably the most important turnover of the entire series was made by the Argentinean, although it looked to be a clear foul on Ray Allen, with under 5 seconds to go in OT with the Spurs trailing:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Us9uVuW2yQc

2)   Tim Duncan didn’t show up for the 4^th quarter or OT for the first time in the 2013 Playoffs.  Duncan has been dominating OT, taking control in multiple games of both the Golden State and Memphis series,’ but was nowhere to be found Tuesday night.  Duncan started hot but ended evanesce, and it hurt the Spurs immensely.   To clarify, Duncan has had one of the worst shooting series in his playoff career in the 2013 NBA Finals, but he played like a man possessed Tuesday night.  Duncan scored 13 straight points during one run in the 2^nd quarter, ending with a huge 30pt 17reb performance, but was shut out after the 3^rd quarter. 

3)   Ray Allen has never really been known to be a clutch performer.  When the game’s on the line, Allen might be the fourth or fifth option for the Miami Heat when looking for a big time basket, but Tuesday night represented the crown jewel of Allen’s career, especially if the Heat can close out the series.  With mere seconds to play, Allen received a pass from Chris Bosh and drilled a corner three to tie the game, even with Parker playing neighboring defense.  I guess that’s what happens when the all-time 3-point leader in the history of professional basketball gets off a fairly clean look:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=26HANFrnozQ

4)   LeBron James played with poise, an element that critics have harped the King on since his inception in the league.  Starting 3-12 shooting in the first three quarters, King James scored 16 in the 4^th, sans trademark headband, and put up yet another triple double, finishing with 32pts, 1orebs, and 11asts (the first 30-point, 10-rebound, 10-assist game in the Finals since Charles Barkley in 1993).

Lebron James: Sans Headband

5)   Chris Bosh came to play.  Although Bosh only finished with 10 points, he came up huge on the boards late and had two key blocks in the OT period, including a block on Danny Green to end regulation.

6) San Antonio needs to start hitting their free throws if they want to have a chance in Game 7.  Kwahi Leonard missed a huge free throw down the stretch which would’ve extended the lead to 4, all but sealing the game for the Spurs.  Keep in mind that this kid is 21 years old, he can barely buy himself a drink and each game he’s played in has been the biggest in his life.  Time to step to the plate Kwahi, although he did put up some nice numbers aside from the missed free throw.  The Spurs shot 75% from the free throw line in Game 6 (21-28) but missed huge opportunities to seal it with under 2 minutes to play.

6)   Tony Parker is playing like a hero right now.  Hard to fathom that Parker still put the Spurs in a position to win the game and the title through the tumultuous pain he’s currently enduring, stating in an interview earlier this week that his right hamstring could tear “at any time now, but it’s the NBA Finals.  If it gets a tear, it’s life.”  What!?   Not only is Parkers biggest asset speed and maneuverability, but the pain he must be enduring has to be numbing.  Parker still did everything he could to bring the title back in the 4^th quarter, hitting a clutch three-pointer to tie and an acrobatic spin-jumper in the lane to give them the lead with under a minute to play, but it was not to be.

Parker was completely spent after Game 6

Well, it’s time for every basketball fan’s dream, Game 7 to decide the Championship.  Here’s what I’ll be looking for Thursday night in what looks to be an amazing finale to an outstanding season:

1)   How will the Spurs come out of the gate?  The Championship was sealed, stamped, and sent to San Antonio and yet Miami still found a way to extend the game and eventually force Game 7.  The Spurs looked as dejected as any team in recent memory following the loss, and that can often ware on the minds of the losing team’s players, especially those of Duncan, Parker, and Ginobili, who were utterly demoralized as the final seconds ticked away.

2)   Will LBJ rock the headband?  What a silly question that the media clung to like porcelain following the Miami win, but it’ll be interesting to see if King James shows off that receding hairline for a full 48-minutes on Thursday night, it looked like it worked for him in Game 6.

3)   Will Danny Green find a way to get open shots.  Bosh noted before Game 6 that Green would have trouble hitting the 3-pointers he’s grown accustomed to if Miami swarmed him with defense, and Green only had 3pts on 1-7 shooting (1-5 from deep).  The Spurs not only need Green to be more active offensively, but to play better defense as well (aside from his swipe of LeBron, Green gave up countless baskets in the paint in Game 6).

4)   What’ll Spoelstra do with his lineup?  In the blowout loss that was Game 5, Spoelstra sat Chris Andersen, choosing to go with the more experienced yet crumbling Udonis Haslem, but switched entirely for Game 6 as Andersen played 14 minutes to Haslem’s 0.  Norris Cole also didn’t play in Game 6, so it’ll be interesting to see if Spoelstra chooses the lineup that kept the Spurs away from a title for at least another game, or the lineup that has won him countless matchups this post-season.

Whether you’re for Miami or San Antonio, at this point we’re all fans of basketball.  Come Thursday night we’ll again experience the magic that can only be found in Game 7 of the NBA Finals to decide the best team, literally, in the world.  Don’t blink, you’re not going to want to miss this. 

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The Big 3 Looked Dismal Last Night

As an avid Chicago Bulls fan, I know full well what every San Antonio diehard is currently attempting to appear apathetic over.  I’ve watched LeBron James oust the Bulls in debilitating fashion 3 of the past 4 seasons and let me tell you, it is the world’s worst feeling to watch the transcendent-being of the past decade tear your team apart, appearing completely indifferent about it to add salt to the wound.  At times it can even be horrifying what this man and this team’s capable of.  While LeBron can’t take entire credit for Sunday night’s Game 2, him and the Miami Heat looked poised to run San Antonio out of the city before Spoelstra called his wolves off early in the 4th.  That being said, LeBron did have this block…which was absolutely insane:

Mario Chalmers bounced back from a horrific Game 1, leading the Heat in scoring with 19pts on 50% shooting.  I will admit that beforehand, I felt that Norris Cole was the better option, based on how well he’s been playing in the postseason, but Chalmers showed up Sunday night and not only scored, but helped contain the streaking Tony Parker via a great team pick-and-roll defense which held the Spurs to 37.8 shooting inside the 3-point arc.  Big contributions from Wade, Bosh, and Mike Miller provided supplemental support for a team that looked as relentless as any team in recent memory.  This, combined with stifling defense over the last 4 minutes of the 3^rd and throughout the 4^th turned a game that at one-point in the 3^rd had the Spurs with the lead.

Super Mario Returned On Sunday

The true stat of this game was turnovers.  Only having four in game 1, San Antonio had 17 Sunday, which Miami turned into 19 points.  Ball pressure crushed San Antonio, who displayed lackadaisical ball movement and unbalanced offense for possibly the first time all post-season.  Tim Duncan described his performance as “awful,” which wasn’t far from the truth.  The always dependable Duncan had just 9pts on 3-13 shooting, the worst shooting game of his 27 finals games all-time.   Tony Parker took a night to maintain humanity, finishing with just 13pts on 5-14 shooting, a far cry from his 22.3ppg playoff average.  Look for Popovich to draw up some new plays involving silver lining Danny Green, who had 17pts on a perfect 6-6 shooting, and the Spurs’ defense to not appear as malleable as it was in Game 2.

Game 3 shifts the momentum back to the Miami Heat as the Spurs will have a home game on Tuesday, hopefully they battle back to make this more of a series than was evident Sunday night.

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James couldn’t get it done.

With the exception of the 4^th quarter, the Miami Heat played a solid game, with LeBron obviously making his mark early in the series.  LeBron went off.  Picking up his second straight NBA Finals triple-double, the king had 18pts, 18rbs, and 10asts for a Heat team that looked as hesitant in the 4^th as any team in recent memory.  Wade had another respectable performance adding 17pts and some great defense on Ginobili throughout.  It is interesting to note that Miami throughout much of the 4^th without a true point guard on the floor, adopting a bigger lineup that proved lackluster in (obviously) setting up plays, leading to some errant shots from Bosh and Chalmers late.  Chris Bosh did have a more productive night but it came at a cost, shooting just 6-16 from the field (yeah LeBron only shot 7-16, but he also had a TRIPLE-DOUBLE) for 13pts, and missed a wide open three that could’ve cut the deficit to 2 late in the 4^th.  I was expecting more out of Norris Cole in terms of minutes, as he only had 17 to Chalmers’ 27, and that may be something Miami looks into when adjusting for Game 2.  Also, MIKE MILLER.  Miller, played a great game Friday night, with 5pts and 4asts in just 20 minutes of playing time, look for him to be a bigger factor throughout this series, possibly replacing Battier in a majority of Miami’s lineups.  Overall, Miami did win the rebounding battle (46-37) but stumbled down the stretch, looking hesitant on offense and taken out of sync by the relentless San Antonio defense.

Parker, after the most clutch shot of his career.

How about the Spurs!?  Tony Parker continued his Playoff MVP candidacy Thursday night, hitting the most absurd game-sort-of-winning-shot in a long time:

Not only is Parker unfazed by LeBron guarding him (second in DPOY voting), but he works the clock down entirely like a champion knows how to do, nearly falls over, keeps his balance and dribble, pivots, and hits the most clutch shot of his career-it was beautiful.  If you haven’t been watching the NBA for the past decade and a half, you’ll want to know who Tim Duncan is.  The 37-year-old, playing in his 23^rd Finals game of an illustrious career, had 20pts and 14rbs after a nightmare 1^st quarter.  Duncan and Splitter both played great games, controlling the paint when necessary and overcoming a night that, by stats, should’ve belonged to Miami.  Did I mention that the Spurs are well coached?  Good lord, they had 4 turnovers all night!  Miami had 5 in the 4^th!  Look for Popovich to preach the rebounding game, as well as possibly use Blair (who didn’t play a single minute in Game 1) down low to counteract the Spurs smaller lineup that comes in when Duncan is off the floor.  Blair has provided some great minutes for San Antonio this year and plays a more physical game than Boris Diaw who, frankly, looked comical in a matchup with LeBron.  Danny Green will need to replicate his numbers from Game 1 as well, and how about Kawhi Leonard!  That kid is 21 years old!  Leonard provided some great defensive minutes for San Antonio and didn’t look fazed in the slightest to be playing in a Finals game during his rookie season.  Props, Kawhi.

Game 2 isn’t until Sunday.  Let’s see what Miami draws up to counteract the Spurs resounding Game 1 victory, because they’ll be damned if they’re going to lose home court.  For those preaching “Dallas in 2011 all over again,” I’m highly doubting that the Spurs have anyone (with the exception of Parker) who can manage the 27.7ppg Nowitzki put down in that series, meaning, that this series is far from over.

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The Ares and Athena of the NBA will face of in the NBA finals

Let’s start with Athena.   The Spurs are governed by the best coach they’ve had since the team’s inception in 1967.  Gregg Popovich is a coaching demigod, who is now looking for his 5^th title in the last 14 years.  Before him they didn’t have a conference title, now they have five.  The reemergence of Tony Parker, Tim Duncan, and Manu Ginobili in the top tier of “big three” tandems in the NBA has reenergized and sparked San Antonio to its first Finals appearance since 2007.  And has it been fun to watch.  Tony Parker is playing like a man possessed right now: 23.0ppg, 7.2apg, and 48%fgp.  This, combined with the leadership and authority of Tim Duncan, the “Big Fundamental,” who has shut down overtime games throughout the playoff with his notorious 20ft jumper and ability to bang in the low blocks with the likes of the leagues best at the age of 37, has truly been remarkable to witness.  This team, for the most part, has been together for a while.  Parker has been alongside Tim Duncan since 2001, Ginobili had been with them since 2005, –and all of them have bought into Popovich’s system.  We’re even seeing Danny Green excel (43% from downtown) and Kawhi Leonard step into himself.  The Spurs must believe in their coach’s strategy, the same way they have all year, with Parker and Ginobili looking to penetrate and get Duncan, Splitter, Leonard, Green, and even Bonner the looks they need to knock down shots.  The glass will be crucial this series, I can’t reiterate that enough.  Miami has been astoundingly good this year on the boards, a true testament to the accusation of Birdman and Haslem’s resurgence over the past series.  Popovich deserves an incredible amount of respect for what he’s done this season all through discipline, San Antonio is the least foul-prone team in the NBA this postseason (average 2 fouls and turnovers less per game than Miami).  If San Antonio can be the wiser team, if they can exploit Miami’s lacking experience in close 4^th quarter games, and if they can control the machine that is LeBron James, they have a chance.

Ares the god of war can represent the brawn and relentless brutality that is the Miami Heat.  Miami isn’t playing games this post-season, you can feel how badly they want another title, to quiet the critics pestering them all season, to give Haslem a title to retire on, to set-up a potential three-peat next season.  Consequently, it would also be interesting to consider what LeBron James would look like in a primitive setting, with a sword and shield, chances are he’d probably be the best warrior.  LeBron took over the Indiana series, logging 32pts, 4asts, and 8rbs, in the onslaught of the Pacers in Game 7 on Monday night.  Boy did it look easy.  The rebounding performance of Dwayne Wade was critical for the Heat, as bickering over the 31-year-old’s health raged in the media beforehand.  Wade did exactly what the Heat needs him to replicate Thursday night, to attack.  There was a streak in Monday’s game where Wade either scored or assisted on 7 straight plays late in the third, Miami needs this to continue.  I see the matchup of LeBron on Danny Green being an easily exploitable facet of the game so I’m going to focus on the big men.  Chris Bosh needs to come back in a big way, only averaging 11.0ppg, 4.3rpg in the Conference Finals.  This man is 6’11, and he’s being outrebounded right now by a man 7 inches shorter than him (Wade is averaging 4.9rbg throughout the playoffs)!  I realize that a majority of Bosh’s game comes from his uncanny 20ft jumper, but Miami simply cannot rely on Haslem, Andersen, and James for rebounding support.  I was truly impressed with the effort Mike Miller put in the minimal minutes played throughout the Conference Finals.  Mike Miller is the man, it’s truly odd that nobody knows about him (Former Rookie of the Year, Former 6^th Man of the Year, etc..).  I’d like to see Miller come in to guard Danny Green, yes he lacks defensively but he can still guard Green, freeing up LeBron to either play down in the post.  Every single time Miami puts LeBron in the post, good things happen, take note Spoelstra.  LeBron is now at a point where his physicality rivals anyone in the NBA, they could put him on Duncan and he could limit his production for god’s sakes.  Norris Cole will be an important name in this series, faced with the horrifyingly daunting task of guarding Parker while running Miami’s offense, sort of.

Mike Miller wants to play!

Look for mythology to decide the 2013 NBA Finals starting Friday night.  Will it be strategy or physicality?  Only time will tell.

…but honestly, for the love of god can we get Tracy McGrady a basket or a dunk for old time’s sake?

Who gets to hold the trophy?

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The post 2013 NBA Finals Miami Heat versus San Antonio SpursOutlook appeared first on Sports Wunderkind.

Nope.

Just kidding. It won’t be easy, though. This year’s version of the Miami LeBrons is the best yet. Each of the Big Three shot over 50% from the field, with James checking in at 57% (as well as 41% from 3). Five players shoot over 40% from 3, with Rashard Lewis just behind at 39% and Norris Cole at 36%. One of those five shooting 40+% is not Chris Bosh, who is makin’ it rain from beyond the arc in the playoffs with his blistering 47% mark. Basically, last year’s most physically dominant and athletic team is now one of the most (if not THE most) efficient teams shooting wise AND they are healthy too. People seem to forget Bosh’s injury at the beginning of last year’s series in the Conference Semifinals against Indiana but that certainly had an impact as well. So everyone is screwed, right?

Not if the bad-boy, rock ‘em sock ‘em crew that is the Indiana Pacers have anything to say about it. Indy is about as close as you can get to an antithesis of the Miami Heat. The Pacers are slow, big, and methodical, while the Heat fly up and down the court, play small ball, and shoot lots and lots of 3s. It’s Miami’s unstoppable force of an offense against the immovable Indiana defense. The old adage says defense wins championships, but that isn’t applicable to the current landscape of the NBA. The last defense-first oriented team to win a championship was the 2004 Detroit Pistons, and that was a different league. Not to say that Indiana is incapable offensively. Danny Granger’s season-ending injury set them back at the beginning of the year, but they came in since the All-Star Break to finish in the top 15 as a team offensively.

In order for Indiana to beat Miami, they’ll have to play the Heat’s game a little bit. They don’t want to run up and down the court with them, that would mean a quick 4-game sweep for Miami; but the Pacers are going to have to make 3s. The biggest question is how? Without a reliable penetrator or shot-creator, shooting 3s isn’t the easiest of tasks. Indiana and Miami played three regular season games this year, with Indy taking the first two and Miami winning the third. There were two main differences in the contests. In the first two, the Pacers shot over 40% from 3 and obliterated Miami on the boards (including 22 offensive rebounds in the first game), but in the series finale, the Heat shot 50% from downtown and evened out the rebounding margin. Everything else, turnovers, fouls, free throw shooting, was fairly similar. What this tells us that in order for Indiana to be productive against Miami, they have to dominate the glass, both offensively and defensively (especially offensively), as that’s one of the best ways for them to get open shots. Paul George, George Hill, and Lance Stephenson are all better 3 point shooters than their playoff numbers suggest (27%, 32%, and 27% respectively) so hopefully that will balance out for them in this series. Miami also plays very aggressively on pick-and-rolls, so David West will be crucial this series as a distributor. Think back to the Golden State piece I wrote about a week ago. On pick-and-rolls, when the defense is aggressive, often times the rotating big man will get into the ball handler’s face, so the handler will dump it off to the guy rolling to the hoop, in this situation for Indiana, it’s usually David West. The defense will then rotate to prevent an easy West bucket, usually leaving one of the corners open, where D.J. Augustin/Hill/Stephenson/George, etc. will be waiting for the open shot.

We know what Indiana is going to do. They’re gonna play really good defense, and they aren’t going to be afraid to hit Miami in the mouth first. But the Heat will come back with a full head of angry LeBron-fueled steam. Will Indiana be able to answer for when the inevitable happens and James snaps into God Mode? For the sake of an awesome series, I sure hope so.

The matchup everyone will be watching is Paul George, one of the league’s best perimeter defenders, guarding the King himself. LeBron destroys his foes in numerous ways, and one of his favorites is by forcing them into foul trouble. If George can’t stay on the court, the Pacers are done. They are paper-thin behind him because of the injury to Granger. Sam Young and Gerald Green don’t stand a chance against James. Paul needs to be able to play great defense on James without hacking him or taking any stupid fouls, because he’s going to need to match every single one of number 6’s minutes. Considering that Kevin Durant was exhausted guarding LeBron in last year’s finals, and it caused his offense to suffer (also he couldn’t stay on the court due to foul issues that Lebron created), the idea of George locking down LeBron and being the primary, or even second, weapon on offense is difficult to swallow. That makes it all the more imperative that Hill, Augustin, and the other role players hit those 3s.

In all likelihood, Miami is going to win this series. I think in 5 games. However, to say they don’t stand any chance is ignorant. Indy could absolutely catch fire from 3, Hibbert could snag 5 offensive boards a game, and David West could elbow Chris Bosh in the Adam’s apple so hard that he doesn’t look like a velociraptor anymore. The Pacers are the kind of team who fully believe that they can and will knock the Heat out. It’s not likely. But crazier things have happened. Just look at this guy.

About Dan Cutter

Full-time University of Nebraska-Omaha student, hotel front desk worker, speech and music nerd, overall swell guy. Add me on facebook or follow me on twitter @KidCutskey

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The post Can the Pacers Beat the Heat? appeared first on Sports Wunderkind.

Dan I broke down the Eastern conference and Western conference NBA Playoffs, and include all of our winners of the NBA Season-Long awards including MVP, Sixth Man of the Year and Coach of the Year.

Sports Wunderkind NBA Playoffs Preview

About Davis Mattek

20 Year old student of English at Kansas State University. Writer for Sports Wunderkind, The Fake Football and Hockey, and various other media outlets. Fan of the Cowboys, Thunder, Avalanche and Royals

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