So what will happen in Game 4? Will the Spurs win at home putting Miami's mostly tattood* backs against the wall? Or will the Heat rise to the occasion and knot up the series at two a piece? To find out the answers to these questions, you could tune in tonight to watch the game. Or, instead, you could just read this article before the game, during the game, or after the game. I'm about to lay out exactly what's going to happen.
Heat 97
(66-16, 29-12 away)
Spurs 89
(58-24, 35-6 home)
9:00 PM ET, June 13, 2013
AT&T Center, San Antonio, TX
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T | |
| MIA 21 | 24 | 28 | 24 | 97 | |
| SA 23 | 23 | 19 | 24 | 89 |
Top Performers
Miami: L. James 23 Pts, 10 Reb, 8 Ast, 3 Stl, 1 Blk
San Antonio: K. Leonard 22 Pts, 12 Reb, 4 Ast, 8-15 FG
LeBron James, PF- 23 Pts, 10 Reb, 8 Ast, 3 Stl, 1 Blk
-The King goes off in this one. James knows he needs to shoulder the load because, putting it nicely, Wade has been hurt and ineffective. The other member of "The Big Three" has been streaky, as well; Bosh has not scored more than 13 in the Finals yet. And the Heat's role players have been more inconsistent than Amanda Bynes' alibi. Bron Bron needs to take over and he will.
Mike Miller, SF- 6 Pts, 2 Reb, 1 Ast, 2-6 3 Pt FG, 21 minutes played
-"White Chocolate" was hot last game hitting all five of his 3 point attempts. I foresee that the man with the 3rd best haircut on the team will start the game off a bit cocky. He'll force some shots but eventually a couple will find the net.
Chris Bosh, C- 7 Pts, 8 Reb, 1-2 3 Pt FG, 2 Stl, 1 camera shot of his mouth ridiculously wide open
-Feel like CB will either tear it up tonight or just fall apart. I'm going with the latter but you never know with Bosh. There's something about that ostrich-like demeanor I can't put my finger on. A rare species, indeed.
Mario Chalmers, PG- 17 Pts, 2 Reb, 3 Ast, 7-15 FG, 1 outrageous flop
-"Rio," as LeBron so lovingly calls him, is the reason the Heat get the win tonight. He's been up and down all series but I'm predicting a Chalmers performance similar to that of Game 2. Guy is just too clutch. Can't bet against him.
Dwyane Wade, SG- 20 Pts, 3 Reb, 2 Stl, 7-18 FG, 6-6 FT
-Wade has shown fleeting flashes of turning into the Flash again. I know he's banged up. And I know he's not the player he used to be. But I also know Wade is as competitive as they get. He needs to get back to the charity stripe. He also needs to be given ample time to rest in order to stay fresh and rested throughout the game.
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Udonis Haslem, PF- 0 Pts, 1 Reb, 0 Ast, 0-1 FG, 7 minutes played
-Rumor has it Mike Miller's getting the start over the 10th year Heat forward. Loyalty's dead isn't it? Haslem won't be seeing the light of day in this game.
Chris Anderson, PF- 7 Pts, 6 Reb, 1 Blk, 3-4 FG, 23 minutes played
-Birdman returns to form in this crucial Finals affair. I can't resist.
James Jones, SF- 0 Pts, 0 Reb, 0 Ast, 0-0 3 Pt FG, 0-0 FG
-He had 3 points last game?!?!?! Dude is a garbage time extraordinaire.
Shane Battier, PF- 0 Pts, 0 Reb, 0 Ast, 0-1 3 Pt FG, 5 minutes played
-Definition of "in the dog house." At this rate, Battier is becoming the next Juwan Howard.
Juwan Howard, PF
-C'mon, he's not actually on the team. All the Fab Five guys are retired, Juwan. Just give in.
Joel Anthony, C- 0 Pts, 3 Reb, 1 Blk, 0-0 Fg, 9 minutes played
-The Heat desperately need some interior help. Thus, I forecast Joel Anthony's playing time will be upped from six minutes in Game 3 to a gentlemen's nine minutes in Game 4.
Norris Cole, PG- 10 Pts, 1 Reb, 1 Ast, 3 Stl, 4-7 FG
-The Cleveland State product needs to score more. Pretty simple. Tonight, the man with the exceptional haircut will elevate his game. 10 points and 3 steals should satisfy the Heat faithful. And by the way, typing "the Heat faithful" feels more awkward than looking at this photo. Click the link.**
Ray Allen, SG- 7 Pts, 0 reb, 1 Ast, 2-4 3 Pt FG, 1-1 FT
-The Heat need Sugar Ray's court game to be half as good as his Twitter Direct Message game to have a chance in this one. Wait, who am I kidding, Ray's tweet game is unparalleled. Miami fans will be content with a couple treys from the wily veteran.
Rashard Lewis, PF- 0 Pts, 0 Reb, 0 Ast, 0 TO, 48 minutes on bench
-At this point in his career, Rashard is a total non-factor. Shockingly, he's only 33 years old. Sorta puts into perspective Tim Duncan's sustained excellence, doesn't it?
San Antonio Spurs
Tim Duncan, PF- 17 Pts, 12 Reb, 2 Blk, 6-10 FG, 5-6 FT
-The Big Fundamental has grabbed double digit rebounds in each Finals game so far. If there's any knock on Timmy in the Finals thus far, it's that his shooting has been questionable. He may have to give up that mid range jumper in favor of more interior passes. Other than that, Duncan has been steady as usual lately. Expect more of the same except I think he fixes his shooting problems.
Kawhi Leonard, SF- 22 Pts, 12 Reb, 4 Ast, 8-15 FG, 4-6 FT
-Can you believe this is only Kawhi's second year? He has already established himself as a premier wing defender (I'm looking at you, LeBron), a lights out corner 3 shooter, and a relentless rebounder. Seriously, Leonard's averaging 8.7 boards per game in the playoffs. For a sophomore NBA player that only stands at 6' 7'', that is a remarkable number. Since the Finals have started, the former San Diego State Aztec has actually elevated his glass game. Like Duncan, Kawhi has not yet finished a Finals game without 10 or more rebounds. Plays his role and keeps his mouth shut. Guy was born to be a Spur (he may have already outplayed his "role player" label, though).
Tiago Splitter, C- 2 Pts, 8 Reb, 2 Ast, 1-3 FG, 2-2 FT
-Splitter's been servicable in the Finals so far, but he needs to crash the boards more. He also needs to work on not-getting-posterized-by-LeBron-so-bad-that-SportsCenter-stops-Tebow-talk for a day.(Tiago, stop complaining that Kawhi is stealing your rebounds. You're 6' 11'')
Tony Parker, PG- 8 Pts, 7 Ast, 2 Reb, 1 Stl, 4 TO
-Tony's hammy is tight so don't expect him to put up huge numbers. Do expect Parker to keep the offense fluid as usual, though. However, the Heat will put pressure on the Spurs floor general with hopes of forcing some turnovers. Strategy could be effective.
Danny Green, SG- 8 Pts, 0 Reb, 1 Ast, 2-4 3 Pt FG, 25 minutes played
-Green has torched the Heat in the series thus far, so I am predicting Spoelstra makes the necesssary adjustments to contain him. Four 3 point attempts would be a win for the Heat. Gotta love the St. Mary's (Manhassat) alum, though.
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Manu Ginobili, SG- 12 Pts, 3 Reb, 2 Ast, 3-12 FG, 27 minutes played
-Pop trusts Manu big-time but the Argentinian has looked like a ghost of his former self. Still, I like Ginobili to keep shooting when he's open. Doesn't mean the shots will drop though but the Southpaw will keep launching. Also, I like Manu to get big minutes to compensate for Parker being banged up, Cory Joseph being "eh," and Patty Mills being "ahhhhhhhh."
Matt Bonner, PF- 3 Pts, 1 Reb, 1 Ast, 1-4 3 Pt FG, 15 minutes played
-You just know "Red Rocket" will go off from downtown one of these days (Resisting, trying to resist, barely holding on). Yea, I can stay strong. I'm not going to predict that day is today.
Patty Mills, PG- 0 Pts, 0 Reb, 0 Ast, 2 TO, 3 minutes played
-Parker may need some rest, so expect to see Mills enter the game. Then expect to see the Australian promptly leave 3 minutes later.
Cory Joseph, PG- 0 Pts, 3 Ast, 1 Reb, 3 TO, 22 minutes played
-Pop will need to give Joseph some minutes tonight to rest Tony. But I don't think Joseph makes the most of them. Get ready for a swarming Heat D tonight, folks.
DeJaun Blair, C- 1 Pt, 3 Reb, 1 Ast, 1-2 FT, 4 minutes played
-Blair made the most of his six minutes last game scoring 9 points and grabbing 2 boards. Oh, wait, the Spurs were up by 31 when he entered the game. Blair's bound to be buried on the bench.
Boris Diaw, C- 4 Pts, 2 Reb, 0 Ast 2-3 FG, 7 minutes played
-The Frenchman coming in hot with 2 buckets (calling them to be layups) off 2 nice passes by Spur guards. Fun fact: Diaw has 6 career triple doubles. Came out of nowhere.
Gary Neal, SG- 12 Pts, 2 Reb, 1 Ast, 4-12 FG, 18 minutes played
-Neal crushed it last game connecting on 6 of 10 shots from beyond the arc. Tonight, I think Neal gets flustered. 12 points seems about right. Pretty damn confident in that number.
Tracy McGrady, SG
-DNP, Coaches Decision, "I'm too old for this shit"***
And, the series is tied at 2-2. I like Miami to force turnovers in bunches leading to quick bursts of scoring. I also like Miami to shoot well from the field even though the Spurs will win the rebound battle. You just know the Heat will be up for this one. Yes, the Spurs are poised. Yes, the Spurs are polished. Yes, the Spurs are disciplined. But, the Heat, man. The Heat. The Heat are not gonna go away easily. This is still the same team that ran off an unprecedented 27 game win streak. They just need to pick up the energy on D (clearly the Indiana series tired them out) and get the ball to their shooters off an array of cuts and creative passes. Regardless, I still like the Spurs in 6. One last ring for Timmy.
*With all due respect to Chris "Birdman" Anderson's surprisingly lightly tattood back, Chris Bosh has him outdone with this ensemble
**I apologize, it may have been too cruel to persuade readers to look at that picture of Bieber again. Although I can't blame him for rockin' those indoor shades. No shame in that game.
***I know T-Mac's only 34 but it still applies.
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