Playing with house money in game 4, knock out punch if LeBron runs out of gas

[hitmantb]

"Every game is a game 7", "Play hard every quarter" are just talks. Players go through high's and low's and adrenaline rush can fade as quick as it comes. That is why I am watching aggression/fatigue management every bit as much as play calling.

LeBron had a god-like game in game 2 and continued first quarter in game 3, but once Kwahi started attacking he had to focus so much on the defensive end and simply ran out of gas on the offensive side. He played 40 minutes tonight and he is much bigger than Durant. If Spurs can attack the paint like they did today they have a 50/50 chance to steal game 4. GDP logged low minutes and didn't have to produce much today. We can't expect Green/Kwahi to keep this up (if they do, we win automatically) but if Kwahi can continue to drain LeBron we can do it! I love the way he matched LeBron minute for minute!

Also love Diaw starting and Belli with greatly reduced minutes (although his 3 to push us from 7 to 10 was huge, thank god 3-point champion!), Spurstalk is a great assistant coach, j/k without Pop being stubborn we would not be able to turn someone like Green into an incredible producer, he even learned to drive!

Have to say none of us saw that coming. 20 points win in Miami, Kwahi beating LeBron in performance. Anything is possssssssiiiiibbbbbbllllleeeeee! Take advantage of the short rest between two games. GDP averaged just 30 minutes today. LeBron 40, Wade 36, Bosh 34. We have a chance if we play Spurs basketball!

Also hoping refs call a tight game like they did today. I get scared to death when it is "let them play mode", Miami's over-aggressive defense and sheer power/muscle make them so much stronger in that environment. Tick tack fouls on both end is much much better for the Spurs passing game.

[FromWayDowntown]

With 2 days between games 4 and 5 and having already gotten the win they needed in Miami, the Spurs should go after Game 4 with everything they've got. Pulling that one off in this series will be ridiculously difficult, but when you have the chance for a kill shot, you absolutlely have to take it. I don't expect them to win Game 4, but I'm hopeful that the focus, aggression, and urgency they showed in Game 3 will still be there for them in Game 4.

[Mugen]

Yup, I want them to play loose. But I don't want Pop throwing in the towel early this go 'round. The Spurs absolutely have to match the Heat's desperation to have a shot at stealing this one.

[vander]

Heat haven't lost back to back in a long time. IMO Spurs should just try to run as much as possible. Limit everyones minutes and get a shot off in 10 seconds or less.

[Shabazz]

knock them the fuck out

[Malik Hairston]

Hope the Spurs get hot from 3, tbh..thankfully, this team is fully capable of getting hot for an extended period, as we saw tonight..

[therealtruth]

Yup, I want them to play loose. But I don't want Pop throwing in the towel early this go 'round. The Spurs absolutely have to match the Heat's desperation to have a shot at stealing this one.

No need to throw the towel with the rest between games.

[J.T.]

The Spurs absolutely need to go for the win on Thursday. I think tonight's win says a lot about the series. The last time the Spurs were in Miami, their hearts were ripped out. Don't even give the Heat an opportunity to do that again. Right now, the Spurs are some missed free throws away from being 3-0. The Heat are going to come at them hard on Thursday. The Spurs will have to weather the storm and make a run or two to stay in it but if they keep shooting well and Leonard steps up like that again...watch out.

[-21-]

Of course the Spurs are gonna go all out in Game 4. I'm pretty sure they'd rather go into Game 5 up 3-1 rather than a tied series.

I'm just hoping the guys stay aggressive and retain even just a little bit of their hot shooting.

[Jenks]

You can't fake desperation.

If the Spurs can win game 4, you'll have seen something incredibly special.

[TheGoldStandard]

Keep attacking the paint and don't leave people wide open at the 3 point line

[Spurs 4 The Win]

The Spurs absolutely need to go for the win on Thursday. I think tonight's win says a lot about the series. The last time the Spurs were in Miami, their hearts were ripped out. Don't even give the Heat an opportunity to do that again. Right now, the Spurs are some missed free throws away from being 3-0. The Heat are going to come at them hard on Thursday. The Spurs will have to weather the storm and make a run or two to stay in it but if they keep shooting well and Leonard steps up like that again...watch out.

People gotta stop saying this, we arent close to 3-0, we might have lost tonight if we were up 2-0 because the Heats backs wouldve been against the wall, and ths is why the "Heat could be up 2-0" arguments do not make sense, its all about the level of desperation, we wouldve won game 2 if we lost game 1, its 2-1, lets be happy

[LoneStarState'sPride]

knock them the fuck out

[heyheymymy]

double tap this road stand and pack your bags for the next plane home to finish them.

[in2deep]

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Bp0e_kwCYAAvoDF.jpg:large

[NRHector]

Refs will control game 4 by giving Leonard n Green early fouls n make it look like Lebron is the greastest player in the NBA history

[mudyez]

Refs will control game 4 by giving Leonard n Green early fouls n make it look like Lebron is the greastest player in the NBA history

No they wont. Refs will do a fine job!

[J.T.]

People gotta stop saying this, we arent close to 3-0, we might have lost tonight if we were up 2-0 because the Heats backs wouldve been against the wall, and ths is why the "Heat could be up 2-0" arguments do not make sense, its all about the level of desperation, we wouldve won game 2 if we lost game 1, its 2-1, lets be happy

We lost Game 2 by one possession. The fact is that we didn't win, I'm just trying to point the Spurs had a chance to win that game. Just like the Heat had a chance to win Game 1. We can't count on another hot shooting night like tonight so the next games will be harder to win, the Spurs need to take advantage of it any time they are presented with an opportunity to win two more ball games.

[hsxvvd]

The only knock out shot in this series is when the buzzer sounds on the 4th win. Nothing else.

[dg7md]

No reason to think that we can't win game 4 also — we've shown to the better team in every single game this series (we led pretty much all positive stats in game 2, only free throw shooting cost us the victory and a clutch Bosh three). We just need to execute like we've done all series by getting easy buckets in the paint like we've started off doing each game.

[Thebesteva]

At some point, in order to beat the cHeat, the Spurs or any team have to win 2 in a row. I know I'm not exactly being Bill Nye over here, but it seems to be their strongest point. Spurs have never won against Miami when leading in the series.

[szkorhetz]

We just absolutely have to win game 4 and not let any momentum swing back to Miami. They will obviously adjust and we won't shoot this well, but I still think we can pull it off. Game 4 is a MUST WIN.

[james evans]

what we are doing to lebron this year is what we did to durant. we attacked him. spoelstra showed us in 2012 that if u attack durant, he's weak defensively and he won't have full stamina in teh 4th to go crazy on offense. when we attack lebron, we play well. that's one thing only team ever did during the bulls 6 titles. only the lakers in 91 attacked jordan from the start. jordan tried to hold magic and he was getting posted up and bullied until phil switched pippen to him. all the other 5 titles, jordan was hid on defense. he held drexler a little in 92, but not every game all game. i swear man, people refuse to acknowledge that. all jordan had to do was score cuz pippen and others were guarding the threats. kj was killing bj armstrong in 93. jordan wasn't holding payton in 96 and he definitely wasn't holding stockton in 97 and 98.

[Cowboys_Wear_Spurs]

Game 4 is not a must win. But with that said, the Spurs needs to go all out tomorrow. There is 3 days to rest before game 5.

Its so funny how fickle fans are on this board. LIke I said in previous post, do you think the Heat can sustain playing D for 4 quarters like they did in games 1 and 2. Spo said they had to. Let me just put it straight for the record, YOU ARE NOT GOING TO.

This Spurs team is better and deeper than last year. They still play a 9 man rotation which allows everyone to stay fresh. Heat have been playing a 7 man rotation and it showed last night as they were flat for most of the game.

Spurs just did what they did to the Mavs in game 7, attack the basket. It also helps that Parker finally realized he is not going to the be MVP of this series with the Heat doubling him again every time he touches the ball. He didn't force anything and basically serve as a decoy much of the night. It was great to see him swallow his pride and just take a backseat.

[therealtruth]

what we are doing to lebron this year is what we did to durant. we attacked him. spoelstra showed us in 2012 that if u attack durant, he's weak defensively and he won't have full stamina in teh 4th to go crazy on offense. when we attack lebron, we play well. that's one thing only team ever did during the bulls 6 titles. only the lakers in 91 attacked jordan from the start. jordan tried to hold magic and he was getting posted up and bullied until phil switched pippen to him. all the other 5 titles, jordan was hid on defense. he held drexler a little in 92, but not every game all game. i swear man, people refuse to acknowledge that. all jordan had to do was score cuz pippen and others were guarding the threats. kj was killing bj armstrong in 93. jordan wasn't holding payton in 96 and he definitely wasn't holding stockton in 97 and 98.

It makes sense. Why would you tire out your best offensive player?

[exstatic]

Keep attacking the paint and don't leave people wide open at the 3 point line

MAKE them play Birdman. Their offense is much less scary when he's on the floor.

[100%duncan]

Time for the knock out blow tbh. Although damn, those motherfuckers are good when their backs are against the walls. Just what champions do.

[will_spurs]

The Spurs certainly should go all out on Game 4, they have nothing to lose, and a win tomorrow would be huge: going up 3-1, 2 losses at home for Miami, actually 2 losses in a row or Miami...

[Spur|n|Austin]

Game 4 is not a must win. But with that said, the Spurs needs to go all out tomorrow. There is 3 days to rest before game 5.

Its so funny how fickle fans are on this board. LIke I said in previous post, do you think the Heat can sustain playing D for 4 quarters like they did in games 1 and 2. Spo said they had to. Let me just put it straight for the record, YOU ARE NOT GOING TO.

This Spurs team is better and deeper than last year. They still play a 9 man rotation which allows everyone to stay fresh. Heat have been playing a 7 man rotation and it showed last night as they were flat for most of the game.

Spurs just did what they did to the Mavs in game 7, attack the basket. It also helps that Parker finally realized he is not going to the be MVP of this series with the Heat doubling him again every time he touches the ball. He didn't force anything and basically serve as a decoy much of the night. It was great to see him swallow his pride and just take a backseat.

Yeah, that was huge indeed - Pop's comments to him definitely sunk in and the team reaped the benefits.

I also think Game 4 is not a must win, but being able to come back to SA with 2 days of rest AND a 3-1 lead in The Finals would be beyond huge. Hoisting up the LOB on Father's Day Sunday would be a picture perfect ending to the season.

One last thing... All the bitches on this board who jumped ship, then came crawling back, then jumped ship again throughout these playoffs should be banned, plain and simple.

[Expert]

Tempo, all about tempo. Parker slows the tempo and Miami flourishes. Dont allow time for their defense to set. No rest for them.

[Chomag]

Go for the kill shot now! Miami is going to come out with all of they got and if the Spurs stomp that effort all the momentum in the series will belong to the spurs. If they let Miami tie the series now this is going down to the last few possessions of game 7

[cjw]

We can't count on another hot shooting night like tonight

The Heat didn't shoot too poorly themselves either. Almost 50% from three and over 50% from the field.

[21209]

I don't view game 4 as house money. HCA hasn't meant much in this series and the Spurs have to have the mentality and the focus to keep the new-found momentum they have going.

You get the Heat down 3-1 and suddenly the LeBron led Heat are facing a situation they've never been in.

[Mr. Body]

Game 4 is not a must win. But with that said, the Spurs needs to go all out tomorrow. There is 3 days to rest before game 5.

Its so funny how fickle fans are on this board. LIke I said in previous post, do you think the Heat can sustain playing D for 4 quarters like they did in games 1 and 2. Spo said they had to. Let me just put it straight for the record, YOU ARE NOT GOING TO.

This Spurs team is better and deeper than last year. They still play a 9 man rotation which allows everyone to stay fresh. Heat have been playing a 7 man rotation and it showed last night as they were flat for most of the game.

Spurs just did what they did to the Mavs in game 7, attack the basket. It also helps that Parker finally realized he is not going to the be MVP of this series with the Heat doubling him again every time he touches the ball. He didn't force anything and basically serve as a decoy much of the night. It was great to see him swallow his pride and just take a backseat.

Heat have also not sustained defensive intensity at any point this year. It's worked, because their competition is generally poor. Didn't have to at any point in the playoffs. It's hard to suddenly do it in the Finals, even if they had the horses to do it.

[james evans]

It makes sense. Why would you tire out your best offensive player?
i agree it makes sense for the offensive team to hide their best player on defense, it doesn't make sense for the offensive team not to attack that best player. if u allow the best player not to play any defense, he's gonna use all of his energy on offense. that's one of the reasons lebron didn't kill us last night cuz leonard was attacking him.

[TampaDude]

Spurs have never won against Miami when leading in the series.

Sample size of 1. Nice try there.

[xmas1997]

Nobody, absolutely no one, is picking the Spurs to win game 4, in fact the Heat are favored by 5, because they have never had two losses in a row.
They were even laughing at the post game 3 press conference even though they got slaughtered.
All of that said, could they be a tad bit over confident?

[biskvito]

Heat is going after Kawhi, Parker will have more opportunities to play his game.

[webshad]

I don't want the Spurs to relax. Go out there and play a good game, this Miami team is definitely weaker than last year, however watch out for silly fouls, the refs will get involved in Game 4. So I truly urge Leonard and Green not to be too aggressive on defense in the 1st half.

Refs will definately try to take Leonard and Green out of their game tomorrow.

[Crookshanks]

People gotta stop saying this, we arent close to 3-0, we might have lost tonight if we were up 2-0 because the Heats backs wouldve been against the wall, and ths is why the "Heat could be up 2-0" arguments do not make sense, its all about the level of desperation, we wouldve won game 2 if we lost game 1, its 2-1, lets be happy

I agree. If the Spurs had won game 2, I don't think they would've had the same starting intensity for game 3, but the Heat would've been desperate - so I think the outcome would've been the same. Spurs up 2-1.

[Dex]

If the Spurs are going to win Game 4, they are going to have to completely sneak out a win.

[therealtruth]

i agree it makes sense for the offensive team to hide their best player on defense, it doesn't make sense for the offensive team not to attack that best player. if u allow the best player not to play any defense, he's gonna use all of his energy on offense. that's one of the reasons lebron didn't kill us last night cuz leonard was attacking him.

He still had 22 though. He's an incredible player. I just hope the Spurs keep it up and he eventually tires out.

[BackHome]

On a plus side the Heat had to expend a lot of energy to try to make the last game close so that should help us tomm!!

[MI21]

At some point, in order to beat the cHeat, the Spurs or any team have to win 2 in a row. I know I'm not exactly being Bill Nye over here, but it seems to be their strongest point. Spurs have never won against Miami when leading in the series.

:lol

If the Spurs go L, W, L, W from here on out they win the championship without beating the Heat twice in a row. They also no longer have to win against Miami when leading the series to win the championship.

[Thebesteva]

:lol

If the Spurs go L, W, L, W from here on out they win the championship without beating the Heat twice in a row. They also no longer have to win against Miami when leading the series to win the championship.

:lol Thats not happening

[MI21]

:lol Thats not happening

Not saying it will, but your statement couldn't of been more incorrect :lol

[dg7md]

We will win game 4... book it.

The Heat seem like a sinking ship, reports leaking about a "big four" idea, LeBron and Wade getting weird questions in the presser, our lights-out shooting and our answers on their comeback... After 3 games we've seen the real Miami Heat and we've outplayed them in every game so far.