Year after year, series after series, the Spurs keep getting it done in the same fashion. Take last night’s Game 1 win: it might as well have been a replay of game film from the ‘05 title team or the ‘03 squad. All the preparation Cleveland undoubtedly did, and Tim Duncan (24 pts, 13 rebs, 5 blks) still gets great looks off the pick-and-roll, Bruce Bowen still gets those open corner threes, Tony Parker still gets into the lane with ease, Manu Ginobili (16 pts) still slices through and skies over the D, and the role players still know their roles and play them to perfection … Throughout the Finals, immediately following each game, we’re going to drop our breakdown of one thing the winners of that game did right, and one thing the losers did wrong. Here are Game 1’s Rights and Wrongs … Parker was the difference-maker last night. He was picking the Cavs apart so bad, Mike Brown had no choice but to sic LeBron on him eventually. ‘Bron did catch TP one time when he swatted a layup at the top of the square, but Parker finished with 27 points and 7 dimes, and rarely had to take a jumper. We could have seen more of Eric Snow on Parker, but Cleveland couldn’t afford to play him since they were already shooting so badly … As for LeBron’s offensive game, it was nowhere near where it has to be if the Cavs stand a chance in this series. King James finished with 14 points on 4-for-16 shooting and had more turnovers (6) than assists (4). Except for a couple impressive drives, ‘Bron never really got going; Bowen did what he was supposed to do by staying in front, and everyone contributed with help defense … Before Game 1, we looked at who can stop LeBron 1-on-1, both past and present, which includes Bowen and Dennis Rodman … Last-gasp comeback aside, the Cavs just didn’t have that blood-thirsty swagger that was on display against Detroit. Were they shell-shocked on the big stage? We wouldn’t say that, because Cleveland hung in there until the third quarter. But they can’t wait until their backs are against the wall to bring out that swagger again, because when San Antonio has you pinned against a wall, they tend to keep you there … And despite that, the Cavs still had a legit shot of stealing Game 1. Were they outplayed pretty much from start to finish? Yes, but if they hit a few more shots, boxed out a few more times, and took a little better care of the ball, it would have very much been a competitive game. Just goes to show that Cleveland can play with San Antonio; this isn’t the crazy mismatch a lot of people are making it out to be … It looks like Daniel Gibson isn’t going away. He led the Cavs with 16 points, made four steals (including a big one on Duncan late in the fourth) and was the most aggressive Cleveland player on the floor … Yesterday we posted the “Do’s” and “Don’ts” for both teams, one of which was for the Cavs to “do” get Big Z involved early. Unless you count “involved” as “Watching Duncan drop bank shots in his face and beat him to the rim,” Game 1 was a bust … Drew Gooden started off the game playing well, even drawing a “He looks like he’s still at Kansas” line out of Christian. That didn’t last long, though. And if you’re reading this, Drew, Justin has a message for him: “Drew, I haven’t seen one other person in the U.S. rocking that thing. It’s not cool. And it’s not ever going to be cool.” You know exactly what he’s talking about … How many times is LeBron going to try that one-handed whip pass inside to Anderson Varejao and have it picked off before he stops doing it so much? People obviously have that play scouted … David Wesley’s been looking and acting like an assistant coach all postseason, but last night he took it to another level, arguing with the refs and actually being treated like a coach. There was one shot of Wesley arguing and the ref intently listening to him. You know if ‘Sheed was injured and rocking a suit and he tried that, he’d get T’d up in about 1.1 seconds … Jeff Van Gundy on Varejao: “You know what was the first word of English he learned? Flop.” … In other Van Gundy happenings, Stan Van Gundy is your new Orlando Magic head coach … Is it just us or does it seem like Patrick Ewing is everywhere lately? … “National Bingo Night” is a TV show now? Is this what it’s come to? Can’t wait until Dime gets its own network so we can put “Balled-Up Napkin in the Trashcan Shootout” and “Saturday Night Skee-Ball” on the air … Yesterday was a big day for us, as we launched Bouncemag.com, the website for our playground publication Bounce, part of the Dime family. Click here to check it out … We’re out like Coach Wesley …



June 8th, 2007 at 12:52 am
joe says:
bill simmons aka the sports guy is calling the drew gooden mishap “the vertebeard”
June 8th, 2007 at 5:07 am
Thomas Rust says:
Duncan was outstanding and Tony did the LeBron in the zone. Thats it, Cavs!
http://searchwarp.com/swa219717.htm
June 8th, 2007 at 7:34 am
TheJed says:
All Tony Parker. You could see him set the tone in the 2nd quarter and it was over from there on.
June 8th, 2007 at 8:47 am
matthew says:
Eh, while if the Cavs played better they could have hung with the Spurs a little closer last night, two things to keep in mind:
1. the Cavs didn’t miss THAT many open shots. They did miss a lot of shots with Spurs defenders in their faces.
2. Most importantly, that was probably the worst game the Spurs play all series. They were obviously rusty. Their execution on offense was way off, with some missed jumpers and sloppy turnovers.
This series is over.
June 8th, 2007 at 9:25 am
bliz289 says:
is there a better finisher than Tony Parker? left hand, right hand, in traffic…when he makes his move you assume it’s buckets.
June 8th, 2007 at 10:06 am
Girlybballluver says:
**The Spurs were rusty, and they still managed to win. Look out Cavs…you’ve awakened the beast.**
**If Tony keeps playing the way he is, he might have a
legitimate case for finals MVP.**
June 8th, 2007 at 10:13 am
Veezie says:
life is good for Tony..about to get his 3rd ring and coming home to Eva
June 8th, 2007 at 10:25 am
Keith says:
I’d like to see Tony get a finals MVP. He’s been pushed by his coach harder than anyone in the league. He’s gotten better every year at finishing, outside shooting, and decision making.
Did you see how much room Bowen was giving LeBron when he hadn’t dribbled? LeBron had about 6 feet when he drained those back-to-back 3’s in the fourth. It’ll be interesting to see what the Spurs can do to adjust if LeBron takes/makes those in the first half of a game.
June 8th, 2007 at 11:35 am
Bust Jlaze says:
“It’ll be interesting to see what the Spurs can do to adjust if LeBron takes/makes those in the first half of a game.”
Son, Bron-Bron ain’t GONNA keep makin’ those…I’d let him keep those back-to-back 3’s, as long as they don’t give him a chance to go off in the lane like Detroit did! Them cats were triple-teaming him at the top of the key!
June 8th, 2007 at 11:37 am
Bust Jlaze says:
“The Vertebeard”…HAHAHAHAH!!! That joint is wack, right?
June 8th, 2007 at 12:55 pm
Celts Fan says:
I hate to say I told you so, but the janitors have the brooms ready… Peace Bron, try some better shot selection and teammates.
June 8th, 2007 at 2:39 pm
dank says:
I’m a better finisher than tony parker…on Eva’s face.