Miami Heat Face Spurs in Finals Rematch
By David Ramil
It seems like almost an eternity ago, watching the Miami Heat limp off the AT&T center, just happy to keep their limbs intact after going through the Spurs’ offensive buzz saw. Just a few months later, they meet again in a rematch of last season’s Finals, although they seem like teams going in different directions.
San Antonio (1-2) has designs on back-to-back titles and why shouldn’t they; their swift passing and fluid offense has inspired the rest of the league to play more “Spursy” basketball. Meanwhile, Miami is a very different team still looking for its identity this season. We saw evidence of what could be a very exciting team on Friday against the Golden State Warriors (take it with a requisite grain of salt, as it’s the preseason after all). Miami had squandered a lead and the Warriors’ Klay Thompson looked like he couldn’t miss. Then the Heat started chipping away using defense and outside shooting, team weaknesses all preseason. Moreover there was a determination and intensity there; this team didn’t want to lose again. Here are some of the highlights, courtesy of YouTube:
How will the Heat (now 1-4) bounce back in their second game on consecutive nights? It’s difficult to predict, given that head coach Erik Spoelstra might tinker with his lineup yet again to avoid wear-and-tear. And the Spurs sat out a lot of their team – and Gregg Popovich – in Thursday’s loss to Phoenix. San Antonio’s “maintenance program” for their veterans is well known but I expect their team to be at close to full strength for tonight’s matchup.
Here’s some other things to look for:
- Dwyane Wade – Does he play or sit? The first back-to-back set of the season and this could go a long way to establishing a template. My bet is that he sits; with Danny Granger inactive last night, he’ll get more playing time tonight, perhaps even starting in place of Wade.
- Shawne Williams’ performance – I saw Williams starting against Golden State and saw noted Heat-killer David Lee destroying us. Instead, Williams played a great game and scored 19, including a clutch 3 near the end of the fourth to seal the win for Miami. Williams has fluctuated this preseason, from hot shooting to hot garbage and we have no idea what to expect tonight. Hopefully, it’ll be more of what we saw yesterday.
- The Power Forward carousel – Who starts at the four? Is it Williams, Granger or Udonis Haslem? With the news that projected starter Josh McRoberts’ injury continues to linger, Spoelstra is making do with what he can. Who matches up best with Tim Duncan (should he start)?
- The continued awesomeness of Napier and Ennis – At this point, it’s important to give this dynamic rookie duo a nickname of some kind because they continue to impress. Last night, it was Napier’s turn as he finished with 13 points but consistently seems to find open teammates.
Perhaps the most important storyline is how these teams view this season. While the Spurs’ title hopes are in full swing, Miami’s expectations (at least, from media pundits) are considerably lower. Will there be any sense of rivalry in tonight’s game or is that gone along with LeBron James in Cleveland? It’ll be interesting to see how the teams react to each other tonight.
The game is scheduled to start at 8:30 p.m. at the AT&T Center in San Antonio. The game will be broadcast on Sun Sports.
Stay tuned to All U Can Heat for a recap, analysis and post-game grades.