NBA Finals 2013: Review and Grades For Game 1

Prior to the start of Game 1, it was announced that LeBron James would adorn the cover of NBA 2K14.

Three hours later, LeBron had a video game like performance, notching his 10th career playoff triple-double, but walked off the court 0-1 in the series. How?

Let’s take a look at both teams, and their players grades for Game 1.

San Antonio Spurs

Tim Duncan

The last time Duncan faced off against LeBron in the Finals, the Spurs swept LeBron’s Cleveland Cavaliers and after the series, Duncan told LeBron that this league would be his soon.

Six years later and Duncan isn’t willing to let it be LeBron’s quite yet. After starting off 0-for-5 in the first quarter, Duncan went on to score 12 points in the second quarter and finished the game with 20 points while shooting 42 percent from the field.

Duncan’s ability to physically dominate Haslem and Bosh on the offensive end enabled him to give the Spurs exactly what they needed from him and more.

The “worst” part of Duncan’s performance was that he accounted for half of the Spurs turnovers…with two of their four total turnovers…

Final stat line: 20 points, 14 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 blocks

Overall Grade: A

Kawhi Leonard

Coming into the Finals, Kawhi Leonard was tasked with the daunting responsibility of being matched up on LeBron James.

Leonard’s offensive performance was mediocre as he only scored 10 points and was 0-for-4 from behind the arc. However, the defensive intensity he played with while guarding LeBron is what made his game so impressive.

While there isn’t a defender in the league that can truly shut LeBron down, Kawhi limited LeBron to 18 points on 16 shots and forced him to pass the ball out of the low-post several times when LeBron tried to use his size to his advantage.

Popovich acknowledged just that in his post-game interview:

Final stat line: 10 points, 10 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 steal

Overall grade: B

Tiago Splitter

As the Spurs undoubtedly noticed when the Heat played the Pacers, size has the potential to disrupt the Heat’s game. At 6’11”, Splitter’s job is to provide interior defense and contribute where he can offensively.

In 25 minutes, however, the Spurs were minus-7 when Splitter was on the floor and Tiago was only able to contribute seven points and two rebounds. Splitter was able to block one shot, however, considering Bosh chose to play away from the rim for a majority of the game, Splitter’s usefulness was low.

Final stat line: 7 points, 2 rebounds and 1 block

Overall Grade: D

Danny Green

Green’s shot selection revealed his role for the Spurs in Game 1: make 3s. Green took nine shots, all of which were 3-pointers, and hit four of them, including one with 2:05 left in the game to put the Spurs up by seven.

Although, at times, he struggled a bit defensively, the Spurs were still plus-2 in the 34 minutes Green was on the court.

Green’s 1.33 points per possession, on top of his five rebounds, made him a valuable part of the Spurs effort in coming from behind in the third quarter. But perhaps the biggest impact he made this game was the impact his foot made on Mike Miller’s face.

Final stat line: 12 points, 5 rebounds, 1 steal and 1 block

Overall Grade: C

Manu Ginobili

Ginobili’s offensive struggles in this year’s playoffs continued a bit tonight, as he finished with only 13 points on 4-for-11 shooting. Ginobili did open up the court for Spurs players, and despite not shooting particularly well, he executed the offense as well as anyone, which the Spurs rely on regardless of whether or not he is scoring.

Ginobili was able to hit a few 3s to help his team out, but perhaps the most impressive moment for Ginobili was when he was able to pass the ball in such a way as to make it curve in midair.

I’ve never seen the ball move like this, and am at a loss at how to describe it, so check it out for yourself:

Final stat line: 13 points, 3 assists and 2 steals

Overall Grade: C-

Tony Parker

Tony Parker, who was the MVP of the 2007 Finals when the Spurs swept LeBron and those four other guys, put on another unbelievable performance.

Parker shot 50 percent from the floor and showed no fear when he had the ball. With 5:50 left in the first quarter, Parker drove the ball right at LeBron and laid it in.

Parker finished with a total of 21 points, but arguably none were more important, or devastating, than his last two. With time running out on the shot clock and LeBron blanketing him, Parker fell to the court but somehow managed to keep his dribble alive, get up, and hit the dagger with 5.2 seconds left in the game.

The way that Parker led this Spurs offense and play with unrelenting aggression made him incredibly value to this Spurs team, much like he was in 2007.

Check out the move Parker puts on Chalmers.

Final stat line: 21 points, 6 assists and 2 steals

Overall grade: A

Miami Heat 

Dwyane Wade

After responding to his critics in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals with a 21-point performance, Wade came out in Game 1 of the Finals and opened up the series with an emphatic dunk.

From there, Wade went on to finish the game with 17 points, but was nowhere to be found in the fourth quarter when his team needed offense.

Wade also struggled significantly on the defensive end, considering the Spurs outscored Miami by 11 points when Wade was on the floor.

Perhaps this is a byproduct of Wade’s injury, and perhaps he needs more Toradol shots. Regardless, shooting 0-for-2 in the fourth quarter and having no rebounds, assists, steals or blocks simply won’t get it done for Wade or the Heat.

Final stat line: 17 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists and 1 steal

Overall Grade: B-

Ray Allen

Tonight we finally saw glimpses of the Ray Allen that the Heat hoped would show up for the playoffs.

Allen was subbed into the game late in the first quarter and very soon after that hit his first 3 of the night and that shot moved Allen up in the history books.

He finished the game with 13 points while shooting 75 percent from 3-point range.

Moreover, Allen was one of only three Heat players who ended the game with a positive plus/minus by finishing the game with a plus-5.

Although, technically, Allen COULD have scored more, he did exactly what the Heat ask him to do by hitting 3s and playing the best defense that he can in the 24 minutes he was given.

Final stat line: 13 points, 3 rebounds

Overall Grade: C

Chris Bosh

Someone must have forgotten to remind Bosh that Roy Hibbert isn’t defending the rim anymore.

It was a rare sight to see Bosh anywhere near the rim and he continued his abysmal playoffs by only scoring 13 points. What hurt his team the most was his shot selection with a minute left in the game. Bosh, who was wide open behind the 3-point line (arguably on purpose) and with his team down, decides to shoot his fourth 3-pointer, subsequently missing his fourth 3-pointer.

Bosh ended the night on 6-for-16 shooting and only grabbing a measly five rebounds, contributing virtually nothing to his team, especially relative to what is expected from him. The bright spot in Bosh’s game was his mid-range jumpers, but instead of relying on these, Bosh decided to take shots he makes far less frequently.

Final stat line: 13 points, 5 rebounds, and 3 steals

Overall Grade: D+

LeBron James

Unlike the rest of his team, LeBron did everything in his power to help his team win. Against a solid defensive team, LeBron was able to score 18 points and dish out 10 assists.

In a playoffs where his teammates have not performed anywhere near LeBron’s level, for the most part, he has done everything he can to get them involved.

LeBron went to the low post relatively often, hoping to bully Kawhi Leonard down low and while this didn’t produce too many points for LeBron, he was able to find Chalmers and Allen for open corner 3s.

LeBron also did a magnificent job of holding onto the ball, only turning it over twice the entire game.

It’s hard to know what LeBron could have done much better this game. He could have shot more and perhaps been a bit more selfish, but with his 10th triple-double of his playoff career, LeBron played quite well.

Final stat line: 18 points, 18 rebounds and 10 assists

Overall Grade: A+

With Game 2 on Sunday, the Heat only have a few days to figure out what adjustments they need to make and attempt to even the series up before heading to San Antonio for three straight games.