The sixth game of the 2013 NBA Finals was the best in the series. The level of play was crazy high, there were a ton of dramatic shots at the end of regulation, there were some key rebounds and blocks at the end of overtime, and it was a game to remember. Here are some random thoughts on this classic game, as well as a photo gallery from RPadholic 1ceman. As always, I want to hear your thoughts on the event that had many of us shouting, “I love this game!!!”
The Return of the King: For the first three quarters, LeBron James was in Duke James mode. He was playing better than 99 percent of the NBA, but not at a level that would make you think that he was among the best players ever. In Q4, it was as if he remembered that, “Hey, I’m the best player in the frickin’ league and one of the greatest of all time!” He went into King James mode and pretty much beat the Spurs by himself. It was a stellar performance, offensively and defensively. He seemed especially effective after Tim Duncan knocked his headband off. Speaking of which….
Duncan Turns Back the Clock…For Two Quarters: Wasn’t Timmy just breathtaking in the first half of the game? He wanted this one badly and left everything on the floor. Unfortunately, his game dropped in the third quarter and he looked gassed in the fourth quarter. These things happen when you’re a 37-year old man in professional sports. That first half though…man. He obliterated Bosh (and anyone else that dared to challenge him with their primitive skills) in the post and snatched up rebounds like a Dyson vacuum cleaner. It was an amazing effort from the player many writers have dubbed “The Best of His Generation,” but I wonder how much he’ll have left in game seven. Yes, he has the heart of a champion (which you’re never supposed to underestimate according to Rudy Tomjanovich), but did he use the last of his powers in game six?
Living Here in Allentown: Pat Riley looks like a genius for signing Ray Allen and Ray Allen looks like a genius for bailing on the Celtics, don’t you agree? His fantastic game five (two four-point plays!) was overshadowed by Danny Green’s ridiculous shooting and a loss (duh). Last night he showed exactly why the Heat wanted him and gave more ammo to those that call him the best pure shooter in the history of the NBA.
Mike Miller’s Shoe: I got a kick out of Miller hitting a three with only one shoe on. Too bad he’s not overly superstitious. I would have liked to have seen him play the rest of the game with one shoe.
Manu’s Turnovers: After a fantastic performance in game five, Ginobili had eight turnovers in game six. You can’t do that in the NBA Finals.
Dwyane Wade and Flow: It’s interesting that LeBron was able to go into full eff-you mode while Wade was on the bench. It’s also interesting that the game tightened up in Q4 when he played again. Yes, he’s old and injured, but there are many times when he hinders the Heat’s flow.
The No-Call Conspiracy: Manu Ginobili was fouled towards the end of the game and it wasn’t called. Danny Green was fouled at the very end of the game and it wasn’t called. Conspiracy theorists believe that these no-calls were part of a David Stern mandate to ensure a game seven. Other people believe that the referees just sucked last night. Then again, Joey Crawford was part of the referee crew and he does have a shady history with Tim Duncan. Hmmmm….
Call It: In addition to your thoughts on the game, I want your pick for game seven. Will the Heat’s talent and home-court advantage win the day? Or will the Spurs’ system, poise, and experience win the 2013 NBA Championship? Shout it out in the comments section (please)!
[nggallery id=136]
I thought it was insane that Pop did the same crap Vogel did and pulled his big man in crunch time. The NBA has to be rigged.
Yeah, that was…questionable.
My dad and I were going back and forth with that. He has no doubt in his mind that the whole thing is rigged because there is just too much money involved. How much money does the NBA get from advertising and TV contracts when a series goes to 7 games as opposed to 5? I’m willing to bet that it’s in the hundreds of millions of dollars.
And then there’s Tim Donaghy, which begs the question; if there’s at least one ref we know of that is calling the game for one team, how many others are out there that we don’t know about.
Well, anyway, the bottom line ends up with me telling him that even if it is rigged (which it could be), we still don’t know the outcome of the game. So even if there are three or five guys that will influence the outcome of the game, we’ll still be in the dark until the end of the fourth quarter… or overtime ;)
-M
Sometimes the stuff that goes on with officiating in the NBA is just too suspect. I thought SA should have won last night but calls helped the Heat tremendously when it counted the most. Or lack of calls. I don’t mind letting the players play but you need to let them play the whole game etc. Then there was the timeout due to replay which benefited SA.
It’s about as fixed as boxing I would guess.
Click on that Joey Crawford link in the body. He was suspended for a chunk of the 2006-2007 season and all of the playoffs because of an incident with Duncan. Timmy is one of the classiest guys in the league and I can’t imagine him insulting a ref to the point where the ref wants to fight the player. Further more, what idiot ref would challenge a player to a fight?
Yeah the multiple reinstatements and the fact that Joey understands how the NBA is supposed to run just really hammers the fixed game theory home. Oh well.
Wow… so he is a tax evader and has anger management issues and was suspended from the league twice. Why the hell did they reinstate him… twice? Did he promise to be a good boy? They should disqualify him from officiating the finals.
-M
He makes game 7 happen.
Ray Allen makes game 7 happen.
Headbandless LeBron makes game 7 happen.
Manu missing one of his last free throws makes game 7 happen.
Popovich benching Duncan made game 7 happen.
Spurs not getting the last rebound in the fourth quarter made game 7 happen.
There are so many contributing factors to the outcome of the game that you can’t put it squarely on one person’s shoulders. The refs called a lot for San Antonio during the last three quarters. I’ll be the first to admit that they made really bad calls and non-calls for both teams.
You can argue that the very last play deserved a foul call, but I will argue that the Spurs should have never let the game go into overtime in the first place. They were in control of the fourth quarter and they blew it. From my perspective, it just looks like they ran out of gas just slightly before we did.
-M
From your perspective, did Darth Vader kill and betray Anakin Skywalker?
Hell no, Hayden Christensen killed and betrayed Anakin Skywalker.
Lucas was the one who killed Darth Vader… but that’s O.K., because he created him, so he gets to destroy him as well.
-M
Sorry I did not mean that Crawford was the SOLE reason it happened. Just a bunch of odd decisions. Mainly how Pop did the same thing Vogel did against the Heat. So weird.
O.K., I’ll admit it; I was ALMOST on my way out at the 0:54 mark in the fourth. I was grabbing my stuff and I was ready to go, even to the point of urging my dad out to the isle. The last thing I wanted to do was to watch San Antonio celebrate on our court. The ushers and crew were already courtside setting up the rope and bringing in the platform for the stage.
I’m glad my dad stayed.
Anyway, that was probably the worst game we’ve ever won. It was just completely horrible. I was miserable for most of the game and even when we won because by all accounts, we should have lost that game. Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad we won, but that game last night lends itself as evidence of game-rigging. It’s not as bad as boxing, but still.
On that note, the officiating was absolutely atrocious on both sides. There were a lot of non-calls and quite a few fouls that were not-fouls. These refs STILL refuse to call walking/traveling. Like I said before: horrible.
On the bright side, I learned that Bosh can’t guard Duncan for shit. Ray Allen is the best off-season move we’ve made last year (going against what I originally thought) and the Heat seems to play better without accessories like headbands and shoes. In Wade’s defense, he’s all banged up and he’s not as young as he used to be. I think Wade is at the age where he is old enough to play for the Spurs.
Hell, maybe they should just play naked so they can blow out the Spurs.
My last basketball game of the year is tomorrow. Hopefully, I’ll get you some pictures of our third championship and the subsequent celebration.
If the championship doesn’t happen, try to get a photo of Tony Parker wearing a beret and smoking a Gauloises.