NBA Finals Game 5

Quite simply Game 5 went to the Spurs. The Spurs got solid contributions from all of their starters as they combined to post 107 points compared to the bench contribution of just 7. Manu Ginobili made it out to the arena for the first time in this series as he was missing in action for the previous four games. Ginob popped off 24 points to go along with 10 assists to power the Spurs to a 114 - 104 win in game 5. Tim Duncan also continued to quietly post monster numbers adding 17 points and 12 boards to the cause. Duncan, if the Spurs close the series, has quietly made a case for MVP. I think even more so than the guy getting all the hype, Danny Green. Green has caught fire in the finals, that is really all you can say.


(Photo courtesy of: mysanantonio.com)

No one saw this coming and it probably won't happen to Green again. Let's be real, the guy is a 42% career three point shooter who averages just 8 points per game in his CAREER. In the finals he is shooting over 65% from downtown and averaging 18 points per game. That is 20+ percent higher and 10 points more per game than he has averaged in his entire 4 year career. Never the less the man is on fire right now. The main story from game 5 had to be the lackluster play from everyone on Miami not named LeBron, Wade, Bosh, or Allen. Chris Andersen, the Heat's resident enforcer and hype man, did not play. Mike Miller did not score. Haslem did not score. Battier shot just 33% from the field and Chalmers came up smaller than small as he has been all series. Chalmers went 2-10 for 7 points while posting 1 assist and 5 fouls. With the exception of Sundays win against San Antonio, which was an out of the ordinary performance, Chalmers has posted a total of 21 points in 4 finals starts. In those four games he has shot just 25% from the field. In my opinion the Heat need to bring Chalmers off the bench and reduce his minutes if they want to win this series. LeBron did not excel last night but he played well enough for the Heat to win had anyone else decided to show up.


(Photo courtesy of: usatoday.com)

Wade played exceptionally well for the second night in a row. Bosh quietly had a nice game and Ray Allen erupted for 21 points. The highlight for Allen? Scoring two 4 point plays! The Big 3 posted 66 points last night and if you add in Ray Allen that is a total of 87. The other 8 players who say game action? 17 points. Exclude the garbage time three from James Jones and it was 4 other players for 14 points. I think the Heat will hold true to form a win convincingly in game 6. Thereby forcing a game 7 in Miami for the title. Seeing as the Heat can't possibly win this series in 6, I have to acknowledge that I was wrong and revise my prediction. I still think that the Heat will take the series but they will have to do it in 7 games. They will need greater contributions from the supporting cast if they are going to win this series.