By Jeff McDonald, Staff Writer That orange, round thing? Hold on to it: When it comes to turnovers, the Spurs are like the hamster who is administered an electric shock every time he reaches for a food pellet. They know that bad things happen when they give the ball away. They just can’t help themselves sometimes. The Spurs have totaled 34 turnovers in their two losses in the series; in their two victories, they committed 16. For the Spurs to even have a chance of taking a series lead back to South Beach, they have to limit giveaways. Lean on the Captain: Much has been made of Manu Ginobili’s struggles in the series, and he hasn’t been good. If the Spurs could get a vintage game out of the only player older than Ginobili on the roster — that would be 37-year-old Tim Duncan — it would give the Spurs’ Big Three a lift. With a defensive game plan allowing Duncan one-on-one opportunities, usually against a smaller defender, the door is open for a throwback game from the three-time Finals MVP. Pray for an old Wade, not the old Wade: After hobbling along like Old Yeller for most of the postseason, Miami’s Dwayne Wade exploded for 32 points and six steals in Game 4. If that Wade shows up two more times in the series, giving the Heat more than just an on-paper Big Three, the Spurs will be hard-pressed to win a championship. Battling on-again, off-again knee pain, Wade hasn’t posted 20 points in back-to-back Miami games since March. Even so, the Spurs would be well-advised to keep Tiago Splitter from guarding him, just in case.
Posted on: Sun, 16 Jun 2013 12:38:33 +0000
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