Game 7 of the NBA Finals between the San Antonio Spurs & the Miami Heat takes place tonight in South Beach. The game is scheduled for a 9:00 PM (Eastern) start time and will be televised on ABC. Currently the Odds for the game have Miami favored by 6 points while the total sits at 190.
Analysis: After losing a late lead in Game 6 in devastating fashion, the San Antonio Spurs attempt to become the first road team in 35 years to win Game 7 of the NBA Finals. The Spurs enter Game 7 with record of 15-5 SU and 14-6 ATS (70%) in the postseason, outscoring opponents by 7.7 PPG, and outshooting them 47% FG to 43% FG over these 20 contests. But after committing just four turnovers in the Game 1 win, the club has been much more sloppy with the basketball, producing 83 miscues (16.6 TOPG). In the past two contests, San Antonio has just as many turnovers as assists (34 each). Defensively, this club has allowed 93.3 PPG on 43% FG (37% threes) in the postseason, but has not been able to stop Miami at times during the NBA Finals, allowing 97.3 PPG on an efficient 46% FG and 45% threes. The Spurs have produced just 6.2 SPG and 4.5 BPG in the NBA Finals, a big drop-off from the 8.3 SPG and 5.4 BPG in the first three rounds of the postseason. Veteran guard Manu Ginobili said after Game 6 that he couldn’t see how his team could recover from the demoralizing loss. The mental side will be an important factor in Game 7 as will bouncing back physically, especially for 37-year-old power forward Tim Duncan. The first half of Game 6 was vintage Duncan as he scored 25 points on 11-of-13 shooting, but the future Hall of Famer had just five after halftime. “There’s no being tired at this point,” Duncan said in his Wednesday media session. “We’ve got one more game to win, and that’s all that matters.” Forward Kawhi Leonard had a monster 22-point, 11-rebound performance in Game 6 but 3-point shooter Danny Green had his first poor game of the series, going 1-of-5 from behind the arc. Green has made an NBA Finals record 26 3-pointers.
Miami is 15-7 SU and 11-11 ATS this postseason, and the offense is finally starting to gel. After failing to reach 100 points in five straight games, the Heat have surpassed the century mark in four of the past five contests, averaging 99.2 PPG on 47% FG and a ridiculous 48.4% threes (44-of-91) during these five games. They continue to protect the basketball with great care, piling up 22.3 APG and just 11.7 TOPG (1.91 Ast/TO ratio) in the NBA Finals. But the defense has been sagging, as Miami has allowed 99.3 PPG on 46% FG (42% threes) to San Antonio this series, including 107.0 PPG in the past two games. That's a big drop-off from the first three playoff series when Heat opponents scored just 87.6 PPG on 43% FG (33% threes). The three-point shot is really burning Miami, as San Antonio has made a robust 48-of-108 threes (44.4%) over the past five games. James rebounded from a slow start to notch his fourth career NBA Finals triple-double with 32 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds. He scored 18 points in the fourth quarter and made a key 3-pointer in the late rally that was punctuated by Allen’s tying 3-pointer. The health of guard Dwyane Wade is a major concern after he injured his surgically repaired left knee in the first half of Game 6. Wade has been ineffective for much of the postseason due to an injured right knee. “There’s one game left,” Wade said Wednesday. “Whatever you have inside of you, you muster it up. So I’ll be fine.” Center Chris Bosh rejected Green’s tying 3-point attempt at the end of overtime and has posted four double-doubles in five games after underachieving for most of the postseason.
Pick: I like the Under in his one. Big games usually bring defensive intesity and their are no bigger games than the game of of the NBA Finals. Both teams have played solid defense all year and game 6 should have gone under, but OT killed that. I look for a slow paced game with a bit more defense than offense in this one.
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NBA Free Picks: San Antonio Spurs at Miami Heat Betting
What pro basketball bettors need to know about San Antonio Spurs at Miami Heat on Thursday (6/20/13) - a free pick from Pregame.com's Steve Fezzik, with Bryan Leonard.