Tag: Tim Duncan

LeBron James Finals Re-Watch Diary: Game 1, 2013 NBA Finals

LeBron James and the Miami Heat are back in the Finals, looking to defend their 2012 title against the San Antonio Spurs.

During the NBA’s indefinite hiatus, I will be rewatching every game of LeBron’s NBA Finals career. Every Finals game from the last 20 years is available to NBA League Pass subscribers on the NBA app or through apps like YouTube TV. We will be going chronologically through LeBron’s Finals career. 

Previous Finals Game Diaries

Game 1, 2007 NBA Finals: LeBron’s first Finals game.

Game 2, 2007 NBA Finals: LeBron bounces back but falls down 0-2.

Game 3, 2007 NBA Finals: LeBron gets the last shot but it doesn’t go.

Game 4, 2007 NBA Finals: Staying home.

Game 1, 2011 NBA Finals: LeBron’s first Finals victory.

Game 2, 2011 NBA Finals: Heat blow 15-point 4th quarter lead.

Game 3, 2011 NBA Finals: Bosh game-winner helps put Heat up 2-1.

Game 4, 2011 NBA Finals: LeBron has 8 points in Finals loss.

Game 5, 2011 NBA Finals: LeBron bounces back, but Mavs shoot the lights out.

Game 6, 2011 NBA Finals: Jason Terry and the Mavs burn down the Heat in Miami.

Game 1, 2012 NBA Finals: Westbrook and Durant lead comeback to take 1-0 lead over Heat.

Game 2, 2012 NBA Finals: LeBron applies lessons he learned from the Spurs in 2007 in a road win against the Thunder.

Game 3, 2012 NBA Finals: Miami escapes a late Durant rally to go up 2-1.

Game 4, 2012 NBA Finals: LeBron fights through cramps and an epic Westbrook performance to take 3-1 lead.

Game 5, 2012 NBA Finals:’ It’s about damn time’

To say that this series means a lot to me would be an understatement. It is probably the best game-for-game series in the last, oh I don’t know, forever of the NBA Finals. With all due respect to the 2016 Finals, most of the games in that series were blowouts. The 2012-13 season was also the first year that I was paid to cover the NBA, working as a media intern for the Portland Trail Blazers. It was Damian Lillard and Anthony Davis’ rookie season. And most importantly for the context of the league as a whole, LeBron had finally gotten over the hump and was a champion.

The Heat coming to town took on less of a villainous tone and more that of a traveling show that you couldn’t miss, a show that I was lucky to witness at least once during that season. The hatred of season’s past towards LeBron had generally worn off. While his brooding look before Game 6 in 2012 against the Celtics lives on as arguably LeBron’s most iconic moment, 2013 LeBron may have given us the best two-way basketball he’s played in his entire life. He carried it through the postseason, fending off a surprising challenger in the Indiana Pacers, who forced the Heat to a Game 7 in the Eastern Finals.

But what awaited LeBron on the other side of the Pacers was an old foe, one he has yet to score a win against in an NBA Finals, the San Antonio Spurs, this time with a twist: an athletic forward who was at least LeBron’s athletic equal, second-year forward Kawhi Leonard and another athletic wing with 3-point range by the name of Danny Green. 

The 2007 Spurs destroyed LeBron’s Cleveland Cavaliers due to their incredible advantage at guard play with Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili, as well as a collection of big men that were more skilled than what Cleveland had, alongside Tim Duncan. Thiago Splitter may not have been as skilled as Fabricio Oberto, but his rolling presence, rim-running, and rim-protection were the tenants that a modern center next to Tim Duncan needed to have. And while Bruce Bowen is no longer on the Spurs, they have modernized to join the times like the Heat. 

And so begins the Heat’s title defense, at home, after racking up an NBA-best 66-16 record, which included an iconic 27-game win-streak that still stands for many as the peak of the LeBron-era Heat. But long win-streaks are but answers to trivia questions when teams don’t bring home the title, as LeBron has had two 60-win seasons to this point in his career come up short of a championship. For the first basket, LeBron gets in transition and feeds a trailing Wade for a dunk, something that happened pretty much never in the 2007 Finals when LeBron passed to a teammate. 1 minute in, he’s already got a trailing cutter who can get a dunk. He’s a come a long way from watching Larry Hughes brick from the top of the key. The Spurs are up 9-2 early, however, as they’ve been a buzzsaw through the West playoffs.

The emergence of Leonard has been a huge factor for the Spurs in these playoffs, as he steps to the free-throw line in the first few minutes of the game. He’s averaging nearly 37 minutes per game and he will be the first choice for the Spurs to guard LeBron. The addition of Leonard helped the Spurs add athleticism and an upset by the Memphis Grizzlies over the Oklahoma City Thunder, who were without Russell Westbrook (or James Harden, who had been traded to Houston in October of 2012), moved the team that knocked them out the previous year out of the playoffs. In 2012, it looked like the Heat and Spurs were on a collision course until the Thunder reeled off four straight wins, and now we finally have it.

As for the Spurs who have been to the Finals before, Parker is still the catalyst for the Spurs offense with Duncan adding the glue, and Ginobili added much-needed sauce. Almost on cue, Ginobili is about to check in after Duncan connects with Parker for a layup. But the Heat are having no trouble keeping pace and actually have a 15-13 lead midway through the first quarter, as Wade and Bosh, in particular, are being active in the scoring, while Chalmers hit an early 3-pointer. LeBron is more of a facilitator for most of this game, only turning on the scoring punch until he had to in the 4th quarter.

Also, Boris Diaw is in the game and he immediately assists on a corner 3-pointer for Danny Green to give the Spurs the lead back. This is a Boris Diaw fan blog. I just wanted to let you all know here and now. Diaw ballooned in weight with the Charlotte Bobcats because he didn’t want to be there, got waived because Michael Jordan got fed up with him, and eventually became a part of two Finals teams with the Spurs while enjoying pregame cappuccinos. We have no choice but to Stan.

However, the Heat have made a few changes this season as well to boost their bench. Chris “The Birdman” Anderson, is prominently filling the role of back-up center and has been a great release valve for LeBron James, while the Heat also managed to steal away Ray Allen from the rival Boston Celtics, something that is still a sensitive subject for Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Rajon Rondo to this day. Allen hits a pair of 3-pointers and the Heat are up 27-23 early in the 2nd quarter. The Heat end up pushing the lead to 38-31, but the Spurs are trying to change the game a little bit. Duncan goes to work in the post and quickly, Birdman picks up two fouls and has to go to the bench.

To add some 3-point shooting to the floor, the Spurs have added Matt Bonner and Gary Neal into the fray. But the Heat still lead, even as LeBron watches from the bench, with Wade and *checks notes* Norris Cole making incredible drives to the rim. After the Cole layup, Pop has seen enough and calls for a timeout. By halftime, the Spurs cut the lead to 54-49 and are still firmly in this game.

The game would assume a nip-and-tuck rhythm for the next quarter. With just under 40 seconds left in the third quarter, Ray Allen hits a wide-open 3-point from the right corner on the hoop by the Heat bench. That spot would prove to be even more important later on in the series. However, Miami has been unable to extend their lead at all during the quarter as the Spurs have had an answer for most of their questions, with the Spurs scoring to make it 75-72 after 3. And both teams are playing small ball in the fourth quarter, with Bosh and Duncan as the only two big men. Then an offensive rebound by Leonard gives the Spurs their first lead of the second half at 79-78.

Meanwhile, LeBron is working on a 12 point, 13 rebounds and 10 assist triple-double, but he’s not delivering the scoring they need from him so far in this game. And then he gets lazy with an entry pass, which is snatched by Leonard’s baseball mitt hands, leading to a Parker basket and a timeout at 81-78 San Antonio. LeBron started the last Finals series with back-to-back 30-point outings, but in this game, he’s been probing and settling more than usual in terms of his own shot. His defense has been excellent and he’s created a ton of high-quality looks, but the Heat have built the lead because LeBron is creating quality looks for others, not necessarily many for himself. Also, the Heat have struggled at the foul-line all game long, leaving several points on the floor. The Spurs have also been smart about not fouling LeBron, limiting him to just two free-throw attempts until the final minutes of the game.

A Duncan basket gets it to 83-79 Spurs and then the Heat turns it over again, looking awful like one of their 2011 droughts rather than the well-oiled machine we saw in 2012. They’re falling apart. Another turnover by the Heat. They had led most of the game, but turnovers are giving the game to San Antonio. After having four turnovers in the first three quarters, Miami racked up four in the 4th quarter alone. 

Luckily for the Heat, LeBron has a great defensive rotation to get a piece of Duncan’s hook shot to keep the Spurs lead at 4. However, the possession comes up empty again as the Spurs defense has been impeccable in the fourth quarter.  Then Parker hits a midrange step-back to make it 85-79 and Tracy McGrady, who is just here for the laughs, comes over to hype Parker up. After controlling the whole game, the Heat are back on their heels.

A LeBron offensive rebound lead to a bucket out of the timeout and the Heat have now put LeBron on Parker and have taken Chalmers out of the game, who has been a disaster in this 4th quarter with a couple of loose balls and a 3-pointer that hit the side of the backboard. However, the Heat’s best laid plans are once again spoiled by San Antonio’s shot-making, as the Spurs get a triple from Danny Green, pushing the lead to 88-81 with under DOS MINUTOS.

Now, LeBron punches the gas a little bit more. LeBron gets a driving layup in transition and then finds Ray Allen above the 3-point line, who is fouled by Danny Green. Allen, arguably the best shooter ever, then makes all three of the free-throws. A 5-0 run makes it a 2-point game again, but Tim Duncan then makes two free throws, setting up another must-score possession for Miami, something they haven’t done well in the 4th quarter. Bosh misses a 3-pointer above the break that he was wide-open for and the Spurs now have the ball and a four-point lead with a minute to go.

Mike Miller gets the duty of guarding Parker on a switch, the smart play by San Antonio, but Miller does a great job for a guy with a bad back and gets a hand right in his face. Then LeBron gets to the free-throw line, just his third and fourth attempts of the game, and makes both in a clutch moment to make it a 2-point game.

But then just as he did in 2007, Tony Parker steals the spotlight from LeBron’s team. Parker in scramble, gets on his knee, does a little Curly Neal spin move, and somehow gets the shot to go under LeBron who jumps too early on the shot attempt to put the Spurs up 4 again with 5.2 seconds left. The Heat will get the ball back, but that’s game. They review the play that was as close as could be to a shot-clock violation, but Parker got the ball JUST off his fingertips to make the momentous shot. LeBron, five years after Parker terrorized his Cavs team, will have to wait for a few more nights to get his first Finals W against the Spurs.

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Rookie History on This Day: Tim Duncan scores a playoff career-high

Duncan scored a then playoff career-high in the 1998 Western Conference semifinals against Karl Malone, John Stockton and the Jazz.

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On May 5, 1998, Tim Duncan scored a then playoff career-high 33 points as a rookie to lead the San Antonio Spurs to an 83-82 loss against the Utah Jazz in Game 1 of the Western Conference semifinals.

His 33 points were a game-high while he also added 10 rebounds and four blocks in 44 minutes of work against Karl Malone and John Stockton. The Spurs would go on to lose in five games as the Jazz made it to face Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls in the NBA Finals.

Duncan turned in one of the greatest rookie seasons in history, however.

He averaged 21.1 points, 11.9 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 2.5 blocks in the regular season and posted 20.7 points, nine rebounds, 2.6 blocks and 1.9 assists in nine playoff games. He was named the 1997-98 NBA Rookie of the Year and is one of only 45 players to make the All-Star Game as a rookie.

Duncan was named as a Hall of Fame inductee last month after becoming one of the best players in history. Incredibly, Duncan made the NBA Playoffs in each of his 19 seasons with the Spurs.

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KG, ’20 Hall of Fame class might have to wait until 2021 for induction

Boston Celtics legendary big man Kevin Garnett and the rest of the 2020 Hall of Fame class might have to wait until 2021 to be inducted.

Boston Celtics big man luminary Kevin Garnett and the rest of the 2020 Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame class may have to wait until some time in 2021 if the viral pandemic currently gripping Massachusetts and the rest of the planet doesn’t let up in time.

Currently shuttered with the state continuing to be under a stay-at-home-order due to the risk of COVID-19 transmission, the Springfield institution hopes to reopen to the public some time between mid-June and the fourth of July, reports MassLive’s Jim Kinney.

The hope is that using new safety protocols and other precautions will be enough to make the venue safe for reopening at that point, though John L. Doleva, president and CEO of the Hall related the situation might change, presumably based on how the pandemic progresses.

Should the pandemic linger or rebound and force a delay in the Hall’s 2020 class induction ceremony — currently slated for late August — into October, the class could see the formal induction pushed back to 2021.

The 2020 Hall of Fame Class is comprised of 18-time All-Star and five-time NBA champion Kobe Bryant (who tragically passed in a helicopter accident this year), 15-time All-Star Tim Duncan, and 10-time WNBA All-Star Tamika Catchings in addition to Garnett and several others.

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History on this Day: Tim Duncan is named the Rookie of the Year

Duncan averaged 21.1 points, 11.9 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 2.5 blocked shots during his rookie season with the Spurs.

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After earning 113 out of a possible 116 votes, San Antonio Spurs power forward Tim Duncan was named the 1997-98 NBA Rookie of Year on April 27, 1998.

The No. 1 overall pick in the 1997 NBA Draft averaged 21.1 points, 11.9 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 2.5 blocked shots while shooting 54.9% from the field in 39.1 minutes per game. In addition to being crowned the Rookie of the Year, Duncan also became an All-Star and was named to the All-NBA First Team.

He is one of only 45 players in history to make the All-Star game as a rookie.

Duncan, who was just named a Hall of Fame inductee earlier this month, was paired up early next to David Robinson to form one of the best defensive frontcourts in the NBA. He proved to have poise rarely seen in rookie players and helped the Spurs to the playoffs in his first season.

Duncan made the NBA Playoffs in each of his 19 seasons with the Spurs.

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Enes Kanter revisits Thunder days to take playful jab at Tim Duncan

Enes Kanter wished Tim Duncan a Happy 44th Birthday but taking a playful swipe at the living legend.

Tim Duncan is one of the NBA’s all-time great players, but not even his five championship rings could save him from the wrath of former Thunder Enes Kanter.

Kanter, who has always been unafraid of speaking his mind, wished the living legend a happy 44th birthday on Saturday, but not without pointing out the fact that the last game of Duncan’s career happened to be a playoff loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Back in 2016, after getting pummeled by the Spurs by 32 points in Game 1 of their second-round playoff series out in the Western Conference, the Thunder responded by beating the Spurs in four of their next five contests. Oklahoma City would go on to win the series in six games before losing to the Golden State Warriors in seven games in the Western Conference Finals.

“Happy Birthday to my brother Tim Duncan. #Legend 💯 (He played his last career game against us and lost) 😅 #Respect,” Kanter tweeted.

The “us” to which Kanter refers, obviously, is the Thunder. Kanter spent three seasons as a member of the club before being included in the trade that sent Carmelo Anthony to Oklahoma City, so he got a taste of the rivalry that the Durant-led club enjoyed with Duncan and his team.

In the Oklahoma City era, the Spurs and Thunder squared off in the playoffs three times — twice in the Western Conference Finals in 2012 and 2014 and once in the second round in 2016.

Oklahoma City prevailed in 2012 before losing to the Miami Heat in the NBA Finals while the Spurs defeated the Thunder in 2014 en route to defeating the Heat. The 2014 series victory would give Duncan his fifth and final championship.

In the final playoff matchup between the teams, as mentioned, the Thunder prevailed.

It is said that he who laughs last laughs best. Obviously, Kanter agrees.

Chris Paul shows love to Kobe, Duncan and KG on Hall of Fame induction

Kobe Bryant will posthumously be inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame on August 29, headlining a legendary class.

On Saturday, we learned that Tim Duncan, Kevin Garnett and the late Kobe Bryant had officially been nominated for induction into the Basketball Hall of Fame, making the 2020 class one of the most star-studded classes in history.

The trio will headline the class, which will be inducted on August 29 at the Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Massachusetts. Other notable members of the class include WNBA All-Star Tamika Catchings and former head coaches Rudy Tomjanovic and Eddie Sutton.

With the NBA’s suspension continuing — and with there being no end in sight — the news of the inductions was a rare feel-good moment for the basketball community.

The Thunder’s starting point Chris Paul — a surefire future Hall of Famer himself — showed some love to the class, which he dubbed legendary. That probably has something to do with Bryant, Duncan and Garnett leading the way.

The trio is each legendary in their own right, with the late Bryant being universally regarded as one of the top players of all time. Perhaps due to his reserved nature and non-flashy style of play, Duncan often goes overlooked as one of the same. Between the three, however, Duncan matches Bryant’s five championships and has him beat in the MVP count, two to one.

All together, Bryant, Duncan and Garnett combine for 11 championships, four MVP awards, 48 All-Star selections and 39 All-NBA selections. In a word, that can be described as legendary.

Chris Paul obviously agrees.

NBA players congratulate the Hall of Fame Class of 2020 on Twitter

With the Hall of Fame announcement on Saturday, the Class of 2020 was congratulated by several current and former NBA players.

Kobe Bryant, Tim Duncan and Kevin Garnett headlined the nine honorees announced on Saturday to be inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame Class of 2020.

The Class of 2020 is perhaps the most accomplished to be enshrined in the same year as Bryant, Duncan and Garnett have combined for 11 NBA titles, 48 NBA All-Star appearances, four NBA MVP trophies and countless other accolades.

Joining the trio of NBA greats are four-time NCAA Coach of the Year Eddie Sutton; former Houston Rockets head coach Rudy Tomjanovich; 10-time WNBA All-Star Tamika Catchings; Baylor women’s head coach Kim Mulkey; five-time Division II Coach of the Year Barbara Stevens; and former FIBA executive Patrick Baumann, who, along with Bryant, will be recognized posthumously.

With the announcement on Saturday, the Class of 2020 was congratulated by several current and former NBA players on Twitter.

The Class of 2020 will be enshrined on Aug. 29 in Springfield, Massachusetts.

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Former Nets forward Kevin Garnett named 2020 Hall of Fame inductee

Kevin Garnett, Kobe Bryant and Tim Duncan headline the impressive Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Class of 2020.

The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame announced the 2020 class of inductees, and a former Brooklyn Nets player is among them.

Kevin Garnett, who was traded to the Nets by the Boston Celtics in June of 2013, was that player. He spent the entire 2013-14 season in Brooklyn and part of 2014-15 before going back to Minnesota, where his remarkable NBA career started.

Garnett is joined by the late Los Angeles Lakers legend, Kobe Bryant, who visited Barclays Center shortly before his death in late January. San Antonio Spurs forward turned assistant coach Tim Duncan rounds out the list of NBA players in the Class of 2020.

Tamika Catchings was the lone WNBA player to be inducted in 2020. Former college head coaches Kim Mulkey, Barbara Stevens, Eddie Sutton and former Rockets head coach Rudy Tomjanovich were each inducted, along with longtime FIBA executive Patrick Baumann.

Garnett appeared on ESPN after the announcement, saying:

All those hours of everything you’ve ever put up for it all, this is what you do it for right here. To be able to be called a Hall of Famer is everything.

Kobe Bryant in as first-ballot Hall of Famer with Duncan, Garnett

The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame officially announced Kobe Bryant, Tim Duncan, and Kevin Garnett as 2020 inductees.

As it is looking increasingly unlikely that basketball resumes anytime in the near future, the connection to games and players of the past will likely be even more on the minds of basketball fans who are still looking to feed their love of the game. Saturday brought one of those connections to the forefront, but it was also a bittersweet reminder for many. Los Angeles Lakers legend Kobe Bryant was posthumously selected as a first-ballot Hall of Famer alongside fellow NBA legends of the era, Tim Duncan and Kevin Garnett. It’s arguably the best class to ever be inducted in the same year.

Bryant had many battles against both Duncan and Garnett in the postseason over the years. Although LeBron met Duncan and Garnett several times in the playoffs as well, Bryant and James never crossed paths at the game’s highest stage, remaining one of the greatest what-ifs in NBA history. It was even on LeBron’s mind not that long ago.

With the status of the country, let alone the status of live events, extremely uncertain right now, it’s hard to imagine a ceremony happening in 2020. But whenever it does happen, it will be one of the best classes ever, even though it will be missing a major presence.

In addition to the three first-ballot NBA stars, legendary college coach Eddie Sutton, two-time NBA Champion coach of the Houston Rockets Rudy Tomjanovich, 10-time WNBA All-Star and four-time Olympic gold medalist Tamika Catchings, three-time NCAA National Championship Coach of Baylor Kim Mulkey, five-time Division II National Coach of the Year Barbara Stevens and longtime FIBA executive Patrick Baumann. Baumann, like Bryant, is also a posthumous addition to the Hall.

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The HoopsHype Weekly: By the numbers, the 2020 basketball Hall-of-Fame class is the best ever

Judging by the number of accolades achieved by each Hall-of-Fame class, the 2020 group sits by itself at the top as most prestigious in history.

You can get this content every Saturday morning in your email inbox. Click here to subscribe to the HoopsHype Weekly newsletter.

GOAT CLASS: With the announcement that the 2020 Naismith Hall-of-Fame class will feature Kobe Bryant, Tim Duncan and Kevin Garnett (with two-time title-winning head coach Rudy Tomjanovich joining them), we got to thinking: Could this be the single greatest Hall-of-Fame class of all time? Well, according to what the numbers have to say about that, the answer is a clear and resounding yes.

We went back through every class to enter the prestigious Hall throughout history, added up the number of times the players featured annually won a variety of awards — namely: MVP, 1st Team, 2nd Team, 3rd Team All-NBA, total All-NBA berths, All-Star appearances, NCAA championships won, World and Olympic Gold medals earned and, finally NBA titles won — and sorted each year out to see which classes had the most combined accolades.

The upcoming 2020 class — with 144 combined such awards — does, and by a landslide mark. The next closest group was the 2009 class, which featured Michael Jordan, David Robinson and John Stockton, but they had merely 120 such awards to their names, leaving them 24 short of their 2020 counterparts. In third place was the 2010 class, which included Scottie Pippen, Karl Malone and Dennis Johnson and had 101 combined awards.

PESSIMISM BREWING? Brian Windhorst reported late last night that the league is preparing for a situation where the rest of the season is canceled as they negotiate with the Players’ Association about payments to players going forward — and that there’s significant pessimism right now about a potential return later in the year.

CHANGES COMING IN CHICAGO? Looks like the Bulls might finally be serious about changes at the top, as, reportedly, they’re set to look for a new front-office exec who will have full authority on basketball decisions.

Among the candidates to replace the ineffective John Paxson-Gar Forman combo: Miami’s Adam Simon, Indiana’s Chad Buchanon and Toronto’s Bobby Webster.

MORE FRONT OFFICE SCUTTLE: The Knicks and new president of basketball operations Leon Rose are reportedly looking at Philadelphia’s Elton Brand to be their next general manager. The Sixers won’t just let him go, though, so that could get interesting.

CAME TO PLAY: We recently looked back at some of the players who were the most productive before turning 20 years old and ranked the Top 15 teenagers in league history.

FORMER ALL-STAR: Our own Alex Kennedy spoke to one-time All-Star, three-time block champion Theo Ratliff about a variety of topics, including his run to the Finals alongside Allen Iverson.

TALKING TO A TALKING HEAD: Alex Kennedy was also joined by 10-year-NBA-veteran-turned-ESPN-commenter Ryan Hollins, who credit Kevin Garnett for extending his NBA career.

UNREACHED POTENTIAL: 13-year NBA vet Larry Hughes believes injuries prevented him from reaching the ceiling he thinks he had. Considering Hughes had a three-year run where he averaged 19.3 points and 5.5 rebounds per game, he might have a point.

RE-DRAFT: We went back to the much-maligned 2001 NBA Draft and changed the order to the way it should have been. Pau Gasol (actual pick: No. 3), Tony Parker (No. 28) and Joe Johnson (No. 10) should have been the Top 3 selections.