Spurs exposed by Heat amid injury woes

Miami built a lead as great as 29 points on Sunday before San Antonio made a push to make it a reasonable 12-point loss. In the end, the Heat still shot 58.1 percent for the game, the best a team has shot against the Spurs this season. Popovich’s squad allowed Miami to score 125.8 points per 100 possessions, according to the San Antonio Express-News, which was also a statistical worst for 2013-14.

The Heat went 8-for-19 from three-point range and assisted on 28 of 43 made field goals. In short, it was a classic outburst by a dangerous Miami offense. When the Spurs trailed just 66-62, Miami went on a 25-9 run to end the third quarter, and the inability of San Antonio to stop it went back to missing those three key players.

At the end of the day, San Antonio had no choice but to defend with more Joseph, Ginobili, Mills and de Colo close-outs rather than having Leonard and Green altering jump shots.

And Splitter’s absence is obviously harmful in terms of missing a space-eating 7’ body to change shots at the rim. The Heat especially exploited the Spurs considering Duncan didn’t have much help from Diaw in the paint since he was often preoccupied by chasing James around the perimeter. Heat forward Chris Bosh led Miami with 24 points on 9-of-10 shooting from the field. He either hit jumpers off precise ball movement, or scored in the paint unimpeded.

Joseph went 2-for-6, Ginobili shot 1-for-7 and Mills hit 1-of-6 on Sunday against the Heat. Most of their attempts were off the dribble and contested.

Size is of course an issue on the offensive end. According to NBA.com’s stats tool, the injured trio combined for 6.2 close shots -- shots on touches that come within 12 feet of the rim -- per game thanks to the cutting and finishing ability of Leonard and Green.

Splitter’s ability to get easy buckets when help defense is worried about Duncan on the block or point guard Tony Parker on drives is missing as well. If defenses help on him heading to the rim when doubles or rotations are happening, shots from deep open up.

Green’s catch-and-shoot ability once that happens is also absent. After Belinelli’s six catch-and-shoot opportunities per game, Green is tied with Ginobili at 3.9 catch-and-shoot attempts per game.

The Spurs must find better shots with a less-threatening group of players, and even then, a few players who aren’t used to taking too many shots per game will need to knock down their open attempts.

When Splitter was ruled out earlier this month, he was given a timetable of three to five weeks to return from his shoulder sprain. The minimum of three weeks came on Sunday but a few days earlier, Popovich suggested he’d be out another few weeks. Green and Leonard are both out around a month each.

The Heat’s model is unique, but it was certainly an even worse matchup considering what the Spurs are lacking because of injuries.

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