Good morning, the Spurs are unstoppable
That and more in Friday’s NBA newsletter.
Good morning. Let’s basketball.
HOLY HELLCAKES: Another Spurs blowout in Miami. 107-86. Here’s the recap. Two straight dominant wins on the road for San Antonio. Now the Heat have to win twice in San Antonio and once in Miami without losing to the Spur’s Butter Machine Offense. Just nutty.
The story of Game 4: more Kawhi Leonard, a good helping of Tony Parker, a near triple-double for Boom-Boom Diaw and only one Heatian (LeBron) with a suitable game. Seriously, LeBron got no help. Especially not from his co-star Dwyane Wade. And even LeBron suffered through some, uh, gastrointestinal distress.
THE definitive Kawhi Leonard interview Vine. MY NAME IS MY NAME.
Boris Diaw had a no-look behind-the-back bounce pass that drew praise from Ricky Rubio. Ricky Rubio.
The Spurs. The. Spurs.
Two days off until Game 5 in San Antonio on Sunday. The Heat need to cook up some answers to survive.
Before Game 4, Paul Flannery talked to Chris Bosh about how Miami deals with the pressure. Doug Eberhardt wrote about how the Spurs changed the series with minor tweaks in Game 3.
Interesting data on the Heat’s ability to get someone to step in every Finals series from numberFire.
IRON MIKE: Excellent Ben Golliver interview with Mike Tyson on life in Miami and how LeBron deals with critics compared to how Mike did. Well worth reading and watching the video.
MELO TIME: Mike Prada explained how it’s possible for Miami to sign Carmelo Anthony. I shared 11 thoughts on the rumor.
DANNY GREEN’S SUPERPOWER: Zach Lowe explains.
FAILURES IN HEROIC ASSESSMENT: Tomas Rios with a brilliant piece on ego, the heroic ideal and narrative. A sample: “If the golden age of sports writing was about valorizing athletes, the modern era is about judging athletes against that made-up standard and tearing them down when they fail to achieve the impossible.”
WELPVILLE: Donald Sterling has “hired four private-investigation firms to dig up dirt on fellow NBA owners - including any racist comments they may have made in the past.”
KAREEM WINS. AGAIN. The legend on how we can and must stamp out misogyny in sports.
YIKESVILLE: The man charged with investing $250 million of the NBA players’ union’s money under Billy Hunter’s leadership was sentenced to 18 months in prison after pleading guilty to fraud. The retention of the thieving firm, Prim Capital, was part of the case for removing Hunter from power.
MEET DR. ANDREWS: There’s no name more fearsome in sports than Dr. James Andrews. Vox.com interviewed him about operating on the stars of pro sports.
Happy Friday. No GMIB on Saturday. See you Sunday.
