Finals 1-1

In case you may have forgotten, LeBron James is currently the best basketball player on the planet.  His talent was on full display in game two of the NBA Finals.  He posted 35 points and 10 rebounds in 37 minutes of action.

LeBron had a look on his face I've never seen before.  His focus and intensity appears to be on another level.  When he gets into a rhythm stopping him is not an option.  You can only hope to contain him and pray his teammates miss open jump shots.  When the freight train is coming at you full speed the best thing may be to get out of the way. 

The best performance of LeBron's career thus far was game five of the 2007 Eastern Conference Finals.  He had his way with the Detroit Pistons in route to the NBA Finals. The third quarter of game two ranks right up there as one of the greatest stretches of his career.  He scored 14 of his game-high 35 points in that quarter, including six consecutive jump shots.  Early in his career the jump shot was LeBron's pet peeve.  Today his game has no weakness.

For the third consecutive year the Miami Heat have tied the NBA Finals 1-1 following a loss to open the series.  Eric Spoelstra deserves more credit than he receives.  His adjustments following losses have been critical.  No matter how good your pieces are, you still need a competent coach to call the shots.

The Heat have now won 13 consecutive games following a postseason loss.  Since LeBron and Chris Bosh took their talents to South Beach they have produced a road victory in 16 playoff series.  Regardless of the venue, Miami will come prepared to play.

San Antonio blew a golden opportunity to put a strangle hold on the series.  Down the stretch the team went for the home run and began to play out of character.  The execution was sloppy in the fourth quarter.  This is uncharacteristic of a Greg Popovich coached team.

The Spurs lead the NBA in road wins this season.  They'll need to steal one of the next two games in Miami or this series is over.

So far the Spurs still have not looked fluent.  I expect them to raise their level of intensity heading on the road.  Popovich needs to come up with a way to nullify LeBron.  If not Tim Duncan can kiss that fifth NBA Championship goodbye.