NBA 13: The Show Part 6 (The Finals, Game 4)

Thursday, June 12, 2013, 6:05 PM PDT at Angel Stadium of Anaheim, Anaheim, California

Line Score

Yankees: 0, 0, 0, 1, 0, 0, 0, 0, 5; 6 Runs, 7 Hits, 0 Errors

Angels: 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 3, 0, 2, 0; 5 Runs, 7 Hits, 2 Errors

Win: David Aardsma Loss: Ryan Madson Save: Mariano Rivera

Home Runs

Yankees: Robinson Cano, Kevin Youkilis

Angels: Albert Pujols

For the Angels, it was the longest 9th inning ever...

The Angels were unable to close out the Yankees to take a three games to one series lead, losing 6 to 5. Coming into the 9th down 5-1, the Bronx side bombed two homers in opposite directions to take the lead back. David Robertson and Mariano Rivera came in the bottom of the 9th to seal the deal and tie the series a two games apiece.

Early on, there wasn't much offense to be had with a Brett Gardner double in the 4th bringing in the only run in the first five innings. It was until the bottom of the sixth that the bats really got going. Albert Pujols hit a 2 RBI grounder to left to put the Angels ahead. This was shortly followed by a Mark Trumbo RBI grounder to center to pad the lead 3-1. Pujols would strike again in the 8th with a two run homer to center to make it 5-1. LAA looked like they were on the verge of taking a 3-1 series lead. All they had to do was close out the next half-inning.

But some things just aren't that easy.

Things started off with Sean Burnett walking Curtis Granderson then giving up a Kevin Youkilis homer run to left, closing the gap to 5-3 Angels. Ryan Madson was then brought in, and things seemed to be back to normal with two quick outs.

Then things fell apart. Ichiro grounded to Madson, who was able to corral the ball, but was too slow to volley the ball to first for the final out. Then Eduardo Nunez, who came in the 8th to pinch-run for Derek Jeter, hit a flying single to right. This set the table for Robinson Cano to knock a three-run shot to center field, giving the Yankees the lead back for good 6-5.

Albert Pujols lead the way in hitting for the fallen Angels. He went 2-4 with a homer and 4 RBIs. Kevin Youkilis lead the way for the Yankees, going 2-4 with a homer and 2 RBIs.

With the series level, it's now a brand-new ballgame. We'll see Jered Weaver and C.C. Sabathia return to the mound for a crucial Game 5 on Sunday in Anaheim.

Game of the Week: Nets vs. Spurs 6/15/03

Ten years ago tomorrow...

The Spurs were in the Finals, Jason Kidd was the floor general for the Nets, and ESPN/ABC was wrapping up its first season airing the NBA and the lowest-rated Finals ever (though that would be topped four years later).

Nowadays, the Spurs are in the Finals, Jason Kidd has become the bench general for the Nets, and ESPN/ABC is still airing NBA games, though the ratings and coverage seem to have gotten better. Funny how some things change and others stay the same after a decade......

Today's video brings up Game 6 of the 2003 NBA Finals between the New Jersey Nets and the San Antonio Spurs. The Spurs lead the series 3 games to 2 after a 93-83 victory in East Rutherford two days prior. San Antonio manages to close out Jersey in the game 88-77, winning their second ever NBA title. The Boxscore can be found HERE.

For San Antonio, a then-young Tim Duncan messed around and almost got a quadruple-double. However, the Finals MVP had to "settle" for a triple-double, netting 21 points, 20 rebounds, 10 assists, and 8 blocks. In what was his final NBA game, teammate and twin tower David Robinson put in 13 points and 17 rebounds. Stephen Jackson had 17 points.

For New Jersey, Jason Kidd lead the team (of course he did) with 21 points and 7 assists. Kerry Kittles was behind him with 16 points, while a then-spry-and-athletic Richard Jefferson added 13. 

The 2003 Finals would wrap up ESPN/ABC's first season airing NBA games (and ABC's first since 1972-73), taking the reins over from NBC. The 2003 NBA Finals would set a record low in ratings, with a 6.5 average rating share for the series. It was the first single-digit rating share since the 1981 Finals between the Rockets and Celtics (6.7). As bad as that was, the record would be bested (or worsted?) by the 2007 Finals between the Spurs and LeBron's Cavaliers (6.2). You could look at a myriad of reasons for the series' low ratings: bad play (the Nets' offense was deplorable), lack of star power, too much going on in the coverage department (such as having Joel Siegel on the halftime show reviewing summer movies). But since this series, the NBA on ESPN/ABC has seen better days.

Footage is from ABC with Brad Nessler, Bill Walton, and Tom Tolbert on the call; Michelle Tafoya and Stuart Scott on the sidelines.

Random NBA Player of the Week: Marty Conlon

Marty Conlon was a forward/center from White Plains, New York. He played college ball at Providence. The 1987 team he was on as a freshman went to the Final Four. He averaged 14.7 points and 7.6 rebounds his senior year. Marty went undrafted in 1990 but found a training camp spot on the Sacramento Kings. However, he was let go before the season began. He spent the 1990-1991 season in LeMans, France and with the Rockford Lightning of the CBA.

That summer Marty signed with the Seattle Sonics, which would mark the beginning of a nine-year NBA journeyman career. Conlon would go on to play for the Sonics (1991-1992) Kings (1992-1993), Hornets (1994), Bullets (1994), Bucks (1994-1996), Celtics (1996-1997), Heat (1998), Celtics (1999), and Clippers (1999-2000).

Through it all, his best year came in 1994-1995 with Milwaukee, when he averaged 9.9 points and 5.2 rebounds per game and played in all 82 games.

After his season with the Clippers, Conlon finished out his career with five more years in Europe. He played for teams in Italy, Greece, Spain, and Ireland. He was also captain of the Irish national team. He last played for Carpisa Napoli of Italy in 2005.

NBA 13: The Show Part 5 (The Finals, Game 3)

Tuesday, June 10, 2013, 6:05 PM PDT at Angel Stadium of Anaheim, Anaheim, California

Line Score

Yankees: 0, 1, 1, 0, 0, 3, 0, 0, 0; 5 Runs, 8 Hits, 1 Error

Angels: 1, 0, 0, 0, 2, 0, 1, 0, 0; 4 Runs, 14 Hits, 1 Error

Win: Andy Pettitte, Loss: Jason Vargas, Save: Mariano Rivera

Home Runs

Yankees: Kevin Youkilis, Mark Teixeira

Angels: Mike Trout (2)

The runs finally came in for the Yankees, as they were able to stave off an 0-3 series deficit with a 5-4 victory in Anaheim.

After stressful bouts against aces Jered Weaver and CJ Wilson, Jason Vargas seemed like a change of pace for the Yankees. Vargas would go 5 2/3 innings, giving up six hits, four runs, and three walks. After 4 runs wasn't enough in Game 1 and being shut out in Game 2, it seems the Yankees got enough run support for Andy Pettitte to get him and the team a victory.

The game was a thriller, with the two ties and four lead changes. Things got going with a leadoff solo shot by Mike Trout. In the next half-inning, however, Kevin Youkilis responded with a solo homer of own, making the game level again. The Yankees then took the lead 2-1 in the next inning off of an RBI single to right. Things seemed to die down for a couple of innings until Mike Trout knocked a 2-run shot to left to give the Angels the lead again 3-2.

In the top of the 6th, however, the Angels would give up the lead as Mark Teixeira hit an equalizing solo shot to right. After a Granderson pop-out and a Youkilis double, the day was over for Vargas. Reliever Scott Downs was unable to stem the tide, as he would walk Brett Gardner then give up an RBI double to Francisco Cervelli. When the half-inning was over, the Yanks had taken a 5-3 lead.

The Yankees would hold the lead the rest of the way and were able to fight off charges in each of the Angels half-innings. Despite getting 6 hits and a walk in the final of third of the game, the Angels were only able to produce one run from it.

For the victorious Yankees, Kevin Youkilis went 2-4 with a home run and a double. For the Angels, Mike Trout paced the team with a 3-5 outing. He hit two home runs, bringing in three RBIs.

The Angels now lead the series two games to one. Game 4 will be in Anaheim on Thursday, with Phil Hughes and Tommy Hanson scheduled to face off.

Danny and Gary Took Over, and LeBron Just Watched

To those that aren't into sports, Gary Neal and Danny Green are names that would not seem mean much. But last night in San Antonio, those were names of two men that essentially set The World on fire and gave their team, the Spurs, a two to one lead in the NBA Finals.

The Spurs hit a Finals-record 16 threes, with Gary and Danny accounting for thirteen of them. This lead them to the third-largest margin of victory in Finals history, with the 36-point drubbing falling just behind Game 7 of the 2008 Finals and Game 3 of the 1998 Finals.

I was in awe of this performance by the Spurs, and more specifically by Danny Green. In these first three games, he just hasn't missed. Of the 30 shots he has attempted in this series, 23 of them have been threes, and he's made 16 of those threes. That new hotness has allowed Danny Green to become this series's leader in scoring with 56 points.

Now, Danny Green being really good at hitting threes isn't new, but it's always fun to see a given player get hot from outside. That is what has happened to Mr. Green, and you better believe I was going crazy last night by the third made three. The following four had me over the edge. At the end of the night I was shocked he only went 7 for 9, as I honestly thought he went 107 for 109.

Now, to the Heat. That performance was so sorry they should apologize to their fans, the city of Miami, and their family for it. Erik Spoelstra was rightfully disgusted (I like that he left the Big Three in the game for a little longer then you usually leave starters in a blowout), but the players also said the right things. "It's just one game, no matter how many points it's by", said LeBron. He's right. To say that this game is an automatic indictment on how the next game will go would be a false statement.

But, boy, did they look bad in this game. As a team, the Heat shot 40.8% from the field. But while the offense was down, the defense was really bad. Besides the obvious fact that they gave up 113 points, it just seemed like they weren't challenging shots or getting those key boards to give themselves the upper hand. Whenever a Spur put up a shot, Miami players wouldn't even close out on them, they would already start heading down the court. And the team was housed in rebounding 52 to 36.

With the team's lack of size, the ability to drive the lane cut out by the Spurs D, and the struggles of the Big Three, that small-ball is being heavily exposed. While essentially playing 4 on 5 worked against the Thunder, it won't fly with a veteran team like the Spurs.

Lastly, I live in a city where the hate for LeBron runs deep. Honestly, a good amount of the NBA Finals's ratings out of the Chicago market is mostly from people wanting to see the Heat lose. This dislike can lead many Chicagoan to spout untrue generalizations about him as a player and a person. And then in comes me, who looks at stats a lot, to seem like a LeBron caper (a person that defends, or "saves" a person. Like a superhero, who would wear a cape) by comparison.

But in this game, Game 3 of the 2013 NBA Finals, I think all the hate he gets is justified. LeBron James is the best active player in the NBA (don't argue, just accept it), and there was no reason for him to be as passive as he was in this game. The 7 for 21 he shot and the 15 points he scored that show up on the box score does not tell the story of how ineffective he was for this team.

I get that he wants to facilitate and get teammates involved in the game. But at some point, when your teammates aren't coming through, you as a great player need to take things into your own hands. Realistically, most players can't turn on that switch. If an opponents' defense shuts you down, then you're just going to have a bad game. But LeBron isn't most players, and we've seen him activate Beast Mode time and again. Why he doesn't do it more, and why he didn't do it in this game, baffled and annoyed me. I feel like the Heat would be better served if (they got a capable center in the offseason and) LeBron was just a little more selfish when the chips are down.

But we'll see what happens in Game 4 on Thursday. Will the Heat make the necessary adjustments? Or will the Anonymous Dynasty continue to reign on and rain threes?