NBA Playoffs 2012 TV Schedule: How Spurs and Heat Can Prevail in Pivotal Game 4s
The Miami Heat and San Antonio Spurs can essentially end their conference finals series if they take Game 4.
It would give them both a commanding 3-1 lead in their best-of-seven series, and while coming back from a 3-1 deficit is not unprecedented, it is not going to happen in these cases. Both the Heat and Spurs are far too talented and experienced to lose three straight games when they play two of those games on their home courts.
Stealing a Game 4 win is going to be no easy task. Both the Boston Celtics and Oklahoma City Thunder came up huge in Game 3 with commanding double-digit victories. They made adjustments and drew on the energy of the home crowd to make a huge statement.
We'll take a look at what both teams must do, and then something that each team must focus on to steal this win.
Get Off to a Good Start
Boston and Oklahoma City fans are both desperate and excited. They know their team needs a win, and they also know their team is on the verge of stealing all momentum in the series. They are going to be ready to blow the roofs off of their respective arenas.
If the home teams get off to a good start and early lead, the noise and energy from the crowd is going to make a comeback almost infinitely more difficult.
This is not a position either of these teams wants to be in. They must get off to a fast start. If they get out to an early lead, the silence will work towards their favor. If they keep the score close, it will keep the crowd nervous and fill them with confidence. The first quarter is going to be huge in both of these matchups.
Spurs Must Get Some Buckets in the Paint
Last game, the Spurs shot just over 42 percent from beyond the arc. Given this, it is shocking they lost by 20.
The problem was that they were just 19-for-50 (38 percent) on two-point shots. Obviously, they need to improve on this mark, and they can't do it with just jumpers. They need easy buckets near the hoop.
At the center of their problems in the paint was Tim Duncan's 5-for-15 shooting. Part of this was due to stiff defense and part of it was due to him being off. An improved performance by Duncan will go a long way towards fixing this, but they can't rely solely on Duncan to get their interior points.
The Thunder were jamming the lane last game to keep Tony Parker from penetrating. The Spurs need to counter this by having more players off the ball slashing to the lane, and mix that in with guys peeling off screens for mid-range jumpers.
This will stress the Thunders defense and open things up for the Spurs offense.
Western Conference Schedule
Game 4: Spurs at Thunder on Saturday, June 2nd - 8:30 p.m. ET (TV - TNT)
Game 5: Thunder at Spurs on Monday, June 4th - 9 p.m. ET (TV - TNT)
Game 6: Spurs at Thunder on Wednesday, June 6th - 9 p.m. ET (TV - TNT)*
Game 7: Thunder at Spurs on Friday, June 8th - 9 p.m. ET (TV - TNT)*
*If necessary.
Heat Must Box Out
Game 3 was the first game of the series that Boston snagged more offensive rebounds than Miami. They doubled them up at 12-6.
This isn't going to cut it for the Heat. For starters, six offensive rebounds is terrible. They need to create more second chance opportunities than this, but that is not going to be as important as keeping Boston off of the offensive glass.
Boston struggles to consistently score off of this Heat defense. Miami cannot let them off the hook by giving them second-chance opportunities. The Heat need to make a priority of finding a Celtic to body up as soon as a shot hits the air.
Eastern Conference Schedule
Game 4: Heat at Celtics on Sunday, June 3rd - 8:30 ET p.m. (TV - ESPN)
Game 5: Celtics at Heat on Tuesday, June 5th - 8:30 ET p.m. (TV - ESPN)
Game 6: Heat at Celtics on Thursday, June 7th - 8:30 ET p.m. (TV - ESPN)*
Game 7: Celtics at Heat on Saturday, June 9th - 8:30 ET p.m. (TV - ESPN)*
*If necessary.
