Roy Hibbert is so big it invites comments like Shaq‘s from Game 2 about how he needs to get 28 and 15 to live up to his God-given size. We even saw a tweet from a national writer about how he is in the category of Jamaal Magloire as players whose All-Star nods were anomalies. We can’t be sure he read those missives or heard the (rightly deserved) criticism as he stood around in Game 2. In front of a gold-out in friendly Indianapolis, though, Hibbert had the game of his playoff life. He proved again that the Heat need something to change inside with Chris Bosh out. Indiana cruised, 95-74, to take a 2-1 lead. As confident as he was tepid in Game 2, Hibbert dropped 19 points and 18 boards. … The Heat have the two best players in this series, clearly, and their top-heavy star system showed its ugly side again. Everyone on Miami’s roster gauges how the night will go if Dwyane Wade and LeBron James (22 points, seven boards) are getting theirs early. If it’s a struggle, there’s been so little delegation throughout the season to make the other guys ready to take over. Even with Mario Chalmers, whose 25 points were a team high and mostly on his nonstop drives to the cup, kept looking back at the Other Two like, “So when do your verses come in?” He kept them within five through three but then Wade popped off at Spoelstra on the sideline. He was 1-of-10 at that point and finished 2-of-13 with as many points as turnovers (five). If you thought maybe he’d be sparked by the dialogue with Spo it was too late to start that fire. He was done. We still think Miami won’t live up to its name and be MIA, but can ANYONE show that club how to shoot threes? They were 4-of-20 in Game 3. Indiana, meanwhile, was 8-of-14, led by three each from all-of-a-sudden tough guy Danny Granger (17 points) and George Hill (20 points). … Back to Hibbert real quick. How many times will Miami’s troupe of posts see this scene in their dreams: Hook with the free hand, spin opposite and get the baby hook to go. Rinse and repeat. For Miami it should be a cold shower to calm down and remember they’re the better team … Keep reading to hear about the unbeatable Spurs…
We are waiting for Tim Duncan/Manu Ginobili/Gregg Popovich/Tony Parker to have an injury that will require surgery one day. When the surgeons go in, we’ll all find out they’re powered by advanced machines. They’re up 2-0 thanks to the 105-88 win and that’s their 16th straight win. You can almost hear the whirring as they picked apart the wounded Clippers like a bored vulture. Parker (22 points, five assists) gets fouled over the head by a flagrant 1 by Blake Griffin in his last minutes in the fourth, only to stick a 17-footer the next shot. Danny Green (13 points on four threes) hit three huge triples in alternating corners in the third that were breaking points in any kind of Clipper rally. It was long gone before that though in part because of Duncan’s work inside on DeAndre Jordan. The Spurs had 50 points in the paint, which can happen pretty easily (at least it looked that way most of the game) when healthy guards are able to drive past an opponent’s banged-up ones and twos. All eight shots in the key by San Antonio in the third quarter dropped and a ninth make was just a step out of the lane. … We’d love to see this series with a healthy Clips’ lineup. No doubt, LAC wouldn’t be such easy marks with CP3 (10 points, eight TOs) not banged up. We know Griffin’s hurt, but he did score 20. Which means only one board is ridiculous. Also, Nick Young played with impacted teeth. It’s appropriate that this loss for LA isn’t going to be easily digestable. … Boris Diaw hit a three with 10 left in the fourth and Vinny Del Negro just threw his hands up on the sideline. Even he’s hitting them? VDN thought. … The Spurs are the chaser after a stiff shot that is the Eastern Conference. Tired of Wade-on-Spoelstra? Hibbert’s unpredictable play? The Spurs seem to have an answer for that. Again … We’re out like Granger’s tough guy act.
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