It started off as we thought it might. Tim Duncan and Tony Parker are key in a San Antonio Spurs win while LeBron James had a triple double in a Game 1 that could've gone either way. Then things got weird.
First the Spurs got crushed by the Miami Heat, which isn't too weird, but what was weird is that the blowout wasn't a part of a "LeBron game" or a "Big 3" game. Rather, it was Mario Chalmers scoring 19 and Ray Allen scoring 13 to help James, who had a sneaky good 17 points, eight rebounds and seven assists game. Then Game 3 came, and the Spurs this time poured it on, handing the Heat their worst playoff loss in the franchise's relatively young playoff history. There was no Tony Parker brilliance, no Tim Duncan throwback game and no Manu Ginobili outburst off the bench. Nope, it was the Gary Neal and Danny Green show.
Right now, Danny Green is the leading scorer in the series with 18.6 points per game. He's also the only Spur to score in double figures all three games thanks to his treating the NBA Finals like the Pop-A-Shot game at Dave and Busters. Gary Neal had a 24 point game, which was difficult to see coming given his struggles with injury and staying in the rotation. As Quixem Ramirez pointed out Wednesday, Green and Neal outscored all of the Heat in the second half. Mike Miller has missed one three point Again, this series is weird.
James' struggles are probably a little overstated right now. If the Heat were up 2-1 now there'd be a lot written about how LeBron's complete game is on display and he's letting the game come to him. He was bad in Game 3 and he settled for too many outside shots. Hell he didn't get to the free throw line, so yeah he had a bad game. He'll probably get to the line 10 times in Game 4.
This has been a fun series so far, mostly because of the unpredictability of it. Will Game 4 give us a Duncan game, especially if Parker can't go or is hobbled? Will LeBron, sensing a must win situation, have one of those games for the ages he throws out every so often? Will we get a combination of great games from each team's stars? Weird has been fun, unpredictable is exciting, but I think I'm ready for a good old fashion superstar slug out.
Photo: SI Kids