5/16: Heat, Spurs, etc.

Greetings... let's go...

• Indiana 78, Miami 75 - The 1 vs. 4 matchup in the East is suddenly 1-1 after Indiana stole game 2 in Miami. The Miami offense stalled mightily down the stretch, and opened the door for Indiana to win the game even on a night where they shot just 38% from the field and 3 of 15 from 3-point distance. Lebron is going to get crushed this morning even after a 28-point, 9-rebound effort because that's what happens when the Heat lose, but I thought it was clear late that Miami was running their stuff through Wade and that was pretty indefensible on a night where Wade shot 8 of 22 and had the worse matchup. At any rate, I was impressed by the resolve of Indiana to grab 50 rebounds and absolutely grind to a road win here. One final note, Mario Chalmers was an absolute abomination for Miami, shooting 2 of 10 with 0 assists in 23 minutes including crunch-time. I can't fathom a scenario in which they believe he's one of their best 5 players, especially against a team without a dominant PG that he has to guard. Rant over...
• San Antonio 108, LA Clippers 92 - Tim Duncan was Tim Duncan last night. 26 points and 10 rebounds on 12 of 20 shooting for the greatest power forward of all-time, and he got in the time machine to abuse Blake Griffin throughout. The Spurs also won the rebounding battle decisively (47 to 34), and got a bad shooting night from Chris Paul (3 of 13), but it's clear to me that they are head-and-shoulders better than the Clips. I can't see this series going past 5 games unless Chris Paul goes absolutely nuts.
• The Braves got a nice bounce-back win over Cincinnati last night to split the 2-game series. Tim Hudson did Tim Hudson things, allowing just 2 runs over 7 innings as he induced 9 groundball outs and cruised once he had the lead. Brian McCann went lift-off in the 2nd inning of Johnny Cueto and Michael Bourn had 3 hits (again). Bring on the Fish...
• MLB Check - Ervin Santana finally won a game last night. The Angels starting pitcher took it on himself this time, throwing 7.2 IP of shut-out ball to ensure he couldn't get a 7th straight defeat. Former Brave Derek Lowe threw a complete-game shutout with NO STRIKEOUTS yesterday afternoon. There's never been a more "Derek Lowe" performance, and it was the first time since 2002 that any pitcher threw a shutout with no K's. The Yankees are scrambling to replace another closer as David Robertson hits the DL. There was some question about whether it was his job, but now it's all eyes on Rafael Soriano... if he can stay on the field. And finally, Stephen Strasburg got chased after just 4 innings against the Padres after he allowed 4 earned runs. There's been a groundswell that he could somehow be a Cy Young candidate even with his 160-inning limit, but this performance hurts that chance. He'd need to post a 1.50 ERA or something close to it to even have a chance, and I don't see it.
• ESPN is coming out with a "new" 30 for 30 series. If you had a chance to watch some or all of the original 30 documentaries of the first 30 years of ESPN, it was one of the best sports viewing experiences I've ever had, and I'm thrilled for this version. The second take is going to be 30 short films, and they will stream on Grantland. The first one, about Pete Rose, is up now. Check it out.

What to watch for on Wednesday...

• NBA - Celtics @ Sixers - 7:00 TNT - Game 3 (Series Tied 1-1) - Boston is now in a position where they have to steal one of the next 2 in Philly, and Game 3 is the next target. Philly is up to the challenge, but I'd still be confident in Boston winning the series. 
• MLB - Marlins @ Braves - 7:00 SportSouth - Buehrle vs. Minor - Mike Minor is scuffling right now, but the Marlins offense isn't too much of a bear, so it may be a bounce-back night.
• MLB - Red Sox @ Rays - 7:00 ESPN - Buchholz vs. Hellickson - Clay Buchholz has been a disaster this year, and it won't get easier against Tampa at the Trop.
• NBA - Lakers @ Thunder - 9:30 TNT - Game 2 (Thunder lead 1-0) - OKC utterly dominated the first matchup, and LA is reeling. I'd expect more fight from the Lakers here, but still an OKC win.

Enjoy...