What a performance from Kawhi Leonard and the San Antonio Spurs. Following the disappointment of their Game Two loss in Texas, a big night was needed in Miami and Gregg Popovich’s team duly delivered.

1) Fast start

San Antonio came into Game Three off the back of a tough loss at home in Game Two which tied the series up at 1-1. The Miami Heat had not lost a home playoff game since Game One of the 2013 finals. What approach do the Spurs take? How about having possibly the greatest offensive half in NBA Finals history?

The Spurs made 19 of their first 21 shots. They went 13 for 15 in the first quarter, scoring 41 points. The Spurs finished the first half shooting just under 76% from the field, bettering the Orlando Magic’s 75% shooting in the 2009 Finals.

The Spurs scored 71 points in the first half, the first time any team has scored more than 70 points in the first half of the finals since 1987. Miami, who made their first four shots, could not keep up with the Spurs in the first half, trailing 71-50 at half time. On the subject of fast starts…

2) Kawhi Leonard’s Offense

Leonard had a combined 18 points in Games One and Two of this season’s playoffs. He went off for 16 points in the first quarter of Game Three. Leonard was more aggressive from the start, and he was not hesitant with his shot, pulling the trigger from all over the floor, usually to great success.

Leonard finished the ball game with 29 points, his highest total since his high school days. Leonard set the tone for San Antonio offensively, and he wasn’t too bad on the other end of the floor either.

3) Kawhi Leonard’s Defence

Leonard has been widely criticised for his defensive play so far in this series. Due to Leonard’s high level of play guarding LeBron James in the 2013 Finals people seem to forget the difficulty of the task at hand. Leonard is not going to shut LeBron down, but in Game Three Leonard showed just how he can slow down LeBron.

Leonard has the foot speed and agility to guard LeBron tightly and still contest if LeBron attacks the basket. Leonard succeeded in forcing the ball out of LeBron’s hands on numerous occasions in Game Three. Following a 35-point outing in Game Two, when Leonard was in foul trouble for much of the game, James was limited to 22 points in Game Three.

Leonard’s excellent defence also resulted in James coughing up a career high seven turnovers. If Leonard keeps up this level of defensive play, somebody else is going to have to step up for Miami.

4) Small Ball

During the ‘big three’ era in Miami, Coach Spoelstra has implemented a very successful small ball game plan. Chris Bosh and Rashard Lewis are big men who can spread the floor with their shooting. This tactic often nullifies the rim protecting abilities of opposition big men who are forced to follow their assignments out to the perimeter.

In Game Three Coach Popovich decided to fight fire with fire by inserting Boris Diaw into the starting line-up in place of centre Tiago Splitter. The results speak for themselves. The paint was not as clogged, leading to Kawhi Leonard and Tony Parker attacking more. Diaw provides perimeter shooting which Miami is forced to respect. This was an effective adjustment by San Antonio. How will Miami counter in Game Four?

5) So Much For Home Court Advantage

Every year coaches, players, owners, media and everybody else talks about potential factors that could give one team the edge over the other. Every year home court advantage is one of these factors. Before Game Two in San Antonio the Spurs had won eight straight playoff games by a total of 15 points or more.

Along came Miami to spoil the party by winning Game Two on the road and swing home court advantage in their favour. All Miami had to do was win all of its home matches and they would win another Championship. Having won 11 straight home matches in the post season, winning three more didn’t sound too unrealistic. Along comes San Antonio to spoil the party by winning Game Three on the road and swing home court advantage in their favour. All San Antonio has to do is win all of its remaining home matches and they will win another Championship. In this back and forth NBA Finals, where two of the three matches so far have been won by the road team, do not make any assumptions.

Check back in Friday for Game Four’s talking points.

Eoin Purcell, Pundit Arena.

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