Wrong kind of offensive
Spurs take a 3-0 lead in the NBA finals in an ugly, low-scoring 75-72 win over the Cavaliers.

CLEVELAND | Nike says we’re all witnesses. To what? The demise of the NBA? The abrupt end to a Kingdom that LeBron James created in the Eastern Conference finals with a 48 Special?

A horrendous episode of “The Sopranos” popped these NBA finals in the head Sunday night, sending TV ratings plummeting. Well, Tuesday night, the Spurs and the Cavaliers backed an SUV over the head of the NBA’s prone body, playing quite possibly the most unwatchable championship game in the league’s history.

Hey, there’s nothing wrong with a good basketball blowout; an overwhelming display of brilliance is always appreciated.

But we did not witness greatness inside Quicken Loans Arena. Not from the Spurs, 75-72 winners in game three of this best-of-seven series, and certainly not from the Cavaliers, who now trail 0-3.

We witnessed a disgusting display of offensive ineptitude — on both ends of the court and from every alleged superstar and superdooperstar who took the court.

“We set the Western world of offensive basketball back 10 years,” cracked San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich, who is on the brink of gaining his fourth NBA title. No team has ever rallied from a 3-0 deficit in the NBA finals.

The second-lowest-scoring game in NBA finals history featured these unforgettable shooting performances: Manu Ginobili, zero for seven; LeBron James, nine for 23; Tim Duncan, six for 17; Daniel “Boobie” Gibson, one for 10; and Tony Parker, seven for 17.

The Cavs botched 16 of their 19 three-point attempts. The teams combined to shoot 38 percent from the field.

Great defense did not cause the poor shooting. Cleveland simply couldn’t knock down open shots. Gibson, the super sub who was inserted into the starting lineup for Larry Hughes, looked like a rattled rookie for the first time in the playoffs. The entire Cleveland team snapped under the championship pressure. The Cavaliers failed to recognize that three-pointers weren’t falling.

“Thought we could’ve driven the ball more against their hard closeouts,” said Cleveland coach Mike Brown, who watched helplessly as the Spurs nailed 10 of 19 three-pointers.

With a chance to tie the game in the final 30 seconds, reserve Anderson Varejao drove the lane and threw up a wild left-handed shot rather than kicking the ball back to James. Varejao’s shot came with about 10 seconds left on the shot clock. James had flipped the ball to Varejao after driving into a double team.

“Definitely (thought) I was going to get it back from Andy,” James said. “It was a miscommunication.”

A miscommunication that could have been avoided had the Cavaliers taken one of their remaining timeouts. Brown said he tried desperately to call a timeout on the possession, but he said his players and the referees could not hear his shouts over the crowd noise.

James did get a clean look at a would-be, game-tying three-pointer as time expired. San Antonio’s Bruce Bowen grabbed James’ arm as James dipped down to begin his shooting motion. There was no call. James complained to referee Bob Delaney as the teams left the court.

“It was incidental contact,” James said. “It didn’t affect my shot. I had a good look at it.”

The timing of this nightmarish series couldn’t be worse for the NBA. The league is the process of reworking its TV contracts. This series is likely to set a record low for ratings in the last 25 years.

James is supposed to be a transcendent star who can elevate the league the way Jordan, Magic and Bird once did. His unveiling on the NBA’s biggest stage has been a disaster. He’s shooting 35 percent from the field and has 17 turnovers in three games. He looks nothing like the player who carried the Cavs over the Detroit Pistons.

And Tuesday’s game looked nothing like the best brand of basketball the world has to offer.


To reach Jason Whitlock, call 816-234-4869 or send e-mail to jwhitlock@kcstar.com. For previous columns, go to KansasCity.com

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