Game 1 NBA Finals

LaBron James leaving Game 1
with cramps

If I heard it asked once today among sports enthusiasts and NBA fans, I heard it a couple of dozen times: Did the absence of air conditioning affect the outcome of Game 1 of the NBA Finals? What these people really are asking is this: Did the San Antonio Spurs defeat the Miami Heat in Game 1 because Heat superstar LaBron James had to leave the game with cramps midway through the fourth quarter at a time when the Heat was leading the Spurs by two points?

The answer is absolutely not. The Heat were ahead for one simple reason: through the first, say, three and a half quarters of last night’s game, the Spurs committed 23 turnovers. Midway through the final 12 minutes, the Spurs suddenly decided to turn off the turnover machine and they didn’t commit another one the entire rest of the game. Suddenly they decided to play Spurs basketball and when they play Spurs basketball there isn’t a team in the league that can compete with them. That’s particularly true of the Heat, a team that, if they had played in the league’s Western Conference, would have finished no higher than fifth.

I will admit this, however: If LaBron could have finished the game, the Spurs would not have won 110-95. The margin would have probably been only 10 points.