Spurs left to ponder near miss
MIAMI -- The San Antonio Spurs, who never lost an NBA Finals in four previous tries, finally tasted the ultimate defeat Thursday night.
Certainly a 95-88 Game 7 loss to the favored Miami Heat on the two-time champions' home floor was nothing to be embarrassed about for San Antonio.
However, forgive Spurs fans if they don't ponder questions such as "what if?" and "what's next?" for the next several months.
The "what if" will center around a Game 6 collapse in which the Spurs gave away a five-point lead in the final 20 seconds. That result featured, among other things, key offensive rebounds by Miami's Mike Miller and Chris Bosh and Ray Allen's dramatic 3-pointer with 5.2 seconds left in regulation.
Game 7 had its share of regrets, too, including a missed layup and tip-in by sure-fire Hall of Famer Tim Duncan in the final minute. A basket there would have tied the score, 90-90.
Duncan was asked if the final moments of Game 6 would be his primary thought in the offseason.
"For me, it will be Game 7," he said, "missing a layup to tie the game, unable to stop LeBron (James) and Dwyane (Wade). Game 7 is going to haunt me."
The "what's next" question will revolve mostly around Spurs guard Manu Ginobili, who will turn 36 next month. His contract, which paid him $14 million this season, has expired, and there is virtually no chance he will return at anywhere near that financial level.
The Spurs' choice, then, will be whether to bring him back at a much-reduced salary or to use all of that money on younger and perhaps better talent.
It's also possible that Ginobili could retire.
Duncan, 37, figures to retire soon, too, but not just yet apparently.
Asked directly about that possibility, Duncan -- despondent after the defeat -- replied curtly that he has a contract that says he will return.
The Spurs, though, weren't the only team in the NBA Finals that will face personnel issues this summer.
The talk in Miami is that Miller's contract will be amnestied. Miller, set to make a total of $12.5 million the next two seasons, would still get his money, but releasing him would save the Heat's ownership about $14 million in luxury-tax funds.
Beyond that, the Heat has little flexibility with which to improve the team. They have no picks in next week's NBA Draft, and the luxury tax likely will preclude them from making any major moves.
The only chance for movement for Miami would likely be to trade Bosh, the Heat's much-maligned center who has been criticized as soft.
In fact, the past two games showed the best and worst of Bosh. His offensive rebound and assist to Allen -- plus two blocked shots in overtime -- keyed the Game 6 victory. But on Thursday night, he wasn't much of a factor, going scoreless on 0-for-5 shooting and grabbing seven rebounds.
The Miami win, of course, will shield Bosh from what would have been a firestorm on Miami sports-talk radio, and Heat coach Erik Spoelstra made sure to come to his center's defense.
"CB never got in rhythm because of his early fouls guarding Duncan," Spoelstra said. "But late in the game, LeBron told (Bosh), 'It doesn't matter (about the lack of scoring). Just help us make some plays to win this.' And that's what he did."
