Game 1 of the 2014 NBA Finals; a rematch from last year between the San Antonio Spurs and the Miami Heat; a Finals in which the Heat barely escaped victory due to a Ray Allen prayer; and this year as the rubber match begins, San Antonio’s air conditioning fails? Against the Heat?
Sounds too good to be true.
That’s exactly what happened.
Due to a ‘malfunction,’ — we’ve heard that before — in the arena’s air conditioning system, temperatures rose to very warm levels, giving LeBron James severe cramps strong enough to limit him to just 33 total minutes.
“It was the whole left leg, damn near the whole left side,” James said. “I was losing a lot [of fluids] throughout the game. It was extremely hot in the building, you know, both teams, fans, everybody could feel it. I was the one that had to take the shot.”
James only played one possession in the final 7:31 before exiting for good with 3:59 to play. He finished with 25 points, but his absence in the end cooled off any momentum the Heat had gained whatsoever; the Spurs outscored the Heat 36-17 in the fourth quarter en route to the 110-95 Game 1 victory.
It’s hard to tell whether or not the air conditioning failure was done deliberately. After all, crazier things have happened. However, it should be noted that ESPN’s Doris Burke stated that temperatures near the floor reached 102 degrees.
James stated after the game, “It was an unusual circumstance… I never played in a building like that, it’s been a while, like a high school game or [youth basketball], and everybody is sitting on top and you feel good being in a building like that.”
Don’t forget the Spurs struggled with the Heat as well. Tim Duncan told reporters, “I don’t think I’ve played in anything like this since I left the [Virgin] Islands. It was pretty bad out there.”
It’s also hard to tell if James’ cramps were the result of solely the failure of the air conditioning. Of everyone playing on the floor, James was the only one to exit. Still, it appears many fans will be quick to criticize James for not playing through the cramps, even though many athletes who have experienced similar injuries are sympathetic.
James was mic’d up during Game 1, and although they didn’t include showing his cramping episodes — which would have been way more interesting and relevant — you do hear James say in the video, “They’re trying to smoke us out of here.”
So what do you think? Was LeBron a wimp for leaving? Was the air conditioning failure legitimate?
No matter how you slice it, the Heat are in an 0-1 hole in their quest to win three straight championships.
Josh Helmuth is the editor of CraveOnline Sports.
Photo Credit: Getty
