NBA Finals Spotlight: Boris Diaw

Photo Courtesy of Keith Allison/ CC BY

San Antonio Spurs foward Boris Diaw may had only scored a mere two points last night in game one against the Miami Heat but that does not discount for his 10 rebounds and six assists within 33 minutes of play.

The 32-year old veteran reserve gave a much needed spark for his team off the bench, fighting reluctantly for offensive and defensive boards while bolstering much of the assignment to guard LeBron when Kawhi Leonard was dealing with early foul trouble.

Diaw had only a single turnover and personal foul throughout the course of the entire game while limiting James to only 25 points.

Diaw is coming off quite a productive post season. Last year, he only played 17.1 minutes per game and only attempted 3.4 field goals of which he averaged 4.1 points a contest. This year, he has already doubled his field goal attempts and scores roughly 9.6 points per contest. His confidence has soared and because of it, he is shooting at .405 from beyond the arc and .523 in all which is the best production he has had as a member of the San Antonio Spurs given the larger number of attempts he is beginning to take (he took a total of 70 shots back in 2012 and 54 last season) with 132 this year.

With the match ups against Miami's forwards, Diaw has proven through this opening game of the finals that he is a valuable player off the bench and is capable of causing a lot of trouble for the Heat if they do not adjust to match and guard his versatility. His size allows him to beat forwards like Chris Andersen off the dribble and consequently, allows him to draw in the help side defense, leaving Tim Duncan wide open for an easy jams or lay ins. This simple play evidently tore Miami's defense apart yesterday night, given the fact that the Heat constantly had to rotate around the ball so many times.

As the series progresses, look for Diaw to make some valiant efforts to go out and grab loose balls and rebounds. Look for him as he slows down James by pushing him further away from his comfort zone in the low post. Diaw is no all-star but his ability to dish out the ball off the dribble or in the post as well as his ability to spread the floor with his long range jumpers makes San Antonio just a bit better every game that he sees to some playing time.