In the wake of Miami Heat forward LeBron James' cramping up and being carried off the floor at the end of Game 1 of the NBA Finals against the San Antonio Spurs, much of the discussion hovered around his toughness.
Another line of thinking gravitated toward some form of foul play. Many wondered whether the electrical failure that caused the air-conditioning outage at the AT&T Center on Thursday in San Antonio was something more than a simple dose of coincidence.
Former Dallas Mavericks guard Jason Terry joined ESPN Dallas 103.3 FM’s “The Afternoon Show with Tim Cowlishaw and Matt Mosley” on Friday and reasoned the Spurs could have made a tactical move in regard to the AC based on what the veteran point guard has seen them do in the past.
“You know what, Pop [Spurs coach Gregg Popovich] has done that so many times. I don't know if it's a conspiracy, but I'm telling you, going into San Antonio is a tough place to play,” Terry said.
“And I can remember very well one time where it was cold showers, there were about a thousand flies in the locker room. This year, there was a snake in the locker room. So, they're going to pull out all the stops to get into your head.
“When you go to San Antonio, expect something like that. And Miami fell victim to it."
Temperatures reached as high as 90 degrees in the arena during Game 1, causing much discomfort for both teams on the floor.
The unexpected has become the norm in San Antonio as unique disturbances occur within the AT&T Center, as Terry mentioned. There also was an incident in which a bat was seen flying around the arena in a game played near the end of the 2010-11 season.
The always outspoken guard said he remembered games when the Mavs thought the Spurs had the heat turned up on them.
"Oh, no question,” Terry said. “For an event of that magnitude, to say that the AT&T Center's air-conditioning is not working -- there's definitely something wrong with that."
The league has been informed that the electrical failure has been repaired and will not impact play for Sunday’s Game 2 of the Finals.