By the time the Miami Heat had defeated the Toronto Raptors to even the 2016 Eastern Conference semifinal at 3–all, most fans already knew the score (103–91), that Goran Dragic had scored a lot of points, and where Game 7 would be played. But they did not know Dragic’s thoughts on eight players heading to free agency, something the Miami Herald’s Manny Navarro had learned during a seven-minute interview with the Miami point guard earlier that day. Plus, fans did not know how or why the Heat had changed its starting lineup right before tip-off to feature shorter, quicker players.
As a result, Navarro’s lead reads more like a sidebar or feature. The final score, along with the team’s key scorers, is not mentioned until the fourth paragraph:
Goran Dragic didn’t want to start looking ahead to this summer and the looming free agency of most of his Heat teammates.
“I feel like if we start talking too early then you’re already done, not focused about these games,” Dragic said several hours before Game 6. “You know, it’s not good timing to talk about that. We’re still alive.
“We’ve still got—hopefully, two games—at least two games left. That’s all that matters.”
The Heat, facing elimination Friday for the third time in these playoffs, will have at least one more game. Led by Dragic’s team-high 30 points, seven rebounds and four assists and 22 points, six rebounds and five assists from Dwyane Wade, the Heat advanced to another Game 7 with a 103–91 victory over the Toronto Raptors at American Airlines Arena.
SOURCE: Miami Herald
(http://www.miamiherald.com/sports/nba/miami-heat/article77613752.html)
Later in the story, Navarro outlines how the Heat’s smaller lineup succeeded, focusing on a trend, significant plays, noteworthy statistics, and comments from players on both teams. We learn that Miami used this smaller lineup for nearly two-thirds of the game, implemented a man-to-man defense, and used one bigger player for a stretch of play, which is visually described:
The Heat waited until about eight minutes before the 8 p.m. scheduled tipoff to announce it was replacing 6–10, 245-pound center Amar’e Stoudemire in the starting lineup with the 6–7, 225-pound Winslow. The Raptors, though, probably had an inkling Miami’s small lineup was coming because of the success the Heat had with it in Game 4.
With Winslow, Dragic, Luol Deng, Wade and Joe Johnson for the final 4:48 of regulation and then five more minutes of overtime in Game 4, the Heat turned a 79–72 deficit into a 94–87 victory. Then, in Game 5, a similar small lineup with Richardson and Tyler Johnson rotating in for the injured Deng cut a 15-point fourth-quarter deficit to 1 with under two minutes to play before the Raptors pulled away behind DeRozan and Lowry.
On Friday, the Heat’s lineup worked again. Miami went small for all but 18 minutes and 19 seconds in the game. Despite giving up size to the Raptors, Miami only lost the rebounding battle by two (43–41) and just scored just two fewer points in the paint than the Raptors (46–44).
“It was just one-on-one defense,” DeRozan said. “We’ve just got to buckle down, not try to rely on help so much. Every individual on our side just has to man-up and play one-on-one defense so we don’t have to get in rotation where it involves guys getting to the basket, getting easy shots.”
McRoberts was the only big man who played for the Heat, and he had several big moments. He flew in for a tip-in dunk over Bismack Biyombo in the second quarter and then had a pair of tip-ins off misses in the fourth. McRoberts finished with 10 points and five rebounds.
Winslow, meanwhile, finished with 12 points and three rebounds in 26 minutes. But he had help throughout as Miami gang-rebounded and made sure to box out.
Said Wade: “Sometimes unconventional works.”
SOURCE: Miami Herald
(http://www.miamiherald.com/sports/nba/miami-heat/article77613752.html)
This story included a 53-photo slideshow, four video clips from the game itself, a video clip from a post-game interview in the locker room, another one from the press conference, and a two-minute, 49-second post-game wrap-up that featured Navarro and colleague Ethan J. Skolnick. Plus, the story included a link to columnist Greg Cote’s perspective on the game and to the box score.
“In the end, the modern game story really isn’t a work of art anymore,” Navarro says,
but an ever-evolving compilation of pregame/post game insights from players and coaches, statistical trends and a couple of highlights of the key moments of what happened in that game. Since so many people watch a game on TV or see the highlights on SportsCenter, it’s a tough challenge as a writer to provide a unique angle or perspective on what happened in that game and to look ahead to what might happen going forward. The toughest part? Remembering to do that as fast you can because in 10 minutes something else will be trending and you will be writing the next story.
As Wallace and Navarro know, good writing comes from solid reporting. Anybody can knock out a witty one-liner or craft a clever lead once in a while, but only dedicated reporters can deliver captivating stories, compelling insights, and breaking news.
“Even the stylists like Gary Smith, Frank Deford and David Foster Wallace report the hell out of a piece,” says L. Jon Wertheim, author and reporter for Sports Illustrated. “If you have an abundance of material, the writing part is so much easier. In my experience, the pit in the stomach comes when you have 1,000 words of material and a 2,000-word space to fill.”
sports insider
Print deadlines are still the toughest part of the job when writing a game story. With games starting later and later, particularly in the playoffs, it presents huge challenges. For one, we usually have to file for print within minutes of the game ending. So, generally, I try to grab a storyline from earlier in the day at shootaround or from practice the day before, develop it and use that as my lead. That’s assuming it ties into a general point of my game story. So, for instance, if Goran Dragic has a big game I’ll go back to the transcription of my latest conversations with Goran (hopefully it was a one-on-one) and take something from it that presents a unique perspective or thought he shared and explain how it ties to this game in particular or playoff series.
My early stories for print usually aren’t very good or insightful beyond that because those are the only quotes that usually get into my stories. In the rest of the early print story, I include a big picture nut graf and follow it up with key moments in the game, stats and important news on injuries. I also provide some perspective when I can without stepping on the toes of any fellow writer from my paper who may be writing a sidebar, column or notebook.
Once the game ends and I’m done filing my early story for print and online, I head down to the locker room and work it as hard as I can. Not only am I looking to gather quotes for my daily game story, but also for day-after stories, blogs, etc. I’m also shooting video when I can (usually group interviews).
I’ve found the best approach after I get back to my computer and I’m done in the locker room is to compartmentalize what I’ve gathered by headlines/stories. Anything newsworthy, or the best quotes, I tweet out as fast as possible. Major news outlets like ESPN, CBS Sports, Bleacher Report pick up those tweets and post them on TV and usually give you credit. That’s one way to help bring in more Twitter followers and readers.
As far as writing, the necessary news and best post-game quotes go into my revised gamer for online (sometimes, print if we have a second deadline). Then, I’ll save something else (preferably a one-on-one interview) for a blog or for the next day’s story. Teams sometimes won’t practice the day after the game because they travel or players are given a day off. So, you always have to have something in the bag in reserve.