NBA FINALS GAME 5 RUNNING DIARY
So, my wife is out of town and I find myself home alone (well, baby is sleeping, so basically alone) to watch Game 5 of the NBA Finals. I’ve decided to write a running diary of the game.
First, some personal background: I am currently living in the Dallas area but I’m a Los Angeles transplant. I am a Laker fan, but not “fanatic;” I pay virtually no attention to the NBA regular season. More than half the teams make the playoffs and, of those, generally only 3-4 teams have a shot at the Finals. So I root for the Lakers until they lose—which generally keeps me busy through mid-June. However, all of the Dallas teams (Rangers, Cowboys, Mavs) are like my adopted stepchildren (you know, ones I like). I listen most often to sports talk radio and those are the teams talked about around here. I rooted for the Lakers until the Mavs beat them. Actually, I suppose I started rooting for the Mavs during their decisive Game 4, when it became clear that the Lakers were not only quitters, but extremely sore losers (I mean seriously, if you are Andrew Bynum and you want to take a cheap shot, are you really so gutless as to take a shot at JJ Barea? It was like Bald Bull vs. Lil’ Mac. Totally gutless).
So I am actively pulling for the Mavs partly for geographical reasons. But even if I were living elsewhere, I would be in the 99% of the rest of the country also rooting for the Mavs. I am in the Heat-haters camp along with the rest of you. I have “taken my talents to (hating on) South Beach.” This is based wholly upon the presence of Lebron James, and what he has decided to stand for. Everything about his “Decision” screams punk move. Putting himself above the game: check. Self-indulgence to the extreme: check. Complete lack of touch with reality: check. I think he really thought that his Cleveland fans would still love him. I think he thought that the words “Lebron James” meant more to people than “NBA” or even “basketball.” I think he really thought that “The Decision” would build his brand and increase his fan base and marketability. That’s the problem with surrounding yourself with “Yes Men.”
He should have stayed in Cleveland. We’re not talking about a 36 year old guy, leaving his home town team to take one last shot at a ring. Lebron is not even 27 yet. I don’t buy the argument that Cleveland wasn’t building around him. They were trying. It takes time (ask Paul Pierce if it’s worth the wait). Great situations don’t make players great; great players make great situations. What were the Bulls before Jordan arrived? What were the Rockets before Hakeem? The Spurs before David Robinson? None of these teams had any inherent advantages over the Cavs before those players arrived. The greatest player in the game shouldn’t take his talents anywhere; he should be a magnet for talent to come to him. And when it did, which it would have, there would have been no doubt that the Cleveland Cavaliers would have been the House that Lebron Built.
The irony, of course, is that Lebron appears to be a student of the history of the game. He never misses an opportunity (most recently with “The Scottie Pippen Affair”) to say he’s no MJ. He extols the virtues of Magic, Larry, Dr. J, etc. Even if this is not how he really feels, he certainly understands that people love humility and it shows PR savvy to give people and reporters what they want. So why—WHY—did he not consult these great people who he supposedly reveres before he made this decision? Every one of them (especially Magic, who would loved to have spoken on TNT about how he has the ear of the great King James) would have told him NOT to go to Miami. To stay the course. To win his rings and visit his statue at Quicken Loans Arena. An immortal standing among the greats.
But he didn’t. He took what he thought was the easy way out. He went to Miami, ripped out the hearts of Clevelanders, did that stupid party, and all the rest of it. And here we are.
I said he “thought” it was the easy way. It wasn’t. In fact, it’s a no-win situation. It may be counterintuitive, but Lebron went from being the best player in the league to the 2nd best player on his own team. This is Dwyane Wade’s team. Lebron is Pippen, not Jordan. I’ve heard it said that that’s precisely what he wanted, but I just can’t believe that. Nothing about his persona and the way he carries himself backs that up. So no matter what happens, Lebron loses.
If the Heat lose this series, the story on the night of the clinching game will be the Mavs finally winning a title. Then we will spend months examining the “disaster” that is the Heat. But let’s say the Heat win the title. Wade will get the credit. In Miami and in the national media. Lebron is too polarizing and he’s done nothing during this Final series to make the Heat his team. What are you reading about the Heat right now? How Dwyane Wade has carried them. About Wade going off on James in the 4th quarter of Game 2. (What would Jordan had done if Pippen had basically questioned his manhood on national TV? Can we rule out murder? I don’t think we can). About his inexplicable mental and physical retreat in Game 4. Even if James goes for 50-15-11 tonight, everyone will say, “Well, why didn’t he do that sooner?” He is so physically imposing that most of us don’t understand why he doesn’t do that in every game. And make no mistake, this won’t end well, no matter how many titles the Heat win. This will be Kobe-Shaq all over again. Wade will get traded to Detroit or Philly and spend years trying (and probably succeeding) to beat the Heat. And we’ll all root for him against Lebron.
He can’t win. If he doesn’t already know it, he will someday; “The Decision” will be the decision he regrets his entire life.
America is rooting for the Mavs. There’s no more dramatic choice of opponent for the Evil Empire, a perfect foil. Youth vs. Experience. Athletic vs. Crafty. Downhome Dallas, TX vs. Slick Miami Beach. The Ghosts of 2006. The Future vs. The Last Chance. (Make no mistake, the Heat will win a title someday, unless the implosion comes immediately. They are young and too good to be denied forever; only the Bulls represent a possible Eastern rival. The Celtics are done. The Magic have no heart. They’ll get theirs. But this is the last chance for Dirk and Kidd. And they deserve it, even if they can’t jump very high. Maybe BECAUSE they can’t jump very high). Talent vs. Heart. If the Mavs win, we can tell our kids that if they work hard enough, they can achieve anything, even against difficult odds. If the Heat win, we have to tell our kids that you can’t achieve anything without a 5 foot vertical. A victory for the Mavs is a victory for all of us who are nervous about the younger generation. A Heat victory is the validation of all of our fears.
This is the pivotal game (Game 4 was too) now. If Miami wins, it’s over. If Dallas wins, it’s probably over, although Miami is good enough that if they get their heads on straight, Dallas can’t beat them. But losing tonight lessens the chance that will happen.
So let’s get to it.
PREGAME
I’m going to count how many times each name is mentioned. I predict Lebron will equal all other players combined. It’s impossible for him not to be the story, even in his perceived “absence.”
Lebron gets first mention. Only player mentioned in the open.
Also, 2 clips of him talking. None of anyone else. (I’m counting those)
Lead story is Lebron only scoring 8 pts. So far, all Lebron all the time.
Wade lets Lebron lead the huddle speech. Maybe the only time tonight he will lead.
Magic says what we all know, that Lebron has to be aggressive and drive the hole. We all know this, including Lebron. You could say that about every game. Why doesn’t he do it all the time? That’s something that puzzles me about sports. Why, when EVERYONE knows what the right thing to do is, do players so often not do it?
1st commercial break: Lebron’s name said 16 times. Wade 3, Bosh 2, Kidd and Dirk one each. Lebron leads all other humans 16-7.
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Just showed Magic’s running skyhook over McHale, Parish, and Bird. Why does no one master the skyhook anymore? Can anyone debate that Dwight Howard is a 3 time MVP if he can shoot the skyhook at 50%?
Back from break, finally Mavs talk. Basically, an injury/illness run down, but hey!
Jon Barry picks the Mavs and makes an excellent point. Think about it: if you knew before the series started that the Mavs would be ice cold shooting and get outrebounded every game.....would you expect them to have won even one game much less two? Mathematics says that the Mavs will start hitting open looks like they did against the Lakers and Thunder. If they do and the Heat don’t answer, Mavs by 15.
Of course, if Lebron wakes up and Wade stays hot.....we might actually have a team reach 100 this game.
Jon Barry and Stuart Scott just did a bit making fun of themselves for talking about Lebron so much. Then went ahead and talked about him some more.
Name tally total: Lebron 19, all others 19. A dead heat!
3rd segment: Lebron still talking in the huddle. No one is listening to him. We’ll see.....
Magic says Lebron needs to play better defense. Wow. Greg Doyel doesn’t look like such a tool now, does he?
RACE CARD ALERT: Wilbon and Magic pick the Heat, Barry picks the Mavs. Mavs not only have a bunch of white guys, but they have black guys who look white. The only white guy on the Heat is Mike Miller, and I bet he listens to Guccimane. FLOCKA!
Hypothesis disproven. Final Tally: Lebron 20, others 22. I think my point is still made.
Basically, the blue print for victory is the same for both teams as it has been the whole series. Mavs have to shoot well enough to make Heat think twice about doubling Dirk, and Miami has to be aggressive and drive the basket on every play. Simple.
INTRODUCTIONS
National Anthem by Acoustix. Like Rockapella, without personality.
Rick Carlisle looks exactly like Jim Carrey in “Me, Myself, and Irene.” This is apropos of nothing.
Did you know Joel Anthony has been in the league 4 years?
Did you know Mike Bibby’s corpse is still walking around? I think I saw him on ‘The Walking Dead.”
Jason Kidd has looked 38 for at least 20 years.
Speaking of awkward, I’m sure I’m showing my youth, but can you remember a team with 3 more awkwardly effective players than Kidd, Dirk, and Marion? Have you seen these guys?
Tyson Chandler—STRAIGHT OUTTA’ COMPTON!!!
I like Mike Breen. Van Gundy seems to be much worse than he used to be. Seems to have bought in to himself. Mark Jackson is like Joe Morgan; proof that good players don’t necessarily know the sport they played. I don’t have much hope for the Warriors next year....
Jackson calls Lebron the “baddest man on the planet.” That statement is so ridiculous, particularly while Lebron is proving he’s not with every passing game. It might be fair, at this point, to say that Lebron will not deliver on that potential. Mental toughness—dare I say, “testicular fortitude”—is lacking so far.
FIRST QUARTER
Dallas wins the tip. Dirk bricks his first shot.
Bosh bricks his. Not looking good for 100.
Jump hook for Bosh for the first basket.
Kidd has 2 steals in about 15 seconds. Quick for an old guy.
Lebron airballs a left hand runner from six feet.
Chandler finishes the alley oop from Marion. Heat look confused on offense. Mavs seem to be playing some kind of matchup zone to start.
Kidd throws a pass to where Marion used to be. This has happened about 6 times this series. My guess is that Marion doesn’t really get the offense. Doesn’t seem to know where he is supposed to be in set plays.
Heat can’t buy a bucket. Kidd hits a 3.
Lebron sneaks out for a dunk. Nowitzki answers then knocks down another. Dallas looking better 5 minutes in.
Marion spins right by James for a fast break hoop off of a Chandler steal. Heat call timeout, with Dallas up 13-6. Might be Dallas’ biggest lead of series. Heat better figure something out on offense and fast.
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Lebron looks dead in the eyes already. Looks like Wade will have to carry them.
Kidd passes up a wide open look. Shoot, Gnome, shoot!!!
Refs letting them play early. In general, haven’t noticed them at all this series, which is great.
Nowitzki looks great tonight. By the way, Joel Anthony, you can’t block Dirk’s fadeaway, so why leave your feet and commit your 2nd foul?
Wade has gone cold. More bad news for the Heat.
Lebron makes a nice block and Wade slices for a layup on the other end.
But Marion answers again on the other end. He looks 5 years younger this series. Lebron can’t defend him at all.
Wade has sucked, but still has six points. Scorer.
Dirk rests, which gives us our first Brian Cardinal sighting! Boiler Up!
Wade drives to the basket and gets fouled again. Why he and James don’t just alternate doing that every possession, I have no idea.
Cardinal for 3!!!! Amazing!!!
Miller answers, good pass from Lebron.
Terry blows right by Wade for a floater, but Bibby realizes no one knows he exists and sinks a jumper. Timeout Dallas, leading 23-19. Dallas taking a break on D, letting the Heat back in it.
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Uh oh. Wade is leaving, holding his back. I’m sure he’ll be back, but that’s a blow. I guess I’m cold-hearted, but I’ve been asking Dallas to knock him down every possession.
Chandler gets the and-one on Lebron, who promptly turns around and blames Mario Chalmers. Oh, I’m sorry, was Chalmers supposed to switch to guard Tyson Chandler? Ridiculous.
Marion on the bench now with Dirk. Who’s gonna score?
Nice assist by Chalmers to Haslem. I like Chalmers. Why can’t Lakers have him instead of Steve Blake?
Chandler has quietly become a pretty great player. Can’t name 5 centers I’d rather have.
Heat spend 23 seconds refusing to shoot and Chalmers throws up a prayer. Where is Lebron James???
Chalmers hits a 3. Nice player.
Juwan Howard side suplexes Brian Cardinal. Big 10 bad blood, there.
Wait, Juwan Howard is still in the league? Haven’t Jalen Rose and Webber been retired for a long time? Some guys just can’t go home to their wives.
Chandler dunk off of Terry penetration. Dallas has been fantastic on offense.
Chalmers hits a half court runner at the buzzer to give the Heat THE LEAD as the 1st quarter ends. He’s killing us. Basketball is a funny game. Dallas outplays Miami on both ends of the floor, doesn’t commit many turnovers, and looks terrific. Lebron is awful, Bosh is sitting, and Wade is hurt.
And Miami leads by one as quarter ends. Funny game.
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2ND QUARTER
Lebron with a great offensive rebound and put back. Why isn’t he the monster he should be?
Terry bails out a bad offensive set with a desperation 3 at the buzzer over a much taller Miller. Tie ball game.
Once again, Lebron passes instead of shooting and they can’t get a shot off. Last 2 possessions are microcosm of his whole basketball life.
Mahinmi! And one! But he missed it.
Bosh goes right at Mahinmi for the and one. He makes his. He’s playing well.
Barea misses a contested layup. He didn’t miss one against LA.
Lebron goes right through the defense for 2. What a puzzle.
Stevenson nails the 3. He’s had a good series.
Bosh tips in a Lebron miss.
Here comes Wade. Doris says he’s “questionable.” The “question” is, “is he breathing?” If he’s breathing, he’s playing. Wade is a man, no doubt.
TV Timeout. Dallas should be winning, but they are down 2.
Mahinmi misses another free throw. Dallas has missed 5 now, and the Heat none. That’s the difference in the game.
Pat Riley is wearing one of his rings. It is large.
Bosh hits another nice jumper.
Terry slices for a floater. If he can stay hot....
Chalmers for 3 again!
Barea answers. High scoring game so far.
Brick for Haslem. Hopes he keeps shooting.
Mike Miller can’t guard Terry.
Peja looks hungover on the bench. Hope he doesn’t get in. Looks like he just stumbled out of the Vodka bar in Vegas made of ice.
Horrible shot by Dirk. Wade shoots a great banker on the other end. So much for his back injury. Miami by 3.
Eddie House is on the Heat? Why doesn’t he play? You gotta put House in the game in the 2nd quarter every game. If he hits his 1st shot, you play him 25 minutes. If he misses, you pull him right back out. No risk.
Another TV timeout. My optimism is fading. Gonna be another close one.
Turnover by Barea. Van Gundy says Chandler should have caught it. He’s right. That’s been wide open the whole game.
Chalmers is angry he’s coming out. I’d be angry to if they were putting a Zombie like Bibby in for me. “You are NOT putting that dead guy in for me!”
Wade gets Terry to foul on the up fake. I guess I forgot because the Heat were bad for a few years, but Wade is a terrific player. Like Iverson, but stronger. Tough guy to beat.
House bricks from 3. Get him out of there. Bosh gets the offensive rebound and draws a Dirk foul driving the basket. If the Heat keep driving, they are going to win this game. Only question is at what point in the 4th quarter do they forget they can do that every time.
Bosh hits both to give the Heat a 6 point lead. Mavs need a basket bad.
Dirk passes up a shot....he needs to get back in this game.
Airball from Eddie House. Bill Pullman says, “Get him OUT of there!”
Dirk grabs a rebound, throws a great outlet to Terry, but Lebron and Bosh race back to contest and the Mavs can’t score. I can’t remember the last Dallas basket.
Wade turns it over because Lebron cuts to the basket. You can understand why Wade was confused by Lebron actually being aggressive.
Gotta be Dirk time. On cue, he drives right at Anthony and scores to stop the bleeding. This series has been so close. Every time a team has a chance to get a double digit lead, the other scraps back into it.
Miami calls timeout. Spoelstra uses too many timeouts when he doesn’t need to. In the 4th quarter of Game 2, he needed one he didn’t have because he called a pointless one in the 3rd quarter. He’s got the young guys; calling unnecessary timeouts to let the old guys rest is a mistake.
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Wade enters to Lebron out of the timeout and Lebron goes up strong for the bucket. It’s so simple when you are that athletic. I just don’t get it....
Marion posts up poor Wade and scores. His shots look so ugly—especially his free throws—but I’ll be darned if they don’t go in. Breen and Jackson go back and forth talking about how ugly his shot is.
Stupid foul by Eddie House. Spoelstra finally wakes up and pulls him out. I’ll be surprised if we see him again this series.
Dirk finally scores. Need more of that.
James bricks from 3, Kidd rims out a 3 on the other end. Loose ball foul on Miami, Dallas keeps possession.
First shot of Dirk’s scary shooting coach. Wearing a leather jacket. In Dallas. In June. Germans....
Terry feeds Chandler on a roll for another dunk. That play works over and over.
Lebron double-dribbles, falls over posting up after hooking with his right arm (Lebron has NO post game)...so of course, they call a phantom foul on Marion and then a technical when he points out that the refs don’t know the rules. That’s a crap call. Two, actually.
Wade hacks Dirk on a double team. Dallas in the bonus. 2:05 left in the half. Dirk sinks 2 to tie it at 54 (and, yes, I typed that before Dirk shot. I love certainty in life).
Wade misses a jumper, Dirk schools Bosh in the post to take the lead back. Dallas on a 10-2 run.
Chalmers throws it away. Dallas has GOT to ...nope, they turn it over. Can’t get any space .
Chalmers FINALLY misses a 3.
Terry with a nice jumper. He’s hot.
Chalmers comes off a screen to hit a 3. That’s 4 3 pointers, and 13 points which is tied for leading team scorer. HOW is Mike Bibby starting again?
Dirk comes out of the timeout and hits another jumper. Lebron misses a 3 just before the buzzer. Dallas leads 60-57 going into halftime. Now, we’re looking good for 100
HALFTIME
Chalmers is the 1st half MVP....they are dead without him. Dallas shot 65%, but only lead by 3. Do you adjust your game plan for Chalmers, or do you just hope he goes cold?
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Contrary to popular belief, Tyson Chandler is not “straight outta Compton.” He grew up on a farm. Who knew?
I’ll miss Shaq. He was great.
I’ll sum up the halftime “analysis.” None of them can understand it. Thanks, guys. Tremendous insight.
Mark Jackson starts his analysis by saying that you have to “understand what type of details you have to execute” to defend Dirk. And then shows 3 examples of how Dirk is indefensible. He offers no possible solutions. Look out Golden State....here comes genius.
Van Gundy loves Lebron’s “assertive....temperament and demeanor.” He only has 9 points. Are you telling me that 18 points from Lebron James is acceptable production for someone who is compared to MJ? Does anyone remember that Jordan basically scored 30 points in every playoff game he played in? What are these guys talking about?
3RD QUARTER
Wade on the bench to start the 2nd...bad news. Miller, starting in his place, knocks down a wide open 3 to tie the game on the first possession.
Marion finishes a sloppy drive. He looks awful, but the job gets done.
Miami turnover. Dallas still doubling Lebron.
Barea from deep 3! Here we go!
Miller answers with another 3.
Kidd misses a 3 but another Chandler offensive rebound bails them out.
Wade’s hip is hurt. Bad news. No excuse for Lebron now. He’s gotta win it.
Lebron shoots a postup jumper in the lane over Dirk. Maybe the first post up basket of his career.
Chandler has his uses. Creating a shot in the post isn’t one of them, as he misses the rim from 3 feet.
Lebron misses a layup. While he’s crying to the officials (lemme just rant here: Lebron James is the most physically gifted athlete in the league. That size to go along with that speed is barely human. Forgive me for having ZERO sympathy for a guy that big who whines about ticky-tack fouls.) Dirk nails a baseline jumper on the other end to take back the lead.
Bosh gets ANOTHER offensive rebound. The Heat seem to be better at predicting where the long rebounds will end up than Dallas.
Miller airballs off the dribble—catch and shoot, dude. When you dribble, you hurt the ballclub. That’s the 2nd straight offensive play run for Mike Miller. Instead of James.
Dirk misses a jumper, but Kidd draws a charge from Bosh on the fast break. Bad call—Kidd wasn’t there in time. Predictably, Mark Jackson, watching the same replay we all are, says it’s a good call. I think he IS Joe Morgan reincarnated. Except, unfortunately, Joe is alive.
Barea dribbles around for 22 seconds doing nothing....but Dirk hits a freakin’ rainbow—like off the screen rainbow—3 over Bosh. An absolute “Horse” shot. Just like they drew it up, right? Dallas is playing so well, how are they only up 5?
Dallas not even bothering to double Lebron....they are daring him to beat them and he won’t do it. Joel Anthony makes his first basket since 2nd grade. Heat hanging in there.
Barea for 3 again! Dallas is 8-12 from 3.
But, ever the enigma, Lebron James shoots a magnificent falling sideways baseline jumper off of a drive. I think he’s being confusing on purpose. TV timeout at 5:59. Dallas up by 4.
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Barea on the drive over Bibby. Bibby gets pulled for Chalmers. JJ and Terry getting hot is overdue.
Bosh draws a foul on Chandler. Miami doesn’t have a big 3. Bosh is not a whole 1. That said, if he’s your 3rd best player, you should be doing alright.
Marion misses an 18 footer. Let’s not do that again.
Here comes Wade. And he’s right back in.
Steal by Marion, offensive rebound by Barea! Dirk draws a cheap foul. Joel Anthony is not a good player. But apparently he’s better than Erick Dampier, who has yet to see the court. Kidd hits a 3. Dallas up 7.
Brian Cardinal with “overly-pesky-white-guy” defense on Bosh forces a turnover. How embarrassing. Can Dallas hold the lead with Dirk resting?
Haslem completely loses Chandler—how do you lose a guy that large?—and he dunks it home. Heat call a timeout at 3:47. Dallas by 9, their largest lead of the Finals. Dallas’ offense is coming alive this game—9-13 from 3, great entry passing-- and the Heat can’t keep up. Because Lebron won’t take over.
James knocks down the jumper over Marion. Call me when he hits 2 in a row.
Terry rims out a 3. Dallas needs a stop to keep momentum.
Haslem bricks a shot. But Dallas turns it over and Terry fouls Lebron to stop him from a fast break. Dallas is trying to let them back in it.
Wade with a brilliant pass to Juwan Howard right under the basket and he finishes.
Terry answers with a baseline jumper.
Wade posts up Jason Kidd. Now Dallas only up by 5. Time to get Dirk back in maybe.
Bad set for Dallas, but Terry makes a tough jumper.
Lebron flies in to catch a pass from Chalmers and they call a blocking foul on Cardinal. Poor guy can’t buy a charge. Afterwards, Juwan Howard and Cardinal are pushing and shoving. It’s like watching Walter Matthau fight Ossie Davis. Save it, guys, please, before you hurt yourselves.
James has his pocket picked by Cardinal! But....sensing a theme here...Dallas throws it away. Dallas by 7.
Cardinal fouls Chalmers going for a charge 25 feet out while Chalmers is moving AWAY from the basket and they both collapse in a heap. That foul puts Miami in the bonus. Brian, please, stop doing that! No one is going to give you a charging call! You are BRIAN CARDINAL!!!
On the plus side, Dirk is back. Cardinal gets the “scrappy, no-talent white guy” ovation as he exits, despite the fact that he played poorly.
Dirk misses the one legged fallaway, but Haslem pushes Mahinmi for no reason to give Dallas the last shot with 13.9 left.
Dirk, trying for the last shot, turns the ball over to Chalmers, who gets away with a body block on Terry to get the last possession. With 2.1 left, Lebron drives right into Jason Kidd, who strips him on the way up. Lebron doesn’t even bother to cry. I need another synonym to describe how enigmatic James is, because I’m fresh out. Score going into the 4th, Dallas 84, Miami 79
4TH QUARTER
Lebron James called this the “most important game” of his life. With no qualifiers. Let’s see what he’s got.
Deshawn Stevenson fouled hard going to the rim by Juwan Howard. How is that not a flagrant? Stevenson is wincing...either in pain or because Mahinmi is fondling his head. Howard walks his old, bitter behind out of the game. Mahinmi throws Wade to the ground for good measure on the other end. Dallas by 4.
Barea with a brilliant drive to hit the layup and the foul! Love him!
Dirk gets away with a hack on Wade to take the ball.
Barea swatted by Haslem. Well....that’s gonna happen, right? Stevenson fouls Lebron before he can get a shot off. Nice entry pass by Wade to Haslem for a layup.
Entry pass to Dirk, he’s fouled by Haslem. I have no logical reason, but I hate Udonis Haslem. Not as much as I hate Eugene Edgerson, but almost.
Nice pass by Lebron to Bosh for a lay in. Mahinmi needs to come out. He’s lost.
Dirk blocked by Wade who races down to the other end and gets fouled by Mahinmi. Wade wants it. Timeout on the floor. Wade can cut it to 3 if he hits both.
Lebron is not playing terribly. He’s a great passer. But Magic scored when they needed him to. Lebron is refusing to rise to the occasion.
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Wade hits the first. Heat are 19-21 from the line. He misses the 2nd but the Heat tip it out and get a possession. Wade totally lifts his pivot foot, but no call. He then has the gall to complain. Wade misses a runner, Dallas up by 4. Stevenson airballs a 3. Dallas still can’t separate. Haslem lays up a nice pass from Wade. Dallas by 2.
But Barea takes a terrible 3.....and makes it!
Nice D by Mavs, James misses a 3 on his 1st touch in several possessions.
Barea misses the floater. James leads the fast break and Wade scores it.
Dirk takes it in and gets fouled. I love JJ and all, but it’s Dirk time. Hits both free throws. Miami calls another bad timeout. Why? It’s not like Dallas has momentum and the Heat are finally on a bit of a roll. It’s like Spoelstra thinks it’s mandatory to call a timeout midway through each quarter. You’re gonna need those, dude.
Miami is shooting 7-16 from 3, which is very good. But Dallas is 10-16, which is outstanding.
James with a nice dish to Haslem for a bucket. 8 assists for James...still feeling hollow.
Marion is stripped....James gets another assist to Wade on the fast break. Dirk?
Terry throws up an absolutely awful shot. Dirk?!?
Dirk and Chandler BOTH lose Haslem cutting to the hoop. That’s 4 layups in a row and Miami takes the lead for the first time in the 2nd half.
Ummm...can we, maybe, run the offense through Dirk now?
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5:16 left, Heat by 1. Dallas defense has totally collapsed. Time to get it back though.
By the way, defense is not Dirk’s thing.
Dirk with a ridiculous fallaway that JUST rims out.
Wade nails a 3 when Kidd is late on the pick and roll. It’s slipping away. But we know that Miami will try to give it back.
Dirk spins in the lane to draw the foul. Hits them both to get within two.
Token pressure....Dallas has switched Marion onto Wade and Kidd onto Lebron. Let me repeat that. Dallas has moved their best on-ball defender to Wade and put old, slow, short Jason Kidd on the “greatest player in the league.” What an insult.
Bosh loses the ball but Chandler misses a point blank pass from for a turnover. Dirk is ticked. I don’t speak German, but I believe the gist was, “Catch the ball, dude.”
Nice pass from Wade to Bosh and Chandler hacks him. Pays off as Bosh misses the front end.
Well, someone made it to 100. But it’s Miami.
Dirk passes to a WIDE OPEN Terry for 3. He hits it to tie the game at 100. Terry is a knucklehead sometimes, but he’s a shooter, no doubt.
Kidd still on Lebron, Lebron tries to exploit but instead of driving, he shoots over him and misses.
And on the other end, Dirk slides right by Bosh on the baseline for a dunk and Dallas is back up!
James on the dish from Wade goes baseline and makes the layup....but Chandler draws the charge! James is nervously licking his lips and glancing up at the scoreboard.
Marion misses on the floater.
James bricks a 3 on the other end. 0 points in the 4th quarter on 0-3 shooting. Dallas brings the ball up slow and they are stalling way too soon....but Kidd hits the 3 on the kickout from Terry. Dallas by 5 with 1:26 left.
I don’t remember Kidd being a good 3 point shooter early in his career. I remember most of his points coming on free throws and fast breaks. He’s had a great year....it might be his last. Nice career, man.
“Beat the Heat” chants in the AAC.
Two bad non calls...Wade gets ripped by Marion for the steal but Marion is hacked at the other end....no whistle. Marion should have pulled it out to run the clock.
Wade has a floater blocked by Chandler. James can’t draw a foul but he gets it to Bosh who does. He hits 1, Mavs by 4.
Haslem does a great job denying Dirk the ball, but Terry just rears up and hits a 3 over James, who doesn’t even get a hand up. He’s a two way player alright....he’s choking on both ends. You knew the Mavs shooters were going to get hot, given time. The Heat should have closed out this series when they had a chance. Now they’re in trouble, going back home or not.
James goes in and Dallas lets him lay it up. Heat try to trap in the back court and foul Kidd. Now , we play the classic NBA ending....for the first time this series. If Dallas hits their free throws, they win. Kidd hits both. 20 second timeout for Miami. As bad as both teams have been at closing out games, Dallas is up 7 with 25 seconds left and I don’t think they can choke this away.
Wade misses a 3 and it’s basically over. Terry hits both. Bosh misses a 3 and Terry dribbles it out.
Final score: Dallas 112, Miami 103.
Well, believe it or not, Lebron James had a triple double tonight. 17-10-10. Only 2 of those points were in the 4th quarter, and in garbage time at that. I wonder how many people will think that those numbers validate his performance in Game 5. Wade still outscored him, even in his limited minutes.
The Mavs are playing great. Carlisle has done a great job cobbling together role players and grizzled vets around Dirk and built a great team. I think they will win on Sunday—make it to the AAC viewing party if you can. It should be a great time.
Wade and James exit the court with James a step or two behind. Fitting, really. Wade looks sullen, James indifferent.
James and Wade sit together at the postgame press conference. The hard questions are coming. Lebron, do you feel the pressure? Do you need to score more in the 4th quarter? Why is Jason Terry starting to score on you more? How can you close out games more effectively? Are you satisfied with your performance after a triple double?
He answers all of the questions predictably. No, I don’t feel the pressure. No, scoring was not the problem (when you give up 112, he might be right). Jason is a great player who knocked down shots and it’s not a one-on-one matchup, anyway. We have to close out games with our defense. A triple double means nothing in a loss. He displays nothing, not that we expect him to.
I make no bones about how I feel about Lebron. Of course, as a sports fan, I have some bitterness toward him. Even though I have no ties to Cleveland, I’ve had my heart broken by athletes and sports teams, too. Some of my feelings are because I am a teacher. I see in Lebron what I see in a lot of my students. Unearned entitlement.
The Entitled Athlete is hardly a new concept. It is as old as sports themselves. Some of it isn’t their fault. Lebron James does not compare himself to MJ, publicly; we do. He is the most scrutinized basketball player in history. With multiple 24 hour sports networks and hundreds of websites, we live in an age of scrutiny. One would think that added scrutiny would lend itself to added discretion, but we know that’s not the case. If anything, that scrutiny has given us all license to play the victim. The Heat have played the victim all season long. And so have all of the other teams that have to play against them. Everyone says that the system is unfair, but for opposite reasons. How can both be true?
Entitlement is the opposite of responsibility. If you are entitled to something, whose fault is it when you don’t get it? When your self-esteem has no relationship to your achievement or success, what motivates you to achieve or succeed?
I think that is where Lebron will be found lacking, when all is said and done. All professional athletes are internally motivated. But great ones have something extra. Personal pride. (Tim Duncan) “Me Against the World” syndrome (Allen Iverson). Great expectations (Ken Griffey, Jr). Destruction of competition (Jordan, Bird). Unabashed love of the game (Magic).
I don’t think Lebron has anything extra. He’s a very good player. But when you are crowned King before you’ve ever won anything and you do not tie your worth and value to your accomplishment, what is left to do? Maybe he will eventually realize that he has to want it more. Maybe as years go by, he WILL want it more.
But he might not. And it’s not his loss. It’s ours. We want him to be great more than he does. And we will never forgive him for that. There is only bitterness and sadness and regret.
Sigh. Even as I criticize others for focusing on Lebron, I do the same. Kettle, thou art black.
