Everyone has their opinion about LeBron James and the Miami Heat, their big three and the way The Decision played out with Wade and James as tag team partners on the court. Whether you were a supporter or among the throngs of haters of the Miami Heat, you are all in the same position now. As The Rock would say, “It doesn’t matter what you thought.”
It doesn’t matter what Cleveland thought, it doesn’t matter what Charles Barkley thought, it doesn’t matter what Boston thought when they were man-handling the Heat in the beginning of the season, it doesn’t matter what anyone thought. It simply doesn’t matter, not when you have two of the top three players in the league on the same team.
He didn’t have to, but in the post game press conference, James apologized to Cleveland for how everything went down. That’s not going to ease the pain in Cleveland, but it’s a start.
The bottom line was that when LeBron James decided to take his talents to Miami, he and Wade knew that they would be in the spot that they are in right now. And while they were criticized for talking about winning multiple championships before ever playing a game together, there’s few people that would doubt the possibility of a dynasty now.
Apart, Wade and James consistently lead their teams to the playoffs often times having to win games almost by themselves. Both players possess the ability to take over games and dominate opposing teams by themselves. Together, they are the most dynamic duo in the NBA.
The combination of Wade and James was too much for the Celtics to handle and it may just be too much for the rest of the league, especially if Chris Bosh continues to grab rebounds contributing consistently on the offensive end.
In the first half of the close out game, it looked like D. Wade was going to go off for 50. He shot the lights out and registered 23 points to keep the Heat in the game. Little did Boston know, that it would be LeBron coming off the top ropes to have Wade’s back late in the fourth in a perfect tag-team effort.
To beat the Celtics in five games, you have to have certain things go your way. Wade and James were spectacular, but that was expected. To beat the Celtics in five games, the Heat needed role players like Joel Anthony and James Jones to step up like they did. Chris Bosh played like an all star in the last two games and the Miami Heat were certainly fortunate that Rondo wasn’t healthy enough to make his usual impact. But to the Heat’s credit, they’re defense also wore the Celtics down.
Last night’s close out game offered up a catharsis for LeBron James and D. Wade. Boston had been the team that both of them couldn’t beat alone, but together they were able to get over the hump. For LeBron, his late game take-over to seal the 97-87 victory and end the series was redemption and liberation. But it was also a warn shot to all those who thought a player of LeBron’s ability couldn’t make the big shots, or take over a game when it was needed.
With the score tied at 87 and just minutes to play, LeBron James became the unstoppable force we all knew he had the potential to become. Did I say I potential? I meant to say LeBron James, the NBA’s back-to-back MVP, WAS the unstoppable force that we are accustomed to seeing him be.
But this time, he did it when it mattered the most. LeBron scored 10 straight points to finish the Celtics off and give the Heat the victory and the series.
With the Lakers, Celtics and Spurs all eliminated from the playoffs, the league is ready for a new champion. The Mavericks are the most veteran team left in the playoffs, and OKC Thunder look to be on crash course to play them in the Western Conference Finals. That is, if you’re willing to count out the Grizz.
As for the future of the boys in green, we’ve probably seen the last of Shaq in an NBA uniform. But the Celtics don’t have the trivial chemistry problems the Lakers did so they should be able to re-tool and be back next year.
In the meantime, try not to sprain your ankle climbing back onto the Heat bandwagon.
