I think dallas needs to actually try to stop the heat Chandler Dirk Marion Stevenson Terry IMO this is the best lineup that dallas could put on the floor to try to stop the big 3
It's all but over. The Mavs should just forfeit. No way they're gonna make history. Remember, of all the teams that won game 3 after 1-1 in the Finals, they went on to win the championship. ALL of them.
Wasn't LeBron on Marion for most of the night? I just noticed Marion was only 4-12 for 10 points. In the post-game LeBron told a reporter that questioned him about stepping up to pay attention to the defensive side of the ball.
That stat only pertains to the 2-3-2 finals format, of which just 11 series have been tied after 2 games. Who knows what will happen this 12th time?
All hating aside it is a little disappointing to watch the best basketball player in basketball play second fiddle to someone else on the biggest stage. It's reasons like this that I felt like Lebron teaming up with Wade cheated the fans out of watching greatness.
to start the quarter he got a steal and breakaway dunk. and then he threw that perfect bounce pass to bosh for a dunk. then before the game-winner to bosh, he got another assist to bosh for a mid-range jumper, and got chalmers an open 3 to make it 79-72. and he also pump-faked marion in the air and drew a foul but the refs inexplicably just pretended marion didn't land right on him as he shot. 2 points, 4 assists, and a steal and what should have been 2 more free throws wasn't really that bad. not as aggressive as he could have been but at the same time not bad and with wade going he wasn't going to force the scoring issue.
the difference is kobe usually shoots really poorly in the finals, a career 41% shooter in the finals IIRC. lebron is at 51% and a 61.7 TS%, which is really good. while 20/7/6 aren't typical lebron numbers, slap about 4 more points on there and he'd basically be having a good finals, considering these game are being played at a super slow pace. i mean he was the best player on the heat in their game 1 win so it's not like he just didn't show up. he just hasn't been better than wade, who finally woke up from hibernation and is going off.
Well, the thing is, LeBron is so talented that he can average 20/6/7 on 50%+ shooting (his numbers for these three games), all while playing good defense, and still be dismissed as "invisible" because the expectations are so great. Clearly he is a huge factor but it's plain as day that Wade has been more key in this series and if it were to continue like this, he'd be a lock for Finals MVP. For that to change, LeBron would have to have a couple of big games. That said, no one outside of the Kobe fans (so threatened by LeBron's growing accolades) really gives a ****. Wade is the best SG in the NBA and he has a better matchup this series than LeBron; LeBron is the best SF in the NBA and last series he had a better matchup than Wade. The fact is that when you have the two best players in the league on one team, it's not like it's a big surprise when one of them has a better game than the other. So much of the hatred of the Heat is coming from this; that they have the two best players and it is ruining parity (I'd argue that the closeness of this series is showing that other teams can be competitive.. at least this year).
LOL, LeBron shot 22/.35 with 5TO in his first finals in 07. He's shooting better in this one because he's playing sidekick and the defense attention isn't on him. Kobe shot 26.8/.514 in 2002 NBA finals and he was a sidekick nonetheless.
Pretty good when you account for pace, fatigue, and the average shooting percentage this series. But the sample size is way too small. One big game by LeBron or one poor game by Wade will swing it either way. Heck, a few good games by Bosh could get him the MVP.
I agree that I'd like to see LeBron be more aggressive down the stretch in this series, but Wade has been hitting big shots and all he's doing is trying to get him the ball. The fact is that Wade is being guarded by a fossil and can get by him at will; LeBron has the more difficult matchup with Marion, although I'm still finding it hard to believe he can't score more on him when he wants.
Watching the Heat in this Finals series reminds one of the Shaq-Kobe and Jordan championship runs. You just know one team is going to win and the other has almost no chance. The talent level on the Heat is just too ridiculous. It also makes one feel sorry for the Mavs and Dirk. The guy will most likely end up winning as many championships as Malone, Stockton, and Barkley.
