Looks like Wade and Bron will have to continue putting up beast stats if Haslem is the only other Heat that will show up.
The problem is, while Indy can look at game 2, the Heat can look at the game they just played, and utilize this plan again. Plus, Haslem has apparently found some confidence, which makes Heat fans sigh with relief.
The game isn't closer because: - LeBron is making over 50% of his shots this game, unlike some dude in LA that's making 36% of his, which keeps games close. - Once he saw Wade had it going he kept giving him the ball so he could go off, unlike some dude in LA that ignores his 7 footer when he's getting off. LeBron isn't as clutch as some other guys in the league, but he is arguably more consistent that them for the other parts of the game.
Just an observation. He is like Shaq. He needs someone to step up to help close like Wade did for Shaq. Wade did what he needed to do and they won. He needs to take over in the clutch and let Lebron dominate the rest of the game.
Lebron James is the only guy in the last 25 years to put up 40-18-9 in either the playoffs or the regular season.
Lebron with a ridiculous state line Haslem showing signs of life Battier is trash as usual And, to top things off, Danny "fake tough guy" Granger makes another cameo appearance. It's so forced, lol..it made my day, too funny
Anyone who said Lebron didn't deserve the MVP has absolutely zero basketball knowledge and should be black listed from ever posting on a basketball thread. That being said, I wouldn't say this series is close to over. That was a close game and I don't know if Lebron and Wade can do that two more times this series.
Nah its over APO As crazy it sounds this was a MUST win for the Pacers( not the Heat) The Pacers so inexpiernced The Heat are gonna win this series
Pacers blew it big time in the second half. Maybe they were too sure of things, but they completely let off the gas at both ends. Hibbert disappeared completely, and they let 3 players run rings around them. Huge game for the Heat, and it's bad news for Indy to be going to Florida with Miami finding their swagger again. New series, best of 3, with 2 games in Miami. Barbosa didn't help things with his wild chucking. Haslem was a surprising boost - he turned back the clock a little.
People aren't giving them as much of shot against the Celtics, though I must say the Celtics do not have the same kind of post presence that Indiana does on offense or defense. KG is an excellent defender, and showing flashes of the old KG, but he and the Celtics front line cannot clog up a paint, like Hibbert (with West and Hansbrough). Brandon Bass is no David West. The Pacers are a much younger team, while Boston is one of the older teams in the league. Moreover, Celtics getting ran up down the court with 76ers. Struggling at times, like they did the Hawks. The Celtics are up and down, like the Pacers. In fact, I feel like the 76ers really out played them in the first two games. I wouldn't be so gung-ho pick Boston for another NBA Finals apperance, especially when they have fair chance going down against 76ers who simply need to find some consistency and continue to outpace the Celtics. Similar to the Pacers, the 76ers have also exploited Boston's weakness on the boards (Celtics were dead last in rebounds in the NBA) and not very good against opposing team rebounds allowed. Miami apparently stands no chance, yet even without Bosh. The Heat are still better than the 76ers and Hawks on most days. If Miami gets off to 2-2 or 3-1 advantage in the next series, they should rest Bosh until the Finals.
Pacers got outrebounded by 9 (4-5 of those came in garbage time in th last minute), but still. Pacers will bounce back. They gotta use their bigs more. The Heat aren't guarding any of the perimeter players for the Pacers except their PGs. Pacers are still in this b/c the Heat's role players for the most part are still in hibernation. Hopefully lebron and Wade winning a game pretty much by themselves relieve a lot of the pressure off of the role players, like it did for Udonis in the 4th. But man, Shane Battier is such trash. Wide open 3s => brick. Tip layup => brick. 1-7 after an 0-7 performance.
You think Indiana can beat Miami with Wade & James at the top of their game, cool. I don't think so. Yeah, Miami can look at the game and do this again, and Indy is going to win not once but twice? Ha, ok! Pacers blew it, simple as that.
That's one problem, people do not seem to understand about this game. You have other responsibilities beyond hitting last second shots or late shots in the fourth quarter. You have to score efficiently, not turn the ball over, keep your teammates involved (run the offense), and play good defense. Alot of bench players can hit last second shots, because they are good shooters. But, if you expect them to play defense (actually be able to stop the other team from doing the same) or run the offense for an entire half or quarter. That's questionable. I'd even like to mention how he has the other team's best player utterly irrelevant with his defensive prowess. Granger has been a ghost in this series, almost.
Depends how you look at it. IMO, the Pacers poor decisions on defense allowed LeBron and Wade to be so efficient. It was ridiculous they were allowed to score 38 consecutive points in a playoff game so easily against a supposedly good defensive team. If the Pacers regain discipline on defense, game 5 will be much more like game 2 than today. I promise you that. But if Hibbert and West play like girls again, Pacers have no chance. Those two should be ashamed of themselves. I still believe the Pacers control their destiny more than the Heat but they just aren't mentally tough enough to get the job done. The Pacers can't stand prosperity. They got too high up, looked down and got the chills. Classic definition of not being ready for prime time.
What? he's right. Battier has always been trash even in his rocket days. he has Never been better than when he was at DUKE. Probably the most overrated rockets player this past decade. sure he's a nice guy and can defend but what does he do on the offensive end; especially when we desperately needed a 3rd option with Yao+T-mac. Look at his stats when he was a rocket and tell me he was not an AVERAGE player.
Look at lebrons numbers and see my signature. And lol at you clowns who thought the pacers even had a chance. Suck it bandwagon pacer fans this one is over.
The Heat had Lebron in the post A TON today, rather than the pick and rolls. That's why he was efficient. Those are easy buckets for Bron, and he doesn't have to expend a ton of energy to do so. And Wade being Wade helped Lebron. He was gassed with 5 minutes left when he finally got his rest, and it was a minute of game time at that. but they really need to put Bron in the post 60-70% of the time. Granger or anyone can't guard him down there. And the bigs can't just straight up double or it woudl be an open dunk for the Heat's bigs. Before game 4, Lebron was barely in the post, which was unthinkable.
