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| Nowhere to hide. |
For
both squads, Game 6 will be now or
never.
Don’t
let Lebron James’ triple double fool
you. Sure, he played a superb all-around performance with 17 points, 10 rebounds, and 10 assists. But if you’re a team whose
offense is 75 percent sold on James, Dwyane
Wade, and Chris Bosh, that 17 points tag is not good.
I’ve
been saying that in order for the Miami
Heat to upstage the Dallas Mavericks,
the Big Three must score at least 60 points. Dwyane Wade topscored for
the Heat with 23 points, 2 rebounds, and
8 assists while Chris Bosh had a nice night with 19 points and 10 rebounds.
23 +
17 + 19 is 59 which is a point short of 60.
One
might say that Mario Chalmers had
15, Udonis Haslem had 10, and Mike Miller had 9. They also had 6 from
seldom-used former star Juwan Howard.
However,
those stats along the Big Three’s could be nice if the total score for both squads
were in the 80’s.
Game 5 ended with Dallas winning 112 to 103.
Again
for Miami... that’s not good.
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| If Lebron scores 30, Miami will win Game 6. |
I am
still sold that Lebron James is the difference maker for the Heat. He is the
team’s main gun and in this game, I proved my point. When Wade walked to the
locker room because an injury he suffered while colliding with Brian Cardinal, instead of James taking
over, we saw him dish more. Now don’t blame James for this – he levelled his
Game 4 scoring performance in the first half alone. However you frequently saw
Dallas parading two or three people to make sure that he’ll pass instead of
scoring. When Wade returned to the game, Wade scored more points than James.
Considering
that Wade played less than his usual amount of time, took less shots, and
barely shot from the outside, this is bad.
At the
crunch quarter, Lebron was only good for two points.
How
valuable is Lebron? Jason Terry had
a gimme layup in the second quarter but elected to wait for his teammates
because he was constantly looking for a potential LBJ swat. Terry
indecisiveness led to a turnover. In the third quarter, Deshawn Stevenson fouled Lebron hard to stop a fast break. The
problem is that some of the Mavs have set up their defense so the Deshawn foul
was all for naught. Another incident involves a fast break where on a
two-on-two break, the Mavs doubled on Lebron who had the ball and gave it up to
a cutting Wade.
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| This should annoy Miami Heat fans. |
The
respect Dallas gives to Lebron is just awe-striking. Again, credit the Mavs’
defense for sealing LBJ. At the start of the series, Dallas was criticized for
having all offense all the time with little defense. Sure, Wade and Bosh are
having a blast but Lebron will head back to Miami a broken man. A bunch of
alleged tales of conspiracy and deceit has developed over time, with the
zaniest of which is the alleged affair of LBJ’s girlfriend with Washington Wizard Rashard Lewis.
Still
you can’t always tell that the reason why Miami lost is solely because of Lebron
James. Dirk Nowitzki went insane and
ended the game with 29 points, 6
rebounds, and 3 assists. He also delivered a couple of clutch plays down
the stretch to seal the game for the Mavs. The confidence that James lacks now
reigns supreme in Jason Terry. Most
of Terry’s points came in the fourth period where he scored a triple right on
Lebron’s face. Terry had 21 points, 4
rebounds, and 6 assists. JJ Barea had an awesome game with 17 points, 2 rebounds, and 5 assists.
His penetrations were effective enough to elicit a double team from the Heat. Jason Kidd and Tyson Chandler each
scored 13 while Shawn Marion added 8 to
give Dallas balanced scoring.
The
Heat realized down the stretch that they need to focus on their inside scoring
but a bunch of miscues at the end cost them a chance to return Dallas to their
house with their backs against the walls.
Lebron
James is going to become the focal point of all eyes on Monday. It will not be
Dwyane Wade scoring 25 points or Chris Bosh raining in 20 points and 10
rebounds. Lebron James will be Miami’s key in the series. Expect Miami to soar
if James scores 30 points and more. I can be wrong with the way the series is
going but at this point, James needs a breakout game more than ever. And if
that happens, expect this as a romp for the Heat.
If he
doesn’t... look for Dallas to claim payback and win their first NBA Title. If
Dallas can have Barea, Kidd, Chandler, and Terry getting the same stats and
Marion scoring in double figures to help Dirk Nowitzki, Miami will find their
selves in the deep end. Game 5 isn’t their Game 7... it’s Game 6 they should be
wary now.
Game
over.
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