Well I suppose games such as last night’s Game 5 clincher against the Boston Celtics is why LeBron James took his talents to South Beach in the first place.
The conference semi-final against Beantown was a statement series for Miami and truly legitimized the Heat as a threat in the 2011 playoffs. Of course, talent-wise, they have always been considered a threat and were one of the top teams in the Eastern Conference throughout the regular season.
But, as LeBron surely knows, the playoffs are a different animal than the regular season. The wheat is separated from the chaff, the men are separated from the boys, and whatever other cliché you can think of to say playing basketball in May and June is extremely difficult. Only the strong survive (there’s another one!).
The big knock against Miami coming into the season was, by joining forces on a super team, their new acquisitions lacked the necessary testicular fortitude to step up in crunch time and makes shots when it mattered; evidenced by LeBron’s implosion and desultory effort versus the Celtics last year and Chris Bosh’s entire career to this point.
We all knew the Heat would rack up gaudy statistics and wins during the year; we didn’t know how they would react against the reigning Big Dogs in the East smashing them in the mouth every time they traversed the hardwood. After getting rid of the Celtics in five games, I think its clear Miami passed the test with flying colours.
The dynamic duo that is Dwyane Wade and LeBron James were damn near unstoppable in the clinching game last night. They combined for 68 points and James, usually shirking Big Dog status late in the fourth quarter, scored the last ten points of the game, stepping on the throat of the Celtics and sending them back to Boston with their tails between their legs.
It was an incredible performance and it seems like the Heat are just getting better and better as the playoffs move forward. Of course June is a little different from May and we’ll see how Miami handles the pressure going forward. Remember, anything less than a title run will be seen as a disappointment. That type of pressure can crack even the most stoic resolve.
I’d be remiss to end a discussion on the Heat without commenting on my favourite whipping boy, Chris Bosh. Though he hasn’t played well in this series, ranging from bad to mediocre (a microcosm of his career), he has provided some typical Bosh moments. After the first game in Boston, he admitted he was scared and nervous before tipoff.
Really, Chris? You make this too easy on me.
After being thoroughly outplayed by Kevin Garnett all series long, Bosh managed to dunk on KG once last night. Immediately afterward, he let forth with one of his embarrassingly petulant primal screams to let everyone in the arena know that he’s ‘a bad man.’
You’re not fooling anyone, Christopher.
One last point: Rajon Rondo dislocating his elbow, returning to the floor minutes later and playing the rest of Game 3 with one hand was one of the most impressive things I’ve seen on a basketball court. If Bosh had dislocated the same elbow, I’m pretty sure doctors would have been forced to amputate his arm by now.
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