MIAMI – Just when you thought that it couldn’t get any better, it did. LeBron James and Dwyane Wade had performances unlike no other last night at the American Airlines Arena. Wade and LeBron played the NBA’s version of “Can You Top This?” with an amazing show. The show itself was only during the 1st half which saw Wade and LeBron battle back and forth with shots and dunks that make the average NBA go wild. As head coach Erik Spoelstra put it, ”The competition,was fantastic.” Here is a little taste of what you missed if you didn’t see this game.
Now, on to what matters. Miami lost yet another heart breaker, this time to the Cleveland Cavaliers. Miami played so well in the 1st half only to see the second half be dominated by the Cavaliers and their “king” to fall to 23-21.
Miami led most of the game, leading by 10 after one and by four at the half. The first half itself was what made the game exciting. It was so good that hardly anyone noticed that Wade’s teammates missed 15 straight shots over a 15 minute stretch, including 0 for 12 in the second quarter alone. Miami missed 12 straight before Wade made a step-back jumper with 3:37 left in the half put Miami up 40-39, and he followed that up with a 3-pointer while getting fouled which ignited the crowd.
James answered, a 3-pointer of his own making it a one-point game again.
Wade made a jumper and couldn’t contain his grin as the American Airlines Arena became a madhouse, knowing it was witnessing a game of 1-on-1 between two of the game’s elite. LeBron later responded with a jumper of his own.
Wade missed a free throw with 29 seconds left until intermission, ran down the rebound and gave Miami another possession – which he capped with a 3-pointer with 6.6 seconds left. Not worried, with 1.2 ticks remaining, LeBron hit a 3-pointer (go figure), cutting Miami’s lead to 54-50. And that was when the show ended. Wade scored 30 points in the 1st half and was held to only two points in the 2nd half.
Miami had a terrible game in the second half. It seemed like a complete different team on the court. Aside from Michael Beasley’s dunk at the beginning of the quarter, Miami was settling for jumpers instead of taking the ball to the hole, like Cleveland was doing. At times, Erik Spoelstra’s play calling was very questionable. Like when right after a time out, Miami could not find an open man and ended up getting a Shot Clock Violation. Or when he took the only player who was hot (Michael Beasley) out of the game.
In all, my diagnosis remains correct. The Miami Heat suffer from bipolar disorder. They were a completely different team in the 1st half then they were in the 2nd half.
In all, despite the final score, this was a very entertaining game. Two of the league’s best in a battle royal. Miami had many missed opportunities (Like Wade’s 2 missed free throws at the end), and that is what cost them the game.
I must admit, seeing all those “LeBron We love you” and, my personal favorite “MV3 + MVP = OMG” signs really got me annoyed. I think people don’t see the greatness we have in front of us and we take him for granted. If LeBron was to come to Miami, it would be LeBron’s Team and that doesn’t fly by me… This is Wade’s House no one else’s. We can bring in Bosh, Boozer and other players like that. But bringing in another superstar? I don’t think so. I’ll talk more about this topic in the days to come.
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