6 Thoughts
1) Oh - now I understand why Cleveland fans felt like LeBron quit on them last spring in the series against Boston! What in the name of Delonte was that tonight? LeBron shuffled through 46 minutes of "action" like it was an October exhibition game against Minnesota. It wasn't that he only scored 8 points - it was that he only took 11 shots, in an unbelievably passive performance. Worse, on the other end, he spent the fourth quarter getting torched off the dribble by Jason Terry to the point that Dallas started going at him. I was already exhausted before the game even started, and whatever little energy I had, LeBron sucked the life out of me over the course of two and a half hours. Man, LeBron - I can't even give you a "let's go" tonight - I'm just going to move on to # 2.
2) Even with that, Miami still had a chance to win because Dwyane Wade was, again, incredibly good: 32 points and 6 rebounds for Dwyane, along with 2 fourth quarter blocks, including one absurd rejection of a Tyson Chandler dunk attempt that Wade turned into a layup on the other end for a 5 point lead with 7 minutes to go. Only blemish on his night: a missed free throw with 30 seconds to go that could have tied the game. He's been the best player in the series, easily. Unfortunately, Dirk Nowitzki or Tyson Chandler, and not LeBron, has been the second best, in all probability.
3) Tyson Chandler was fantastic tonight. He is an outstanding defensive player who is effective at deterring drives in the paint. And he has been all over the offensive boards the past couple of games: he had 9 tonight, and 16 total rebounds for the game. I think we all knew that Tyson Chandler was good - I don't we all knew that he was this good.
4) These games have all felt oddly similar. Miami dominates the game physically for long stretches of time, and pushes out to leads over and over. Tonight they led by 9 a couple of minutes into the fourth quarter. Then the game slows down, and the Mavs start getting to the free throw line to fight their way back into the game. It feels like they've been on an endless parade to the line in the second half of fourth quarters in this series; tonight Dallas shot 30 free throws total to Miami's 24, overall. Especially hurtful are the late loose ball fouls that allow Dallas to score points without Miami getting a chance to get a stop - there was another huge one tonight with two minutes to go - a foul called on Wade 85 feet from the basket that gave Nowitzki two points. I'm not complaining - this is what often happens on the road in the NBA. It's why home court means something - refs give you more calls. But, it doesn't happen every night. It just seems like one of the these nights, even in Dallas, Miami is going to get the 50-50 calls, including extra possessions down the stretch, and blow the Mavericks off the court. Annnnnnd, let's hope it's Thursday, 'cause that's the last game in Dallas!
5) Back to LeBron. He's been passive all series. How passive? Dallas got so tired of Dwyane Wade murdering Jason Kidd that they switched defenders - placed Shawn Marion on Wade, and put Kidd on LeBron. Marion was no better on Wade than Kidd - Dwyane still had his way - but LeBron was matched up against a 38 year old five inches shorter than him, and never seemed to notice, or care, or figure out he could get a quality shot whenever he wanted. It wasn't like Kidd got physical with him, or out-thought him, or anything. He just stood roughly near LeBron wherever LeBron happened to set up shop, and...nothing. He did nothing, because LeBron never did anything. I spent much of the day explaining to people that Dwyane Wade is the most aggressive player in the league. He's high risk, high reward. But he's so good, that the reward, over a large enough sample size, always outweighs the negative plays. LeBron has a totally different style. He is conservative by nature - maybe because he is from Ohio! Tonight, though, he took that to absurd levels. He took it to a place where he hurt the team. With the game slipping away down the stretch, he just kind of "let go of the rope," to use a classic Spo-ism. He never, really, at any point, "got into the fight," to use another! I suppose it's possible he's just exhausted from the sheer number of minutes he's played in the playoffs. But that would missed explain "missed shots," more than "no shots." There's two or three games left in this series - Pat Riley would tell him to "be an active participant in your own rescue!" Love those Heat cliches - they come in handy when you are trying to rush through a dumb blog post! I've mostly been on a national media blackout for the past month or so, so I'm not positive what the national LeBron narrative has been, but even locally, LeBron is going to get murdered online and in the press for the next two days.
6) Look, we all know that what Congressman Anthony Weiner did was, perhaps, questionable. But what I hate to see is how he has been given the shaft by his colleagues in the House of Representatives, especially the Speaker of the House, John Boehner. Man, I would have liked to see Boehner grab Weiner and straighten him out - I mean, of all people, Boehner should be sensitive to, and touched by, this orgy of bad decision-making. Sure, I know they are in different parties, and have crossed swords many times over the issues, but Boehner's rigid moral perspective really could help Weiner feel his way through this gaping hole in his judgement. I mean, yes, Boehner should protect himself, as always, but he's been in inflammatory situations before and always remained erect, and often, his drive has helped stimulate others to-...that's all I've got, I'm exhausted...
Game 5 is Thursday night in Dallas. The series is tied 2-2, so, you know, it is kind of a big game. I don't even have a "until then" joke. I need sleep, and I need LeBron to show up...I gotta believe he can - and just to inspire him: Let's Go!!!
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