By all means, what happened last night shouldn’t have happened. It was a perfect storm of poor execution by the Miami Heat, and a seizing of the moment from the Dallas Mavericks. But what makes basketball so fascinating to watch is how much emotion and momentum factor into a game’s outcome, particularly in the last minutes of a game. A lot of people will snidely remark about how little “locker room material” matters in the NFL game and how chippy comments during the week of the Super Bowl truly have no impact on the outcome of the game, but in the NBA, it does.
It all started with Dwayne Wade’s Eff You Three with over seven minutes to go into the game. I remember leading up that point, complaining to my dad about how the Mavericks were giving the Heat the game again and that the series was over. I also commented that the Mavs “looked like pussies” and if Miami is going to continue to drive down their throats on every possession, they should at least be met with a flying elbow, possibly a clothesline, something to convey they weren’t going down without a fight. Miami thrives on turnovers and free throws and the Mavs continued to give them both throughout the night which culminated into Wade’s Three.
Wade ensures that his presence is felt following the three as he stands in front of the Dallas bench for over five seconds with his fist held high in victory. Then Lebron runs over to Wade as he walks back to the bench and starts punching him, presumably telling him how great he was. These guys were acting like their fraternity had just won the intramural flag football game but somehow forgot that there was still over seven minutes to go in the game? Everyone talked of how mature this Miami Heat team is throughout the playoffs but they were more childish at the end of the game than the Thunder kids when they received the same comeback treatment from Dallas. It was similar to when Chicago Bulls forward Carlos Boozer performed the flagrant foul against Lebron James in Game Five of the Easter Conference Finals to make a statement even though they already were with their double digit lead.
Plain and simple, the Heat became cocky. In the play immediately following Wade’s three, Dirk Nowitzki is driving down the lane when Udonis Haslem commits a non-shooting foul. Dirk throws up the ball to act as if he were shooting that play to receive the free throws. As the ball hangs in the air, Wade jumps up and slams the ball to the court emphatically with the cocky posture that had consumed the Heat at this point.
Dallas doesn’t score on their in-bounds possession from the foul and Lebron ambles up the court lethargically and doesn’t perform a basketball move until the shot clock hits ten. Miami repeats this theme with variations of effortless passing throughout the rest of the game usually resulting in a jump shot from outside the paint. From seven minutes onward, the Heat attempted ten field goals with five of them being three point attempts and the only basket they scored was by Mario Chalmers when he was wide open for the three. The Heat only entered the paint three times looking to score at the end of the game with these results: Lebron drives past the Dallas defenders to a wide open rim but the rim does its job and blocks James on his easy lay-up. James is angry at said rim and attempts to drive to redeem his blunder earlier. He’s met by Tyson Chandler who stops Lebron but receives a seriously questionable foul call, scoring the only two points for the Heat during the Mavs comeback to tie excluding the Chalmers’ three. ESPN shows their typical “stat look at the Big Three of Miami” which reveals that Chris Bosh is having another unsurprising subpar night. Bosh senses the mockery in their voices, calls for the ball, posts up, and turns the ball over losing it out of bounds. Despite their offensive deficiencies, the Steel Curtain like Miami Heat defense should have made some stops, right?
Everyone made such a tremendous deal over Lebron’s defensive prowess, how he was better and more versatile than anyone before him. This may all be true, but the problems James has, has nothing to do with a lack of talents or skills, both of which he has, but the winning gene that all the greats have. When MJ, Bird, Magic, even Isiah, sensed a victory, they went in for the kill. If that meant lockdown defense, a shot when it mattered most, they were there for the team but Lebron James did nothing. He literally stopped playing defense at the end of the game for whatever reason. On Jason Kidd’s open three, James is standing at the top of the paint and as Kidd receives the ball to shoot, Lebron begins running towards Kidd to close out the three attempt, a basic defensive concept. Then he does the unthinkable, Lebron James stops moving altogether, not wanting to expend unnecessary energy for a game they had already won. I would think James would learn his lesson after one defensive blunder but it continues. When Jason Terry steals the ball from Lebron James and Mario Chalmers, leading the fast break that would tie the game, neither James nor Chalmers chase down the ball. But wait, LeBum isn’t done. Nowitzki gets a great screen from Tyson Chandler and launches the three to take the lead in the game. As Dirk clearly sets up for his shot, LeBron stares at Dirk and doesn’t close out. Inexcusable. To err is human, but to not even try because it probably won’t turn out in your favor? If every guy followed that mantra, nobody would ever get laid.
Then there’s the last play, a single snapshot of how the Mavs made their comeback. Let’s break it down: Jason Kidd holds the ball near midcourt to run down the clock, then the Mavs do the same play they always do in clutch time situations, a pick and roll between Jason Terry and Dirk Nowitzki. Dirk receives the ball and sees Chris Bosh guarding him, even though Udonis Haslem is on the court and has been doing the best job guarding Dirk throughout the series. Dirk spins left, easily dribbles past Bosh for basket and the win. Keep in mind that Miami had a foul to give, so when Dirk spins away from the basket, Bosh could have fouled him and forced Dallas to take the ball out of bounds with only six to seven seconds left on the clock. It was disastrous.
Just like Dallas gave away Game One, Miami most definitely handed Mavs Game Two. Although this time I think there may be some lingering effects from the comeback, I think the Heat will be able to respond. This comeback only adds more fuel to the fire for Miami Heat critics, but rightfully so. If Miami win the series, this game will become an afterthought, only leading to the inevitable story on Sportscenter when they recap the NBA Finals and they say how the Heat overcame so much for their title. If they lose? Well I guess we’ll have to see about that.
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