HEAT INDEX: Eleven times in Wade’s career, he had scored 35 or more points in a playoff game. Eleven times, the Heat had won. Wade crossed that threshold with a silky corner 3-pointer with seven minutes to go in Game 2 of these Finals, right in front of the Dallas Mavericks' bench. Wade had tallied 36 points on 13-of-17 shooting, 11 of the baskets coming inside 5 feet. The Heat were up 15 points and looked to (nearly) all the world like they were headed to a 2-0 series lead, as Miami civic planners would quietly start the logistics for a title parade. Insert needle-coming-off-record sound bite right … here. In a turn of events that instantly qualified for historic preservation, the Mavs quashed Wade’s infallibility. They finally were able to overcome Wade at the top of his game in a breathtaking 95-93 comeback victory. Oh, it had to be sweet for the Mavs. After all, they were such a huge part of that record. As Wade made that 3-pointer triggering a desperation timeout, reporters scattered throughout AmericanAirlines Arena. They began noting that Thursday night was the fifth time in Wade’s six career Finals games that he’d topped that significant 35-point barrier. All of these, of course, were against the Mavs.
EYE ON BASKETBALL: “I don’t want to sit here and be the coach of Oklahoma City, but I seen a lot of things that could have been done better.” That's what LeBron James said after the Thunder blew a 15-point lead in Game 4 of the Western Conference Finals to the Mavericks. Ahem. If I printed that off, would you like to eat that, LeBron? Seven minutes left, Miami up 88-73. That's 15 points. Granted, Oklahoma City blew its lead in just five minutes (take that!), but I suppose the point is the same. Well, I don't think you need me to lay it out for you.
ESPN DALLAS: The speed and efficiency of the Mavs' comeback was stunning, considering what they were facing. A 2-0 series deficit was staring the Western Conference champs in the face before a 22-5 run was capped by Dirk Nowitzki's left-handed, game-winning layup with 3.6 seconds left for a 95-93 victory. The finishing kick could very well end up defining the Finals and the season for the Mavericks. It wasn't out of the ordinary, especially this postseason. The Mavs have rallied to win facing double-digit deficits once in each of the four rounds so far. All on the road.
PRO BASKETBALL TALK: As the Heat were rolling in the fourth quarter and leading by 12, James found Mario Chalmers along the baseline, who kicked it to Wade in the corner. Wade drained the three, and honestly, it felt like a game-clinching dagger, even with so much time remaining. Wade left his shooting hand up for several seconds, and as Dallas called timeout, James and Wade exchanged excited pleasantries on the sideline in front of the Dallas bench...................................Wade had an absolutely ridiculous game. He finished with 36 points, was seen converting fantastic dunks in transition time and again, and this particular three-pointer seemed like, and really should have been, the nail in the coffin for Dallas. He and James felt it too, and their celebration was no more exaggerated than it would have been had it been done by players that people actually like from any other team in the league. But because it’s the evil Miami Heat, and because Dallas was able to come back and get the win, now all of a sudden it was too much? Stop it.
BALL DON'T LIE: You can't kill this Heat team, this team that has destroyed the 76ers, Celtics, Bulls and Mavericks in several close games down the stretch of this postseason, for this misstep. You can't. You have to credit the Mavericks. Miami wasn't selfish, and it wasn't scared. The Heat were just wrong in several very important decisions after being spot-on brilliant with three (and now four) notable exceptions over nearly the last five weeks. They failed at what they did best during the regular season, sustaining a big lead and playing while way out ahead. If this postseason has been a complete repudiation of the stereotype that Miami developed during the regular season, then Game 2 was a dismissal of the "geez, these guys can really close" aura this team has developed since the klieg lights went up. So what happens when these two cross each other out? You look at this for what it is: 48 minutes of basketball, with Dallas winning by two. No more, no less.
PENINSULA IS MIGHTIER: As we have seen throughout this years playoffs, you can never count out the Dallas Mavericks. Just when you think the game is over, they come right back and stun you with an amazing run. They did that in this one, going on a ridiculous 17-2 run to tie the game with 56 seconds left. It was a string of horrible offensive possessions for Miami, continuously chucking up bad three pointers and running poor plays. Dirk was absolutely clutch for Dallas, scoring their final 9 points including a layup in the final seconds to win the game. The Heat's defense on the final play was just as bad as it was in the final minutes of the game. They had a foul to give, but instead left Chris Bosh alone on Nowitzki, didn't foul him and were late to help on the back end, giving him the easiest layup you'll ever see in an NBA Finals game with the game tied and under 10 seconds left.
THE POINT FORWARD: In his press conference ahead of Game 1 on Tuesday, commissioner David Stern showed a surprising level of interest in the concept of delaying the MVP voting until after the postseason. He didn’t exactly endorse the idea and didn’t seem to care all that much, but he certainly did not reject it out of hand...........................I’m not convinced this all-encompassing Overall MVP would go to a person other than the MVP of the Finals. The Finals MVP has become a sort of de facto postseason MVP, because it almost always goes to the best player on the championship team. If the Heat win the title, LeBron will probably win this award; Dirk Nowitzki will be a shoo-in if the Mavs win it all. If you had just one Overall MVP award, lots of voters would pick Nowitzki or James in these scenarios. Both finished in the top six of the actual MVP voting to begin with, and both have been so spectacular in the postseason that their combined performance would probably trump that of Dwight Howard and Rose in this mythical voting process. That’s how much relative importance folks would (rightfully) place on post-season play. And we already have an award for that. To really work, voters would have to be willing to select an MVP whose team fails in the postseason instead of just giving the award to the best player on the title-winning team.
TRUE HOOP: As noted by colleague Chad Ford earlier today in this blog, Rubio has seemed to regress over the past two seasons playing with Barcelona after spending the early part of his ACB career with DKV Joventut. With the Spanish national team, he has alternated as a starter and a reserve, depending on the day-to-day moods of a few particularly whimsical coaches, including Aito Garcia Reneses, who used three different starters at the point guard position during the 2008 Olympics (the others being Jose Calderon and Raul Lopez). Usually, it was the worst of the three: Lopez. When Team USA played against Spain twice at the Beijing Olympics, the book on Rubio was that he was a very mature player with no fear, a good open-court player with nice vision and court awareness who looks to set teammates up first but isn't afraid to take big shots, with inborn charisma and a great feel for how to play the game. Beginning next fall, barring a lockout, we'll see how his game translates to the NBA style of play. For now, I will end this post with two predictions: Rubio will finish the 2011-12 season in the top five in steals, and his passing will lead to Michael Beasley at least tripling his total of 33 dunks in the 2009-10 season.
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