I let this game 7 sink in for a bit longer than usual before this recap. This was an issue of timing for me, but also the importance of (most likely) the last game for Boston’s Big Four as a unit and, consequently, the seemingly unfettered path to the Finals this will allow Miami over the next two years (I’m pretty sure Derrick Rose is pinning all these Heat articles up on his fridge as he rehabilitates his knee, so just be forewarned Heat bros) The game begged for me to try and give some new context or at least a strident effort to explain why this game was so damn incredible. Not only that, but the hype before the game didn’t cause the game itself to be ruined. In fact, I’d say the game out-did the hype, which seemed impossible in the lead-up to the battle.

The game itself featured some incredible displays of talent from Miami’s Big Three; together at last as Bosh has—if not fully—recovered from the abdominal strain that kept him out of the entire Indy series and the first 4 games of these Conference Finals. But Boston’s Big Four also provided the steady play that’s allow them to vivisect the running narrative this season that they were too old; Boston’s entire starting line-up would score in double figures. But it wasn’t just the stats or the lines—particularly Rondo’s tenth career playoff triple-double (tying him with Larry Bird for 3rd place on the all-time list), or even the individual plays—like Wade’s 3-point play or LeBron’s 30 foot jumper as the shot clock wound down. No, it was the stretch from around mid-way int the 3rd quarter and to mid-way of the 4th where both teams traded baskets and stops, which gave fans, even casual basketball fans, a helluva game 7; a game 7 I’ll remember for the rest of my life; a game worthy of it’s game 7-ness; a game that makes watching basketball so fruitful an endeavor.

The Celtics got out to a 7-point first half lead, even after LeBron’s boundless game 6, he had been largely quiet in the first half of game 7. I stupidly went on Twitter, and the choking narrative was peaking its ugly head out as writers and reporters prepared their stories for today. That 7-point Boston lead did not last. With 7:13 left in the 3rd, a Dwyane Wade jumper from just inside the 3-point arc, tied the score at 59 and the game took off.

The Celtics took the lead, then the Heat tied it; the Celtics again took the lead by 1, then the Heat took the lead by 1; then the Celtics took the lead by 1 followed by the Heat taking the lead right back. It was as back and forth as you’ll find on any basketball court in the world. Guys just kept making plays. Rondo scored 10 of his 22 in the quarter and a well-rounded Heat team saw Battier knock down 2 huge 3-pointers, Haslem had a bucket, Chalmers had 6 and so did LeBron; Wade had 5 and Bosh hit a long jumper to tie the score heading into the 4th. It was a humble reminder the Heat role players aren’t always as terrible as we think, and it set the stage for a final 12 minutes of basketball that would determine the fate of both franchises.

The frenetic pace and constant lead changes continued in the 4th, but this time the Heat’s offense was all their big 3. As Wade said after, “this is why we came together,” and they truly brought the game home for the Heat—starting with LeBron somewhat overcoming his 4th quarter/Boston/Dallas demons from years past. With 8:48 remaining, Ray Allen hit a 3 to put Boston ahead, 82-81.

LeBron came down and missed a 3, and most die-hard NBA spectators groaned at the prospect of another abysmally shooting 4th quarter for LeBron where 3’s are jacked and the post is ignored. Except, that’s not really what happened; although, part of game 6’s excellence was the realization by LeBron that muscling to the rim and establishing position in the post makes him nearly impossible to defend. He learned from that experience, and pushed it in the 4th. After Ray Ray missed a second 3 on the ensuing drive, LeBron put a cross-over on Brandon Bass in a semi-transitional where Boston’s defense wasn’t set, and unleashed a soaring dunk to give Miami back the lead.

Wade stole the ball from Pierce on the next Boston possession. Neither team had led by more than 2 until there was 7:13 left in the gmae and Bosh sank a 3-pointer from the short corner (his second of the game) to put Miami up 86-82.

So, starting at the 7:16 mark of the 3rd, and continuing to the same place in the 4th, the lead never grew more than 2 points before the other team came right back to tie or go up again. It was simply insane, and one of the most enjoyable stretches of basketball I’ve ever been witness to. In case you didn’t already know, I’ve watched a lot of basketball.

After Boshs corner 3, James came back. Pierce’s lay-up attempt was blocked by Shane Battier, and James hit a nice shot at the rim to extend the Miami lead to 6 with 6:50 to play. It was nice to see James totally involved and rising to the moment instead of hanging out by the 3-point line and waiting for the game to come to him. He’ll have to take over just as much in the Finals, so we’ll see if this continues, but if you’re a Heat fan you have to be happy by what you’ve seen from James in games 6 and 7 (in terms of offensive-aggressiveness). But regardless of James’ newly found motivation to take over and force the defense to react to him, the Celtics were a feisty bunch that wasn’t going away.

After another Rondo assist led to Brandon Bass’ only field goal attempt (a made 20-footer) in the second half (he scored 14 to lead Boston in the first 24 minutes), the ball came back to Miami, up only 4 and causing a massive panic in South Beach not seen since Pablo Escobar was gunned down in Columbia and you had to start paying $20 more for a gram of the fine white. That’s when LeBron had his moment: with the shot clock winding down, he came off a very high screen around 32 feet from the basket. He pulled up and drained a 31-foot jumper to give the Heat a 7 point lead with 5:43 to go in the game.

It took the wind out of the sails of Boston’s gutsy group and hopefully eases some of the foolish writing about LeBron’s end-of-game passivity. But after LeBron missed a long jumper and Rondo got a hustle basket by out-running LeBron to a loose ball, we all realized the Celtics still would not stay down.

Then that other guy for Miami decided to show up, which is a good thing too because at this point I’m not sure LeBron had anything left in the tank. He’d been integral in Miami’s staying with Boston through that quarter-long back and forth, but he needed Wade to handle it in the last 5 minutes. He got them there, but his already-legendary 31-footer were his last points of the night not including a meaningless free throw later (he finished with a ho-hum 31 points—11 in the 4th—12 rebounds and 2 assists). Dwyane Wade was ready—since it was the end of the game and that seems to be the only time Wade attacks these days.

After Rondo’s lay-up with 5:13 cut the Heat lead to 5, Spoels called a timeout. Out of timeout, Bosh got an easy bucket in the lane off a nice LeBron pass; Wade made a pretty little runner in the lane; after Rondo was blocked, Wade made a move inside, then pulled up for a jumper. He was fouled, and after bouncing off every piece of the iron, the ball fell through.

With 2:53 remaining, Wade’s free throw extended the Heat lead to 12 and the fans were finally starting to breathe again. No one scored again until LeBron was fouled with 1:23 remaining and made 1 of 2 to push the lead to 13. Rondo hit a 3 with to cut the lead to 10, but it was with under a minute to play and the game was over. The Miami Heat move on to face the Oklahoma City Thunder in the NBA Finals, which starts on ABC at 9 p.m. EST this Tuesday in Oklahoma City.

The Celtics are most likely done, and not just for the season. Allen and Garnett’s contracts end this summer, which just started for them. Danny Ainge is most likely going to let them go unless they sign for substantially less money than they were making before. Considering Garnett’s incredible play in the postseason this year as the Celtics center, it’s conceivable some helpless franchise offers his 36 year-old body a max deal and the Celtics would be fools to match it. Allen, having been hobbled by injuries all year—including the playoffs—may retire or catch on with a team that needs his experience and 3-pointing shooting.

Rondo and Pierce will likely remain and start the uphill-battle to re-tool before again taking on the best in the East. I freakin’ loved this Celtics group and you can be sure Red Auerbach is up in heaven pissed off as all hell the Heat triumvirate’s big 4th quarter got the win. This Celtics group was cast in the mold of Larry and Russell before them; they won and played as a team. They were so tenacious and so damn confident when everyone else in the country had written them off. It’s likely we’ll never see a collection of hall-of-game talent like this in a while and especially not one that plays together so well as they did.

They will be missed by many inside and outside Boston (actually, maybe just me outside of Boston). Now it’s on to the finals for Miami where everyone will again be rooting against them. That’s because it’s gonna be the dream ESPN/ABC scenario as Durantula and ‘Bron square off. I’m already tired of the 1 on 1 angle since it’s a team game, but I’m as excited as the rest of you to tune in.

Final: MIAMI HEAT 101 - Boston Celtics 88

The Heat win the series 4-3

PHOTOS VIA

25 notes

1 year ago

7 Not Really Possible Scenarios for Tonight’s Game 7

1) We get a repeat of game 6, and LeBron and Co. head into the finals with some momentum and confidence—err—like they did last year…It’s what everyone wants, right? Well, at least according to NBA.com. WRONG! That screenshot and subsequent article is so laughable, it’s hard to laugh. LeBron may—or may not—go off, but I’d guess the vast majority of casual fans would rather see the Heat falter in a game 7 at home, as the presumptive favorites. That way OKC—again as the presumptive favorites—can take the title 90% of the writers are hoping for, and Jay Kaspian Kang’s “Leap” article will achieve prenominate brilliance. But more likely, LeBron will be lauded as finally having gotten “it,” without the “it” really being explained in any sort of objective way, which is fine and nice for prosaic columns from Le Batard and the like, but makes the LeBron discussion that much more infuriating for some of us. Also, Wade would need to have another shitty game for this to come to fruition, and if Wade and the rest of the Heat are struggling, which is why LeBron would have to come out uber-aggressive again, then they have a very limited chance in the Finals anyway. OK, this scenario is bothering me enough for these ad hominem tangents without any real creativity, so lets just move on.

2) The Celtics come out and use the Heat’s internalized pressure from a game 7 at home, to eviscerate them in the 1st half. The Heat play catch-up in the second half and as the game comes to its conclusion the Heat are struggling to make shots, so they get even more scared that this superstar-laden experiment is over. Wade and James falter down the stretch with so much pressure and so little help: the rest of their teammates can’t pick up the slack since there hasn’t really been any slack this season. The Heat lose by something like 8, and everyone in Miami has already left arena. So when LeBron performs seppuku, only a handful of beat writers are there to witness it. Ira Winderman and Shandel Richardson try and revive the comatose LeBron at center court, but it’s too late and he bleeds out. Wade shakes his head grimly as he stands over LeBron’s prostrate body. He then gives Gabrielle a really rough kiss to symbolize his love of life and his decision to remain living. LeBron’s suicide becomes a referendum on the media and Twitter crashes for the second time this weekend (the first being when the Heat lose). Fingers are pointed, and Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett and Rajon Rondo have to answer questions about LeBron’s mindset, when all they really want to do is talk about the game and their excellent play. The NBA Finals are put on hold as David Stern prepares a eulogy for LeBron’s funeral; except, LeBron’s fiance and his kids rush up to Stern and start punching him in the body and legs and Stern, finally loses it and also performs seppuku. Lets move on before this gets any more like a shitty Palahniuk novella after he spent an absinthe-laden week in Japan.

3) The Celtics and Heat forget how to play defense and both squads shoot an astronomical 65% or better from the floor in the first 3 quarters with the Celtics taking a big lead. As they’re entering the 4th, Rondo has 25 assists and the score is 121-100, Boston. All of a sudden the Heat’s rangy, athletic small-ball lineup (‘Bron at 5, Chalmers at 4, Battier at 3, Wade and Chalmers at the guard spots) start intercepting passes and the Celtics lose their offensive identity because Rajon Rondo’s arm is cut and he has to go to the sidelines to get stitched up. As the Celtics trainers are rushing the stitches during the Heat comeback, they inadvertently puncture his wrist. Instead of blood spurting up in the face of the trainer, Rondo’s eyes glow Terminator red, and we learn that he’s actually a very advanced form of Artificial Intelligence sent back through time to stop LeBron on his quest for his first NBA Title. The machines that control the future know they will only take power so long as the Chosen One is denied his God-Given right to an NBA title. James Cameron finally watches his first basketball game, and David Stern calls the game in favor of Miami to save the human race from extermination. When Miami faces OKC in the next round, the officials award the Heat free throws for even the most minor contact (and who can blame them when the future of humanity rests on the Heat winning the title). Scott Brooks declares, after game 3, his intention to develop a Super Computer strong enough to take control of the world anyway—out of spite for Stern’s officiating corps. James Cameron buys the Bobcats from Jordan and immediately trades everything they have for Rondo and they escape together into the Rocky Mountains. They are never seen or heard from again until 2024, when it’s already too late for everyone and the machines take control despite LeBron’s title.

4) The Celtics and Heat both play hard and well, but Rondo gets into the lane so easily the Celtics are up at halftime by 10. In the second half, Dywane Wade slides under a jump-shooting Rondo and he lands on Wade’s right foot, twisting his left ankle into such a horrible angle, Joe Thiesmann—watching on TV—vomits onto his living room floor. Rondo shakes off the “sprain” with a cortisone shot and the most ridiculous tape job in training history, and returns to the court playing on one foot. Even on only his right foot, Rondo continues to dissect the Heat’s swarming defense to find Garnett for a series of oops to that puts the Celtics up by 23 to start the 4th. Exhausted and still ailing, Rondo finally returns to the bench, where his left foot promptly falls off. The Heat, relieved the Rondonator (sorry that’s scenario #3) is out, go on a huge 22-1 run, with a lone free throw from Paul Pierce. There’s 10 seconds left and the Heat are down 2. LeBron makes a 3 to give the Heat the lead and the American Airlines arena reaches a fevered frenzy where fans turn into satyrs (with ‘Bron as their Dionysus) and start grotesquely copulating in the aisles, not realizing that Rondo has come back with a bloody bandage over the stump where his left foot used to be. With .5 seconds left Rondo launches the ball 89 feet (the Celtics were out of timeouts and couldn’t advance the ball) where it clangs off the front of the iron, goes 10 feet in the air, and then travels back cleanly through the net. The Celtics win. The Heat fans are so busy copulating during the impromptu bacchanal that’s broken out, they don’t realize the Celtics have won. Eventually, after most of the fans have exhausted their bodies in sexual gratification, they overhear what happened on a loudspeaker and riot police storm the arena and arrest everyone in site for public indecency. The Celtics move on, so lets move on.

5) The Celtics win as Wade misses a last second 3-point shot to win rather than pass to a wide-open LeBron alone under the basket.

6) The Heat win as Paul Pierce attempts a game-winning 3 as time is expiring only to see the “good job, good effort” kid storm the court and somehow rise up to the hoop and prevent the ball from falling through (like that GEICO commmercial). Replays show the shot would have missed anyway, so the Heat are again awarded a trip to the Finals. The people of Boston revolt, and a second civil war is ignited between NBA writers on Twitter that think the Heat should have advanced, and those Boston fans who thought the kid’s interference means they should have had a replay. There are no survivors in the NBA Twitter-Boston civil war, so Twitter actually turns into a fun, cynical-free place where fans cheer on their teams and lament their losses with a sentimentality most Americans thought had been expunged after the first English translations of the existential novels of Albert Camus. Bloggers are finally happy again, but the world ends just a year later by an invading horde of flying swine that breath fire from their anuses.

7) The Celtics and Heat battle for 6 overtimes. The game lasts 5 hours, and I miss the last 3 overtimes, since I’m going to the Sleep No More show in Manhattan tonight, and they won’t let me in after midnight. With me not watching, the Celtics win on a weird bounce at the end. Fans and commentators swear they see an ethereal specter with a pudgy build wearing a beige suit and smoking a cigar, tap the ball into the bucket. Bill Russell cackles uproariously after the game, and makes the sign of the cross. Suddenly blood shoots out of Russell’s wrists and everyone realizes it’s the Rapture and Russell is Jesus Christ. The NBA Finals are cancelled as Anti-Semitic Christian hordes (thinking it’s finally time) storm Stern’s house amid the chanting of Merchant of Venice lines they don’t understand. Stern is burned alive before Russell gets on a megaphone and informs all the Christians they were wrong, and after murdering Stern for his religious beliefs, they will not be spending eternity NOT in the plush environs of Heaven, but in the meaningless grips of Purgatorio (the Jewish people were right, in that Hell never existed). Shakespeare starts getting taught in more classrooms and atheists stop behaving like haughty assholes. Secularists still don’t place much faith in Russell, but when he levitates in the crowd at a David Blaine show in Vegas, they realize he really is the chosen one and we all live in religious and pastoral happiness afterwards.

17 notes

1 year ago

After giving it way more thought than was necessary, I think I’ve uncovered who the ruffian was that threw that beer on LeBron.

AP Photo/Elise Amendola

9 notes

1 year ago

LeBron LeBron LeBron! That’s all anyone wants to talk about, but after 45, 15 and 5 in an elimination game on the road, there is a lot to say about the man. I tried my hand last night in the Dr. Pepper and nicotine soaked aftermath of his perfomance on my computer screen. But there were many others—both better and worse than this humble blogger—that attempted to write an all-encompassing character synopsis based off the narrative of one game. We’ve done it before, and like I mentioned earlier yesterday, LeBron still has to win game 7:

“If they do somehow pull off the upset tonight, it will be that much more remarkable even as they face a game 7 let-down.
That’s sorta the point: there’s just no winning if you’re the Miami Heat, even if they win.”

And boy did ~~they~~ LeBron win. Here’s what some others had to say about Bron’s transcedent performance.

—NBA Players react on Twitter to his game [Storify!]

—Sportsgrid’s Glenn Davis on ‘Bron haters and the over-simplification of his psyche based off one game. Bonus Dan Devine tweet!

—Speaking of Your Man Devine, here’s his take on LeBron’s night at BDL.

—David Hyde at the Sun-Sentinel and fellow Sun reporter, Ira Winderman’s observations on game 6.

—Shaun Powell at the Hang Time Blog with LeBron, LeMagnifique (I really wished he’d used the word “soupcon” plus a Rimbaud reference, but I’m hard to please).

—Tom D’Angelo thinks LeBron was “superhuman” at Sheridan Hoops.

—Howard Beck at the New York Times believes LeBron took game 6 personally.

—Ian Thomsen at Sports Illustarted on LeBron’s “epic” (it’s OK if Thomsen uses that word) and “locked-in” performance as he “destroys” the Celtics in game 6.

—Washington Post columnist Mike Wise on LeBron carrying the Heat to victory.

—Will Leitch writes that LeBron James “explodes” in game 6.

—Deadspin has all 45 “unspectacular” points from James in game 6.

—Steve McPherson at HP on LeBron as a hardened warrior for life; at first I thought he was writing about James Harden because I skipped LeBron in the title (I’ve been seeing a lot of it) and just read: “James: Hardened Warrior for Life” so don’t make that same mistake readers. It’s about LeBron—not James Harden.

—Adrian Wojnarowski with his LeBron Game 6 comparison to Wilt’s elimination game peformance 50 years ago.

—Zache Lowe with an effective headline that reads: “He proved clutch in game 6, but you can judge LeBron James by one game.”

Go get out of your house because it’s too nice out to just be reading LeBron stories all day. Whoops.

[Kobe pic via; the rest via]

17 notes

1 year ago