Dwyane Wade thinks the Indiana Pacers celebration after game 2 victory was excessive – NBA News
The Indiana Pacers-Miami Heat Eastern Conference Semi Final series is getting intense, both on and off the court.
Everyone knows that playoff basketball is on a whole different level when it comes to intensity and physicality, and the Pacers know something about that. They are one of the biggest teams in the league in terms
of size. Danny Granger, Roy Hibbert, even Paul George, the shooting guard, are all big men who have no problems getting physical to defend the post.
It comes as no surprise, then, that the Pacers have had the Heat by the neck. In game 2 of the series, there was an instance involving Danny Granger and LeBron James. James went up for a layup and was brought
down by Granger. Not happy with the play, James confronted Granger who wasn’t in the mood to back down either. Both had to be separated by teammates.
Dwyane Wade also let his emotions get the better of him, pushing Darren Collison from behind while he was making a fast break because Wade was frustrated for not getting a foul on an earlier play.
The off court war of words has also been making news in the NBA. Frank Vogel said before the series that the Heat were “floppers”, referring to their habit of overacting while drawing offensive fouls. Yesterday,
after the game 2 loss, Dwyane Wade added to the war of words between the two teams when he said that he thought the Pacers celebration after the victory was excessive.
Wade even went to refer that the Pacers themselves did not expect to beat the Heat when he said that they didn’t expect to win that night.
“I heard they wanted to be like the Dallas Mavericks, in a sense. I saw their little celebration at the end of (Game 2). I don’t know if they didn’t expect to win, but every night we go out on the court, we expect
to win. They say their identity; they say they want to be like Dallas. So they celebrated like Dallas, I guess” said Wade
Frank Vogel had earlier talked to his team about how the Mavericks had beaten the Heat in the NBA Finals from last year and shared notes from that series with his team. Even during timeouts in games, Vogel is
seen to be motivating his team using references to the Dallas – Miami matchup last season. Wade was referring to that motivation when he said they wanted to be like Dallas.
It wouldn’t be a surprise if one of the Pacers team members replied to Wade’s opinion as they seem to be going back and forth with each other. The stakes are high and the series is getting intense and personal.
The next games are going to be a tough fight for sure.
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