LeBron James, Dwyane Wade admit Boston Celtics inspired them to team up
The Miami Heat acquired LeBron James and Chris Bosh in the summer amid much fanfare. The duo, alongside Dwyane Wade, quickly got the “Big Three” label, just like Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen and Paul Pierce had a few years earlier.
Now, on the brink of eliminating the Boston Celtics from the 2011 Playoffs, the Heat have revealed that trio from Boston was the inspiration behind their merger.
"They set the blueprint for us when they decided to make the trade for [Kevin Garnett] and for Ray [Allen]," James said. "Seeing guys make sacrifices to come together and play as one. They set the blueprint and went out there and
did it. They won a championship.”
It was the assembling of the giants at the T.D. Garden that spurred the Heat to get some stars of their own. It also put the idea in the head of the players to make some tough calls and get together to mount a serious challenge
for the NBA world championship.
The players went on to discuss that the Celtics didn’t only inspire them, but literally pushed them towards each other, forcing them to join. LeBron James saw his title challenge derailed twice by the Boston trio, in 2008 and then
in 2010. LeBron believed that he had a genuine shot at NBA championship glory, especially last year, but Boston put an end to his dream.
The final push came with the humiliation last year, when Boston beat LeBron’s Cleveland Cavaliers and caused his home fans to turn on him. That incident didn’t go down well with James, who realized afterwards that he needed help
to get where he wanted, he needed someone who “got his back” so to speak.
Dwyane Wade, himself a victim of the Boston Celtics charge to the NBA finals in 2010, talked about what the defeat meant to him and to LeBron, "With LeBron losing to Boston in Cleveland in the playoffs, he felt like, 'I gotta do
more, I need to be around more to contend for a championship,' " Wade said. "Me feeling the same way going into the summer, saying that I needed more, it was because of Boston. They knocked us out."
Their desperation to win the championship was what drove the players to join forces. And so it happened in the pre-season, after months of speculation it was revealed that LeBron James would be joining Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh
in Miami. The media went into a frenzy, the fans went wild, and the whole league stood up to take notice.
Everyone knew then that a power nucleus had formed at the South Beach. There was no doubting that the Heat will now be a major force, come the playoffs. They struggled for a while in the regular season and but have now transformed
into a formidable team.
The Heat, LeBron James and Dwyane Wade are now at the crossroads. They are on the brink of knocking out the mighty Boston Celtics, who have haunted them for long. For them, the time has arrived to slay their demons.
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