LeBron James says he is ready for even more physical play in game 6 in Indiana – NBA News
Miami Heat star LeBron James has said that he is not concerned about the aggressive plays being made on the court against him, and is ready and prepared to face even harder fouls when the Miami Heat take on the Indiana Pacers in
game 6 of the Eastern Conference Semi Finals.
"It may have gotten to that point. For me, it's always at that point. I'm always in protect mode. For me, in the playoffs or the regular season, there are teams trying to go for me. It's happened. I'm not saying guys are playing
dirty, but certain guys say if you hard foul LeBron, get him off balance, he'll stop being aggressive and things like that” said James after practice on Wednesday.
The Heat have a chance of winning the series in game 6, after going up 3-2 on the Pacers with two consecutive wins. However, the Pacers are not ones to back down and give an easy victory, as their playoff performance has shown
so far.
The series between the Heat and Pacers has been an intense and physical one, with exchange of words both on and off the field. There have been instances where opposing players have gotten in each other’s face and hard fouls have
been committed.
James and fellow team mate Dwyane Wade have taken 46 and 45 free throws in the series so far, giving an idea of how physical the series has been.
The matchup between the two teams reached new levels of physicality and intensity in game 5 when three flagrant – 1 fouls were called during the game. Two of them went against Miami, with Dexter Pittman and Udonis Haslem picking
up one each.
The third was called against Tyler Hansbrough of the Pacers. Haslem was later suspended for one game and Pittman for three games after their fouls were reviewed by the NBA a day after the match. Both fouls were excessive and dangerous.
In total there have been 234 personal fouls, five technical fouls and four flagrant fouls in the series, giving an indication of the intensity with which both teams are playing. They do not seem to be liking each other.
James says he is now used to this kind of play as he has been facing this mentality since the day he came into the NBA. Teams have always wanted to foul him hard in an attempt to intimidate him or sideline him from the game.
However, he added that the physicality in this series doesn’t even come close to the physical play they faced against the Detroit Pistons in a playoff series in 2007. James was named as a member of the NBA All Defensive team for
the 2011-2012 season on Wednesday. The reigning MVP now looks towards game 6 against the Pacers.
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