Opportunity is knocking – It’s time for Miami Heat and LeBron James to shine – NBA Special - Part 1
LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and the Miami Heat are in quite a fix. They lost game 5 to the Dallas Mavericks and are now 3 – 2 down in the NBA Finals. Already, the Heat haters are out in force. They gloat, they criticize and they
laugh as the Big Three get ever closer to defeat. Yet it’s nothing compared to what will come when, or if, the Heat finally do end up losing the Finals.
Miami are not viewed favourably by the majority in the NBA. There’s a dislike factor against them not faced by many teams. The view of the common fan, in Charles Barkley’s words is
“Listen, if the Miami Heat were playing the Washington Generals, I’d pick the Washington Generals. There’s something about them that annoys me.”
That’s the kind of adversity the Heat are up against.
However, this is also a splendid opportunity for the Miami Heat. They have had their critics all season. From the announcement of LeBron and Chris Bosh arriving in Miami to their Eastern Conference Finals win over the Chicago Bulls,
the criticism and plain disdain of the Heat and its Big Three has continued unabated.
The Heat have played under enormous pressure throughout the season. It is a pressure they knew they would have to face, and it’s a pressure they perhaps brought onto themselves with the crazy celebrations that took place in Miami
when the Big Three were assembled.
LeBron James, more than any one, has to be feeling the heat. His story of unfulfilled promise, of bold declarations and failed efforts is a magnet for the glare of the world. In more ways than not LeBron brought it onto himself.
Throughout his career he has not shied away from challenges, and he hasn’t stopped making promises.
His promise of NBA World Title success after he had made “the Decision” haunted the Heat throughout the season and in the playoffs. At every defeat LeBron’s infamous quotes were thrown in his face. But he simply does not stop making
tall claims. His tweet before game 5 “Now or never” brought even more despair from the following loss then it would have if he hadn’t tweeted.
It wasn’t “Now”, so is it “Never”? It’s a question LeBron alone can answer. And he can only give it on the court. Something he has consistently failed to do in the NBA Finals.
In a series where Dwyane Wade has elevated his game to Finals MVP proportions after taking a back seat to LeBron on the way to it, and where Dirk Nowitzki continues to write his own legacy in glowing words, LeBron really has disappeared.
Has there ever been a player whose triple-double performance in an NBA Finals game was termed underwhelming? Following on from the worst game in his playoff career, LeBron delivered some solid stats, but he still lacked the punch.
Chris Webber, when asked to comment on LeBron’s game 5 performance being such an improvement from game 4, replied with “was it better?” If you believe the stats, it was. However his impact on the game, especially down the stretch,
left a lot to be desired.
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