LeBron James: “That’s what we talk about. It has to be a collective group to win the championship. Everybody was in tune today,” he said during his postgame interview.
I’ve tended to agree with Hall of Fame Coach Phil Jackson, that the Heat played video game ball, a lot of one-on-one’s, and so on. You know the critiques, and they were true.
But, this is a different Heat team, not just with the new additions, but a new game plan.
The “Big Three” of Miami were huge in their 101-88 game 7 win over the grizzly Boston Celtics. In Miami’s game 7, in which they had to come back from an eleven-point deficit, the Heat finally looked like a team. Offensively. Defensively. Everyone was one the same page, and the Heat were playing as a team.
LeBron’s dagger 3-pointer:
New addition Shane Battier contributed 12 points, 3 steals, and 1 block.
Miami’s LeBron James, Dwayne Wade, and Chris Bosh were fantastic in their closeout win over the Celtics. Wade led the team in plus/minus with his 23 points, 6 assists, and 6 rebounds on 8/17 shooting.
LeBron James led the Heat in points and rebounds with 31 and 12, but he only had 2 assists. And, off the bench, Chris Bosh, who was tied with Dwayne Wade as team leader in plus/minus, put in 19 points, grabbed 8 rebounds, and scored 3 timely three-pointers.
With game one of the NBA Finals coming up on Tuesday, the Heat v Oklahoma City Thunder should be an exciting series filled with up-tempo TEAM basketball.
Rob S. De France is a College and University instructor of English Composition living in Los Angeles. He has a B.A. in English and an M.A. in Rhetoric, Composition, and Writing. De France has played, coached, and officiated competitive high school basketball in California for many years. Recently, De France, his wife, and another colleague started an internationally read magazine at Shwibly.com.
