LeBron was doubled the whole night. He definitely had an impact with his presence on the boards, assists and scored when the opportunity was there. Would you guys rather have him forced shots when it was 2 on 1, which likely would have missed and made him look like the hero? But then when he makes the right play he's scared? Make a choice with your judgment.
Disappointing loss, very disheartening. Just can't seem to close out. If Wade's hindered by this it's really going to be tough to get a win next game. Glass half-full or half-empty?
Half-Empty: Wade is injured, LeBron is getting shut out of the paint, Bosh had good numbers but in the 4th hit only 2/4 clutch free throws, turned the ball over on a crucial possession and played soft as hell defense on Dirk, allowing Dirk to get that dunk. The replay infuriated me as Bosh just lets him get by him and then swipes at the ball - like that's going to do anything. Pressure is now on the Heat, they will have to make the Mavericks lose 2 in a row to take the crown (as the Mavericks have just made the Heat lose 2 in a row).
Half-Full: Heroic performance by Wade, but just came up short. LeBron still hasn't broken out for a big scoring night, so that has to come in the next 2 games. His shot was off but he moved without the ball and had a lot more energy and activity. Bosh is playing confidently, while making mistakes which is better than playing passively. Barea and Terry both had their big nights, probably won't back it up again next game (both of them, one of them maybe but not both). Heat still had a chance to win it with a few minutes left despite the Mavericks shooting 68% from three and 57% from the field overall. Heat won the rebounding battle, which will bode well for them next game.
Either way you want to look at it, Dallas has all the momentum. But it is important to note that through 3 games it looked like the Heat had all the momentum. It could easily switch, so here's to hoping it does. It's really going to be now or never for the Heat on Monday (Sunday US time).
---------- Post added 10-06-2011 at 02:30 PM ----------
p.s. Did anyone else feel like they were watching a different series through the first quarter? 31-30 after the first quarter, after in the first four games either team would be lucky to get to 20 points in the quarter! What the hell. The Heat played poor defense today. Looking at their offensive numbers, it wasn't scoring that was the problem. It was stops! And once you open it up for the Mavericks to shoot, when you try and close it on them, they might just keep hitting them! This was definitely an overdue shooting game for the Mavericks, but the Heat need to step up on defense if they want to win next game!