The call was wrong, but the outcome was right. It should have been called a travel as soon as LeBron’s feet touched the floor. The replay showed clearly that the ball wasn’t deflected, James lost his grip on the ball.
The refs are trying to make the games close and maybe even make the series longer. Dirk does travel (game 2 winning shot) but who doesn’t… Lebron wouldn’t have the stats he has if he didn’t travel on 50% or more of his drive to the hoop shots. Lebron James isn’t god and he may very well choke on the winning game, especially if it’s a game 7. Anyway, GO HEAT…
As for the Mavs, damn point guards can’t even make a 3… I hope Kidd and Barea are glued to the perimeter practicing before the next game… I can understand the fans saying “but we got Dirk and he’ll win for us” but its not good when it seems like the team is saying the same thing
God, yes. I mean, all year, really, their entire career, Wade and LeBron have been so victimized by the travel calls in the NBA. Did you know LeBron was called for a travel once when he was in Cleveland? I know, what a travesty, right? And then considering how much Wade has been abused by the officials, particularly by blatantly favoring Nowitzki’s team in previous playoff matchups, I think it’s time somebody does something. I suggest firing all NBA officials and replacing them by more objective observers, like the 1919 White Sox, the Mayor of Miami, and LeBron’s mother. I suppose fans of teams that traditionally had a rivalry with Cleveland would also be good choices for making dispassionate judgements.
P.S. If rings are all that matter, then Steve Kerr is better than Larry Bird, and just as good as Kobe or Magic Johnson. (I can’t bother looking up bench players for the 60’s Celtics, or I’d proclaim one of them better than Jordan).
I think rings are a fair criterion when you’re talking about ostensible team leaders.
So far this series a 32 year old Shawn Marion is outplaying LeBron James…or at least playing him to a draw. Also, Chandler is pretty awesome too if you didn’t know.
Go Mavs!
Great game 5, lots of scoring (29 points for Dirk, 21 for Terry, and 17 for Barea). I was a little worried when Dallas lost their lead in the 4th, but they recovered well and did a good job of closing the door on Miami in the final minutes.
Here’s hoping the Mavs win it all in game 6!
All things considered LeBron played pretty well, but he seemed really eager to defer on offense all game long, even when Wade was out, and especially towards the end (only had those two meaningless points in the 4th). I don’t know if that’s LeBron being in his own head a little, or just Dallas really keying in on him on defense; it can be hard to tell the difference in basketball.
Are we seeing one of the greatest NBA upsets ever? A Euro beating LeBron? Maybe Nike should rethink its marketing strategy?
Come on Mavs, just one more…
They had a graphic in the first half that showed Miami was outscoring the Mavs when Wade was out after his hip injury. I wonder what the net effect was for the game. ESPN had a graphic that showed Labron doing better while Wade was out over the entire game.
Not a NBA basketball fan whatsoever, but I will pass on this commentary from Twitter.
Never ask Lebron for change for a dollar. He will only give you 75 cents because he doesn’t have a 4th quarter in him
(apologize if this joke has already been said in the thread).
He played a great three quarters, mostly because of his passing and rebounding, he scored two points in the fourth and those two only after the game was already decided. If he can’t step up when Wade is hurt then when?
I’ve honestly never heard of one athlete getting such a free pass for obviously choking in crunch time. At least John Starks went down shooting… Two points in the fourth quarter… a Jason Terry threeball right in your grill?
Its not Witness… its Quitness. Now Lebron apologist like Colin Cowherd are now saying that his 26 year old legs are dead. Seriously?? Jason Kidd’s 38 year old legs are okay… but LeBum’s 26yr old ones are “dead”.
This is what happens when you hype a guy up before he’s really accomplished something… reminds me that Richard Grieco was a bigger star than Johnny Depp on 21 Jump street. We see which direction THAT went … lol
You know, I’d love nothing more than to see LeBron never win a championship in his career, but I’d be pretty satisfied just with the Heat losing this year. Not only would LeBron have another utter playoff failure on his resume, only this time with the team of mercenaries he chose, but it would totally screw up all the marketing and advertising that you know they already have set up and ready to roll out if they win. Try and sell shoes after this debacle, LePippen.
I’m not seeing this free pass, Lebron has been getting burned on every sports show i watch.
I read the Nike is poised to make four billion out of a Lebron championship.
Free pass? “LeBron shrinks in fourth quarter” has been the headline since game three. Saying he’s playing like crap at the end is one thing, but saying he’s getting a free pass is fiction.
To be fair, Kidd got like 2 weeks off before the playoffs started to rest. LeBron has been the Heat’s top defensive stopper in these entire playoffs, and I’m sure having to chase Derrick Rose around for an entire series would wear anyone out.
But sometimes it certainly seems like LeBron plays with the energy of a small forward but has the stamina of a power forward (he’s listed at 250, but I bet he weighs even more than that).
I don’t really understand why the Heat are supposed to be the “bad guys” in this series. What’s really so bad about them? Why is LeBron taking his talents to Long Beach worse than Jason Kidd beating the shit out of his pregnant wife? What’s not to like about Dwyane Wade, or Chris Bosh, for that matter?
I like Nowitzki ok, and Mark Cuban too. It would be nice to see them get a ring, but I don’t want to see Jason Kidd get one.
I thought LeBron should have stayed in Cleveland, and I thought "“the decision” was tacky too, but it doesn’t bother me as much as Jason Kidd being a confessed wife beater, and no one ever says anything about that.
Dio, most fans only care about what players do basketball wise. It doesn’t matter what Kidd did in his personal life, no matter how despicable. All the criticism LeBron gets is related to his career.