MidValleySports.Com

Steven Mercado

By Steven Mercado

In Game 4, the Miami Heat played like the team that earned an NBA title last year. The catalyst was the Big Three; they were clicking on Thursday night and as LeBron James said, “When all three of us are clicking, we’re really hard to beat.”

Their Game 4 performance could change the flow of the whole series and could possibly throw all of my finals predictions down the drain. This series has been simply unpredictable due to the inconsistent performances from both teams. In the end, the team that can buckle up and perform down the stretch will be the team that ends up on top, raising that Larry O’Brien trophy.

LeBron stepped it up from the get-go, answering the critics with 12 first quarter points and finishing the game with 33 points, 11 rebounds, four assists, two steals, and two blocks. Analysts from all over mentioned how the key to the game is LeBron being aggressive and taking over. That is exactly what he did.

However, I do not think LeBron was the hero in this game for Miami. Remember the 24-year-old NBA Finals MVP that led the Heat to their first ever NBA title? Remember the guy they called “Flash”? Well the Flash returned on Thursday night and he performed down the stretch at all the right moments.

Dwyane Wade had 32 points, six rebounds, six steals, four assists, and a block. I do not mean to take anything away from LeBron’s performance, but Wade had not scored 30 points or more in 33 games. When he intercepted the cross-court pass from Danny Green and took it coast to coast for a two-step dunk, many people had the same thought on their minds: “Where did that come from?”

Even Chris Bosh stepped it up, which is saying a lot. He put up 20 points, 13 rebounds, two blocks, and two steals.

The San Antonio Spurs did not help their chances by playing an all-around sloppy game. The Heat played great team defense by pressuring the Spurs into making bad decisions and passes, which resulted in their 19 turnovers for the game.

Along with the turnovers, they simply did not play the type of basketball they needed to in order to keep up with the Big Three. The Spurs missed Tony Parker, who disappeared in the second half. He scored 15 points in the first half and looked to be on his way to a monster performance despite a strained hamstring. In the second half, he put up a donut, scoring zero points and only putting up three assists to put his total for the game at nine assists.

Scoring was not necessarily the problem for the Spurs. The problem was everything else. They shot 44.3% from the field as opposed to the Heat’s 52.9%. They had 36 total rebounds while the Heat had 41. They had 21 assists while the Heat had 23. Most importantly, they had 19 turnovers while the Heat had nine. The Spurs simply need to play smarter basketball from here on out if they want to stand a chance against a Heat team that showed the damage they can deal on Thursday.

Tonight’s game is a must-win game for the Spurs just as Game 4 was a must-win game for the Heat. If they shut down at least one of the Big Three and if their stars can produce, they can earn the victory and go up 3-2 in the series.

Even if this does happen, either team can win this series. The Heat have not lost consecutive games since January 10, so if this continues to happen, depending on the Spurs’ performance, we may see a Game 7 in this series. Stay tuned for a good one tonight.