Category: NBA Playoffs Blog

“I mean, anytime you can get to the finals two years in a row is tough,” said Wade, who’ll be making his third straight finals appearance and fourth overall. “But to win it back to back? I remember Michael Jordan saying winning your first title is the toughest. And in some ways it’s very tough to win that first one. But I personally think it’s tougher to win the next one, because now you’ve finally gave everything to win that first one.”

This postseason is certainly proving to be tougher for Wade.

A bruised right knee has dogged him now for the better part of three months. In the beginning, the official word was that the ailment was minor and the hope was that it could clear up with a bit of rest. Obviously, that’s not exactly the case.

Wade is averaging only 14.1 points in the playoffs on 45 percent shooting. He’s getting to the foul line, on average, 3.9 times per game in these playoffs, or less than half of what he managed in his first eight postseasons.

And his trademark explosiveness just has not been there, either.

In his first 110 playoff games, he scored more than 20 points on 87 occasions. This year, in 15 playoff games, he’s topped 20 only twice — getting exactly 21 points both times, the second coming in Monday’s win over Indiana in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference finals.

Reported by Tim Reynolds of the Associated Press

Set your alarm. Get out your wallet. The hottest ticket in Miami goes on sale at 2 p.m. Tuesday.

That’s when individual tickets go on sale for Games 1 and 2 of the NBA Finals between the Miami Heat and San Antonio Spurs. Game 1 is Thursday at 9 p.m. and Game 2 is Sunday at 8 p.m.

As one would expect, “ticket inventory is limited and tickets are expected to sell quickly,” according to the Heat.

Be prepared to pay: Tickets range from $155 to $890.

Reported by Clark Spencer of the Miami Herald

For James it will be a chance to win title No. 2 to go with his four MVP crowns. He doesn’t need validation anymore after winning last year, but when it finally comes time to judge his place among the league’s all-time greats, the number of rings he ends up collecting will figure in the equation.

It’s been three full seasons now since he announced his departure from Cleveland in the much-derided ”The Decision” television special. Much has changed since then, and James credits Miami’s loss to Dallas in the finals two years ago with making him both a better basketball player and a better person.

If he was a half-hearted leader before, he’s fully in charge now. On Monday morning he delivered an inspirational address to his teammates, urging them to lay everything on the line to make sure the season didn’t end early. He and Wade also met to plan strategy for the deciding game, and James told Wade he would take defensive responsibility for Indiana’s Paul George, who averaged 21.5 points in the first six games.

It turned out to be a pivotal decision, with George getting just 7 points on 2 of 9 shooting before fouling out.

”Ever since I lost in the finals to Dallas my mind frame changed that offseason,” James said. ”I just wanted to get back playing the game I love and have fun and play at a high level.”

Reported by Tim Dahlberg of the Associated Press

LeBron James top-scored with 32 points as the Miami Heat reached their third straight NBA Finals with a 99-76 win over the Indiana Pacers on Monday, but it was Dwyane Wade’s return to form that gave coach Erik Spoelstra the most pleasure.

Wade has been struggling with a painful knee injury throughout the playoffs and it showed in his production, with the guard failing to register 20 points in any of his previous 12 games.

But his 21 points on Monday, combined with nine rebounds, gave Miami the additional boost they needed in the Game Seven decider.

The aggression was back, the confidence to drive to the rim and with it, the Heat looked a more complete unit following their Game Six setback.

“That’s just Dwyane being who he is. He has an uncanny way, when you count him out and you need him most, when the competition is fiercest, he’s going to be there for you,” Spoelstra told reporters.

Reported by Simon Evans of Reuters

Struggling through his worst scoring stretch in almost a decade, Miami Heat center Chris Bosh said he apologized to his teammates after Game 6 and hopes to be more assertive in Monday’s Game 7 against the Indiana Pacers.

Bosh has failed to score in double digits in three consecutive games for the first time since his rookie season in 2003-04. Bosh said he hopes to have a better Game 7 after “not being aggressive and not playing my best ball.”

Bosh has been largely outplayed by Pacers big men David West and Roy Hibbert. Bosh has averaged just 11.3 points, 3.7 rebounds and 0.7 blocks on 41.1 percent shooting in the series.

“It’s hard, it’s difficult,” Bosh said. “Everything you’re going to do in the postseason is difficult. And you’re going to be put in situations you don’t want to be in and you’re going to have to do things that you don’t want to do. It’s part of it, so you might as well get used to it, being miserable and really loving it.”

Bosh has found himself more on the perimeter in this series. He has averaged 2.3 3-point attempts in this series, which is up from his regular-season rate of one per game. The 6-foot-11 center has shot the ball well, making 50 percent of his tries from downtown, but it has pulled him away from the paint.

Reported by Tom Haberstroh of ESPN.com

InsideHoops.com editor Jeff Lenchiner says: With Roy Hibbert and David West patrolling the paint, it makes sense that Chris Bosh is taking more outside shots than usual. But if they aren’t going in, then there’s a problem.