For the 3rd time in his career, Lebron James won the NBA’s MVP Award. So how does the “King” celebrate? By dropping 32 points and snagging 15 rebounds in game 1 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals on Sunday. Despite Dwayne Wade shooting 8 for 23 from the field, he and James scored 20 of straight Heat points in the 4th quarter.
Dinosaur Head Down
Chris Bosh was having a fine performance in the first half, scoring 13 points. Then late in the first half he went down with a lower abdominal injury, Bosh never returned to the court. An MRI has already been scheduled to see the extent of the injury. Miami needs Bosh badly in this series. Without Bosh the Heat’s line-up will have to be drastically altered, just to deal with Roy Hibbert. Not to mention that Miami is not really deep in the post. Ronny Turiaf and Joel Anthony are their only other legitimate big guys off the bench. Let that simmer in for a minute. Joel and Ronny, they are not exactly tearing the roof off a building when their names are called. That’s because they stink, just in case you were wondering.
No Hairline? So What!
Lebron put on an epic performance. 32 points, 15 rebounds, and 5 assists. Not to bad for a guy who stinks in the playoffs. Not that this game really matters in the legacy of James. People want him to hit game winners and win championships, anything short of that is a failure. People need to understand how dominate of a performance this was and put it in perspective. Without James, the Heat would have lost to the Pacers tonight. That’s not an opinion, it’s a fact. Wade played poorly, Bosh went down with a form of dinosaur head, and outside of them 2 and James, the Heat aren’t that good.
A Quote From Dwayne Wade
“It’s unfortunate Chris went down,” Wade said. “But we told him, ‘Be healthy. We got ’em.’ “
Into Context
Hey Bosh, you’re the third best player on this team. And Lebron is a man on fire. I myself am kinda stinking up the joint. So relax, you have no shown games before. That’s like being injured. We don’t need you. Lebron is going to win this game for us and NOT get credit for it.
Grades
Lebron James: A+
James did everything tonight. He was the MVP of the league and Sunday’s game. His 32 and 15 make him only the 2nd Heat player ever to do so. The other is the guy ruining the halftime show on TNT.
Dwayne Wade: C+
Sure he scored 29 points, but it took him 23 shots to get it. That is Melo territory. Wade will get a pass because he is such a likeable guy. If Bosh misses some games in the series, this type of performance will be unacceptable.
Chris Bosh: I
He was on his way to an A. But he got hurt in the 1st half.
Mario Chalmers: D+
He played 31 minutes. So either the Heat think highly of him, or they are just that thin on the roster. Their is a reason Miami loses games, he is one of them.
Udonis Haslem: C-
He is a banger, stats for him do not matter. Despite that, he needs to be more productive. He is the muscle for the Heat. Going forward it could be Haslem guarding Hibbert. Udonis has it in him, tonight he was so-so though.
Mike Miller: D-
Mike Miller is a 3 point specialist. Mike Miller had 0 3 point attempts.
Shane Battier: C+
At this point Battier needs to be smart with the ball and a solid defender. While he no longer looks for a shot he is still involved in the Heat’s offense as a middle man of sorts. On defense he is no longer where he used to be. But he is still above average and he did a decent job with that tonight.
Ronny Turiaf: C-
Turiaf has been called out as one of the smelliest players in the NBA, good for him. He also played 10 minutes tonight.
Joel Anthony: B
Joel played really well in limited time tonight. 9-7 in just 24 minutes of action. Anthony could be called upon more if Bosh misses games. He did pick up 4 fouls while trying to be an aggressive defender.
Game 2
Game 2 will be Tuesday on TNT at 7pm. Make sure you come back to Sir Charles after the game for a recap.
Heat’s Perspective
I am splitting coverage of this series with fellow Sir Charles writer Jason Leung. He will be taking a Pacers perspective while I the Heat. Try not to think either of us are being bias in our coverage. Or that we blatantly left out the other squad. It’s just 2 guys covering 1 series, with each focusing on a team a piece. We both think the series is going 7. He picked the Pacers while I went with the Heat. So make sure you check out his recap and give him a hard time for openly hating the Heat.(Plus he is Canadian, he doesn’t even like warm weather)
Joseph Nardone is a Writer/Blogger for Sir Charles In Charge. You can follow him on the twitter machine@JosephNardone