A 7 minute stretch late in the 1st quarter going into the 2nd may have been the Heat’s demise Friday night. During that time Boston went on a 15-0 run and never looked back. Despite Lebron James’ best efforts, 34-8-5, Miami lost game 3 101-91. The Heat lead the series 2 games to the Celtics 1.
Free Throws…..AGAIN
Listen, this game was all but over early in the 2nd period. Miami made a go of it late, led by Mike Miller 3 pointers, but still fell short by 10 points. Last article I wrote about how many points Miami left at the charity stripe. Friday, the Heat left 10 of those freebies at the line. Going 10-20 from the line is a joke. 50% from the line in a game where they all but could have put the nail in Boston’s coffin.
The two teams made the same amount of field goals, 38. They also made the same amount of 3 pointers, 5. The discrepancy in points has to come from somewhere. That somewhere is the free throw line. It’s a boring stat to throw out there but shouldn’t be ignored. If almost every stat is identical, Boston had an +12 edge in rebounding, the game was decided where it shouldn’t have.
Lebron was 1-5 and Chalmers 3-6. That’s not getting the job done. What else isn’t getting it done? Dwyane Wade had ZERO FTA. NONE, ZILCH, ZERO. Take the ball to the hoop and draw some contact please.
Rebounds
The lack of rebounding for the Heat was also to blame for the loss. We all get it. You’re short big men. I’ll let the world in on a secret right now. Outside of Garnett, the Celtics aren’t exactly overloaded with talent in the front court. Last I checked Greg Stiesma and Ryan Hollins weren’t keeping opposing head coaches up at night. 20 of the Celtics rebounds came from their guards. So while it’s easy to pick on the big guys….
Chalmers was always going to be one of the keys to victory for the Heat. I just don’t think anyone would have imagined it might come down to whether or not he was boxing out. The same goes for Wade. If this playoffs are any indication his free pass is over. Being a superstar means more than hoisting up a bunch of jumpers. Wade has been slow on defense and sometimes aloof as it comes to playing without the ball. I’m sure that I’ll be the only one coming down on him. But that’s fine. Watch the game again and just focus on his play. He wasn’t aggressive at all.
Where’s The Defense
Well at least when Miami doesn’t score they can rely on their stingy defense. Boston shot 50% from the floor and only turned the ball over 12 times.
Defense is effort. It’s a cliche but true. So when an aging team scores 101 points on you it makes one assume you didn’t give it your all. I don’t want to question the Heat’s heart. It might just be a case of they thought the game was over at the half…. like the rest of us.
Going Forward
Let’s just chalk this up to Boston being really desperate and Miami just hoping the Celtics already gave up. These games happen. Just ask the Spurs. Sometimes there is no bigger reason as to why a team lost. Miami just could have been out of sync early and were never able to recover.
I didn’t expect a sweep going into this series and I still expect Boston to win at least one more game. However Miami is the better team. The Heat played as poorly as humanly possible in game 3. They dug themselves a hole that was unrealistic for them to dig out of.
That’s it. Over-reaction not needed. So South Beach relax. Bostonians enjoy the beer at your local pub tonight. Game 4 will show which way this series is headed.
Kevin Garnett Doing Push-Ups
How was that not a technical foul? Not only was it a delay of game(don’t care about the TV timeout) but it was also showing up EVERYBODY in the arena. From the Heat, fans, and the refs. I’m not a fan of KG. I think he’s a bully and a dirty player. I won’t question his heart or effort. That is clearly there every night.
What I will question is his antics. When will the NBA, another player, or a teammate step in? Between low-blows, calling people cancer patients, and his other random nonsense, IT HAS TO STOP. A day is going to come when another coach sends in a goon to crush him. Everybody is going to act like Garnett was a victim. He isn’t and won’t be. Push-ups on the hardwood during a playoff game….you got to be kidding me.
Grades
Outside Lebron(B-) and Mike Miller(C+) everybody is getting a D. Wait, I lied. Shane Battier is getting an F. If there was a grade lower than an F that’s what I would give him. Battier played 38 minutes and this is how the box score reads, 0-3-4. I changed my mind. No letter scores for Battier. He gets a number score, -32478234879. I think he was that kind of horribly special in game 3.
Game 4
Game 4 will be played Sunday on ESPN at 8:30pm. Because as we all know, it’s Sunday, so let’s put the ONLY game on late. If you don’t have work Monday morning or you’re a night owl head back over here after the game for a recap.
Joseph Nardone is a Writer/Blogger for Sir Charles In Charge. He is also a loyalist apologist for Rajon Rondo. You can follow him on the twitter machine @JosephNardone