(video via ESPN Chicago)
HEAT INDEX: Of course, James has had big clutch games before. But we haven’t seen a string quite like this. There was the transcendent performance in Game 5 against the Celtics when he scored the final 10 points of the clincher to send the Eastern Conference champs packing. There was the nine points in final four and a half minutes in Game 2 vs. Chicago. Bottling up Derrick Rose in Game 4 may have been his most impressive feat. And there was Game 5 in Chicago, with the Heat down nine points with 4:30 remaining. James proceeded to outscore the Bulls 10-7 for the rest of the game, as the Heat won by three. He closed out yet another close out game.
TRUE HOOP: Including the regular season, the Chicago Bulls were 53-0 when leading by double-digits in the fourth quarter. So, with only 3:14 remaining in Game 5, and the Bulls leading by 12 points a win appeared all but certain. The Miami Heat had other plans though, finishing the game on an 18-3 run to advance to the NBA Finals for the second time in franchise history. According to 10,000 simulations done by Accuscore.com, the Heat had just a 1 percent chance of winning the game with 3:14 remaining. Just like it's been all season, the "Big Three" for Miami were at the center of it all, scoring 69 of the team's 83 points, including the last 33.
EYE ON BASKETBALL: These Finals may not be close. But if the game is within five after three quarters, heck, if it's within 20 after three quarters, neither team can feel safe. Each team will put the pedal down. For the Mavericks, it will be Dirk Nowitzki trying to overcome a much better set of defenders and the Mavericks using the inevitable doubles to find the open corner shooter. For the Heat? Just standing back and watching James and Wade do their thing. Can the Heat really stop Nowitkzi? Hard to see anyone playing better defense than Nick Collison did and Dirk made him look silly. Can anyone stop LeBron James right now? No, really, can anyone, anywhere, stop LeBron James right now?
ESPN CHICAGO: James praised Rose after the game, reiterated that Rose earned the MVP some cranks say really belongs to James now. He said this series should help Rose in the long run. "It's going to help you," he said. "I've been in situations where I say, 'Why me?' at this point. But you have to keep working and be put in those positions, time after time after time, where if you fail, you have to be ready to take that challenge again and again and again." Rose's career arc has made dreamers of us all, himself included. In three years, he has matured from rookie of the year to All-Star to MVP. Rose's adidas ads tell us, "Fast Don't Lie." No, but it does obscure. Rose has room to improve, but I don't think you can practice playing in these kinds of situations. You can only experience them.
MIAMI HERALD: About his comments tweaking the Heat, Barkley said: “I don’t know if Dwyane’s upset with me, but I don’t sit around and worry about it.” He said LeBron James hasn’t said anything to him. “These athletes today are all wussified,” Barkley said. “I’ve been saying LeBron’s been the best player in the league for three years. And I say one thing criticizing The Decision, and I get a phone call from Nike saying why don’t I like LeBron? It’s interesting how this [expletive] works. These groups today, if you don’t say 100 percent positive about their guy or their team, they overreact.”
THE BASKETBALL JONES: When your team is dealt a crushing defeat that closes the door on what was a pretty spectacular season, how do you deal with that as a fan? You do exactly what the fans of Oklahoma City did last night when their Thunder lost Game 5 to the Dallas Mavericks, 100-96. Instead of allowing their beloved players to return to OKC in sullen silence, a ton of fans showed up to the airport and waited for the team flight to get in. Armed with signs and banners, chants and lots of love, the fans erupted as the players exited the plane at 1 a.m. It really was a beautiful sight. Hundreds of people chanting for their team, showing them that the support they had all season wasn’t going anywhere after they had fought, but failed, to advance to the NBA Finals. So many moments in this video show just how special the connection is between the Oklahoma City Thunder fans and their team.
RIDICULOUS UPSIDE: Today's featured workout, however, is Indiana as the Pacers plan to host JaJuan Johnson (Purdue), Justin Harper (Richmond), Corey Fisher (Villanova), Darius Morris (Michigan), Josh Selby (Kansas) and Chris Wright (Georgetown) on Thursday afternoon. As the title of the story implies, however, those six players won't get a chance to showcase their wares in front of Frank Vogel -- the Pacers current head coach. Don't read into that too much, however, because president of basketball operations Larry Bird is just trying to keep other candidates from being jealous. "I'm talking to some people and I'm talking to (Vogel)," Bird told the Indianapolis Star. "When these guys come in, I don't want them to think he's going to be the coach."
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