NBA News: Heat Advance
I have to give credit where credit is due, and Lebron James did what he had to do to get back to the stage that he feels is his birth right. Myself and others may not care for his decisions, his arrogant and selfish attitude but he backed it up on the court when need be. You can't knock the fact that he teamed up with Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh to form this super team in Miami because so far its working........You may not care for the way they did it but you have to respect it. In game 5 of the Eastern Conference Final between the Miami Heat and the Chicago Bulls, Lebron and company again put the NBA on notice - no matter what you do, you can't beat us.......
With about 3 minutes left in regulation the Bulls had a 12 point lead and looked well on their way to extend the series. Look the Bulls were in survival mode, being down 1-3 to the Heat and facing elimination they were focused on winning this game in Chicago and returning to South Beach for game 6. That was the plan, the Heat thought otherwise. Defense and execution was pretty much what spurred that furious 18-3 run the Heat inflicted on the Bulls to win the game 83-80 and close the series 4-1. It was a demoralizing defeat for the Bulls and it was like the Heat were just toying with them. Lebron said this was what brought them together, if ever they are down late in the game they have enough fire power and defense to win out. Lebron alone poured in 8-points in that rally to finish with 28-points, 11 rebounds, and 6 assists. Wade with an 8-point fury as well had a four point play while getting fouled in making a key three-pointer and followed it up by making the free-throw. Wade was struggling though with exhaustion and a soar shoulder but he managed to play through it. Wade finished with 21-points, 6 rebounds, but had an ugly 9 turnovers. Bosh continued to be a monster with 20-points and 10 rebounds to go along with 4 blocked shots making a dominate contribution to this trio. The Bulls however had another meltdown, just like in their other game losses in this series. Derrick Rose the leagues MVP had 25-points but didn't close this game.....seven turnovers, bad decisions, and having Lebron James in his face to boot. Then again you have to ask, where was the help......The Heats defense kept Rose from getting it and raised the degree of difficulty for him. Rose was the one that fouled Wade on that key four point play to further contribute to the Bulls demise. Bulls Head coach Tom Thibodeau pulled a strange move by keeping Carlos Boozer and Joakim Noah out the entire 4th quarter. Going with Taj Gibson and veteran Kurt Thomas may have been a good move to a point, but Boozer's and Noah's absence down the stretch may have led to the collapse. That is a discussion we can save for a later post. Congrats to the Heat for getting to the NBA Finals and good luck against the Dallas Mavericks......nuff said
p.s. I need therapy for the loss the Bulls suffered, its tough because I was spoiled all season and I was grateful for the run they made.......Lets see if they can do it again.....
