Mutnt wrote:Going off my memory, one thing I'd like to add about the notion of LeBron being passive in that '11 series that I haven't seen anyone touch upon yet is the effect of Wade's play.
This is the key right here. There was a psychological shift that occurred in that series. As a longtime Wade watcher, I'll tell you what I saw. Wade shifted into Finals mode. What I saw was him make a conscious decision that he didn't care what the names of any of his teammates were, he was gonna take the destiny of that series in his own hands.
And LeBron definitely appeared taken aback by Wade's level of aggression. This is from Game 1 (unfortunately, the better quality videos don't show the full play). This was the sequence where Wade hit the 3 over Kidd after blocking Marion at the other end:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FSmyku-BhOk.
Look who's bringing up the ball. It's LeBron! Perfect time to let him operate at the top and spread the floor, right? But, he's not even thinking about making a play (he did almost nothing in that game after the 3rd quarter). Instead, watch Wade sprint from the corner and eventually get the ball from Bosh after James couldn't get it to him right away.
There's a play in Game 3, which alas doesn't appear in full on video, that illustrates the series dynamic even more clearly. Wade and Dirk were involved in a shootout in that 4th quarter and at one point, Wade's defender made him pick up his dribble, so he passed to James who... instantly passed it right back. Wade then hit a jumper to give the Heat the lead.
This is what I mean when I talk about a psychological shift. Once the Finals started, LeBron no longer had any claim on the Heat, even on the my turn/your turn basis with Wade that had been the pattern all year. They now exclusively belonged to Wade, as much as they ever did since 2003. And, consequently, James spent most of the rest of the series lost and in a daze, which apparently not only took a toll on his offense but his defense too (little has been said in this thread about that-- about how players like Terry, Marion and even Barea were taking advantage of him).
What the Heat needed from James was what they got from Wade at the ends of games in the ECFs.
There have been many outrageous fallacies put forward in this thread, but one of the most egregious is the notion that James' Finals were better than Wade's ECFs. Toss the stats and focus on what happened in those games when it mattered. Excluding Game 1 (loss) and Game 2 in which he played well (24 pts), this is what Wade did in crunch-time in that series.
Game 3: scored 5 straight points that gave the Heat separation; Game 4: 6 pts, 3 blks in OT; Game 5: 10 4Q pts (22 pts overall) including 4 pt play that cut lead to 3.THAT is what the Heat needed from LeBron when it was his turn to play the support role in the Finals. If he just makes a few key plays in the 4Q, they're champs. Instead, he averaged 3 pts in the quarter.
Also I would be remiss if I did not dispose of another falsehood that has been offered up. The Mavs in no way prioritized stopping James over Wade, at least not once they realized who the go-to-guy was. And if there was a special effort to take James out of his game, it was only because Dallas knew he was the one who was susceptible to it (it wasn't Wade that Marion was trash-talking and calling a b_tch).
Look at this LeBron dunk in Game 3, but pay attention to what really happens. Three defenders (including LeBron's man) cut off Wade at the foul line, so he passes to James, who now has an open lane for the dunk:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MXJ_upPvBfo.
And why were the Mavs sending 3 defenders at Wade, including one who was on James? Perhaps because he had been doing things like this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lAU0AjxHL18.
