NBA Playoffs 2011: There Was No Wrong with LeBron and Miami Heat's Celebration
The monster has been slayed.
Year after year, the NBA's greatest warriors individually attempted to slay the monster that had tormented them only to fail.
Individually.
The Miami Heat's superstar Dwyane Wade had one postseason meeting with the Boston Celtics, and he fell in five games despite averaging 33 points per game and scoring 46 points in a Game 4 effort that got his team their only win of the series. Toronto Raptors All-Star Chris Bosh had never met the Celtics in the playoffs, but being in the same division on a far less superior team certainly caused the torment and hatred to grow.
However, none got a worse treatment than the Cleveland Cavaliers and their MVP LeBron James. In 2007-'08, his 45 win squad was ousted in seven games at the hands of the Celtics in the Conference Semifinals a year after the Cavs had made it to their NBA Finals in franchise history. Possibly the most enduring blow to James and his pride came in 2009-'10 when he faced Boston in the semis yet again.
In a year where James had won his second consecutive MVP, made it to the All-NBA First Team, the All-NBA Defensive First Team and led his team to their second consecutive 60 win season, it all came to a seemingly suspecting end. He knew what Boston had done to him before and he knew had the chance to gain revenge.
So how did the reigning MVP lose in six games to a team that they were built to beat? How is it possible that he would suffer his worst home loss in his NBA career in the most decisive game of the series?
Because he knew that he couldn't do it by himself.
Sure, James had one of the worst individual games of his career, but his teammates were doing no better. All those shots that Mo Williams was hitting in the regular season because James was getting him open? They weren't falling. The youthful Antawn Jamison and Shaquille O'Neal? Suddenly beginning to look and play their age.
That just wasn't going to cut it. Criticize James all you want for the dismal Game 5, but that team was not built to win a championship. A core of LeBron James, Mo Williams and Antawn Jamison wasn't going to win a title. They weren't Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili and they certainly weren't Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen.
Come the summer of 2010, could you honestly blame LeBron for what he did? The Decision was an absolute travesty yes, but it was the right decision. All the money in the world wasn't a concern; this was about winning and James knew that his best chance to win would be in Miami with two other players that had no luck against Boston in the past.
So we hated. We hated James for what he did. The only city that had a right to hate was Cleveland, but the jeering from cities like Washington and Memphis? That was a bit much. NBA fans were hating for all the wrong reasons. The criticisms ranged from saying that he couldn't do it on his own and that he should have remained in Cleveland.
The honest reason though was because he wasn't on their team. Teams like New York had sacrificed money and cut their roster into pieces just to have a chance to obtain James in 2010. They weren't mad at James for how he left and what he did, they were mad because he wasn't on their team. Anyone who tells you otherwise about how they wouldn't want James on their team is a filthy liar.
When James, Wade and Bosh joined forces, we immediately believed that this team would be one of the most unstoppable squads to ever be formed in sports history. That regular season opener in Boston on October 26th was their chance to prove that they were now the bully and the team to beat in the Eastern Conference. This was what they came together for.
Then October 26th came and went and the Heat bandwagon suddenly became empty. They had lost 88-80 with James seemingly the only Heat player to show up. It wasn't that LeBron was the only player to try, it was because they weren't a team. As three individuals, they believed that they had enough talent to topple one of the most cohesive and powerful teams in the NBA's history.
The game was over from the start and the Heat were embarrassed. Luckily, they had a chance to redeem themselves back in the friendly confines of the American Airlines Arena on November 11th. Surely then with the crowd behind them, they would beat the green monster, the ogre, that had beat them before and already beat them once as a team.
Different day, same story. The Celtics only won by five, but it was over from the start. Boston pulled out to a big lead early in the game and only relinquished it once they took their foot off the gas pedal. It was the veteran leadership in the end that helped the Celtics pull away and eek out the win in the end. The big three of Miami had far more talent than the big of Boston, but the chemistry between the Celtics far exceeded that of the Heat's.
Months passed before they would meet up again and it seemed on February 13th that they might have reached a break through. The Heat were up going into the half, but then saw it slip away as they let their emotions get the best of them. Boston used a huge third quarter run to pull away and take the third consecutive game in the series.
Nothing had changed. They couldn't beat them as individuals and now they couldn't beat them as a team. Was this some sort of curse? Was it impossible for these three to triumph the team that had beaten up on them for seasons? It certainly seemed that way after the third game when Boston used their age and experience to beat the young guns of Miami.
The fourth game in the series was the most pivotal as it nearly guaranteed a second seed and home court advantage against all but the number one seed in each conference. Miami came out swinging, kept swinging, and delivered the knock out punch early in the fourth quarter en route to a decisive 100-77 win in Miami. They had gotten the second seed, but they were still 1-3 against the Celtics.
A postseason date was going to happen. The Philadelphia 76ers weren't going to beat the Heat and the New York Knicks weren't going to beat the Celtics, this was a series that was going to happen. It was destiny.
Once LeBron James signed a contract with the Heat, this postseason series was a necessity.
Because they won that final game, home court advantage went to Miami. Even then, there were still doubters of the Heat playing against the Celtics. Predictions went both ways with the majority believing that the Celtics and their experience would pull out a win in seven games I say seven games because it was the majorities belief that this series was destined to go that far. How could it not? Both teams were too good.
Bam. Bam.
Miami delivered two huge blows to the Celtics in the first two games with two wins at the American Airlines Arena. The first win, a 99-90 victory, and the second coming a little easier with the Heat winning 102-91. Suddenly, everyone was back on board the Heat bandwagon convinced that this series was already over. However, if you knew anything about the Celtics and their style of play, no series would ever be over in two games.
Sure enough, the Celtics sent the Heat an uppercut that brought them right back down to earth with a crushing 97-81 victory back at the TD Garden. Game 4 was going to be the game to decide whether the Heat truly were the team to beat or if this series really was destined to go seven games with Boston somehow pulling out a victory.
Chris Bosh wouldn't allow it. Dwyane Wade wouldn't either. LeBron James made perfect sure that they wanted this series to end in Miami a few nights from then. With a 98-90 overtime victory that featured all three players hitting huge buckets in the clutch, Miami had taken control with a 3-1 series lead that was heading back to Miami.
The destiny of a seventh game turned sour. It wasn't meant to be. This was the Heat's year to take the reigns from Boston.
Boston held a lead for 45 minutes of Game 5. The only problem was that they didn't hold it for the most important three minutes. LeBron James and his 10 points in the final two minutes and 11 seconds made sure that the Celtics weren't going to make any sort of come back. Miami took the game 97-87 behind the late game theatrics of James of all people.
And now the criticism turns to their "excessive" celebration?
This wasn't the Heat simply advancing to the Conference Finals. LeBron James and Dwyane Wade have been here before plenty of times. No, this was about triumphing over past demons. For years, they held the belief that this Boston Celtic team would forever own them and their mentalities. All of those post season and regular season defeats added up into an emotional roller coaster of a Semi-finals series.
LeBron James kneeling down and seemingly praying and thanking the basketball gods for this victory? Let him have his moment.
LeBron James and Dwyane Wade embracing as if they won the championship? Let them have their moment.
Excessive celebration? That wasn't a celebration, this was a relief.
LeBron and Dwyane had beaten the monster and now they can actually look towards greener pastures in the Conference Finals and hopefully the NBA Finals in their case. They knew that they had to beat the Celtics to reach their destination and they did. After months of dealing with the criticism that they just weren't good enough to beat the best, they had finally bested the best.
The monster is dead. The Heat are winning and the world still isn't happy about it.
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