The regular season is not a valid comparison to postseason NBA Basketball at all. We can all agree on this, we all know this, but yet everybody still tries to draw comparisons anyways.
I distinctly remember the 2007 Cleveland Cavaliers sweeping the regular season series with the San Antonio Spurs, only to then get swept in step-child like fashion by that same team in the NBA Finals. That is when I stopped trying to find playoff evidence in the regular season. A vast number of people, however, have not had that similar experience I guess.
Which is why a whole lot of people are talking about this last second shot thing from LeBron James and Dwyane Wade on Saturday. LeBron was maybe kinda clutch when he hit a big three with 10 seconds to go. Then he played kinda bad in overtime, and eventually deferred to Wade who was clutch-er in the extra session. All of which is supposed to indicate something about future playoff clutchness.
That I don’t quite understand, but we will reference it anyways.
This from Chris Tommason of Fox Sports Florida:
So what happened in the latest Heat close game? In a 93-91 overtime win Saturday night over Indiana at AmericanAirlines Arena, both James and Wade made last-second shots.
But in the LeBron-just-can’t-win category, it would figure James’ big shot came near the end of regulation while Wade’s was at the end of overtime. His 19-foot jumper over Paul George with 0.1 seconds remaining doomed the Pacers and touched off a celebration in which Wade and James both ran down the court and shared a chest bump before the wildly enthusiastic fans.
Wade, who had a game-high 28 points Saturday, and James, who added 27, claim not to care about all this debating that goes on about Heat last-second situations. But just about everybody else does.
“It is what it is, honestly,” LeBron said after the game about James supposedly deferring to Wade in the waning seconds and how it figures again to be a national talking point. “We understand what comes with it. I understand what comes with it. I’ve made game-winners, I’ve shot and missed game-winners, I’ve made passes for game-winners and I’ve made passes that didn’t go in. I’m not too concerned about what happens out there. I can only be concerned about what happens in our locker room and what happens out on the floor.”
Here’s the deal:
LeBron James shows up in the Finals, all that goofy stuff he did in years past is forgotten.
LeBron James hurts his elbow again, tanks again, or simply plays like he did last season, he may never overcome that from a legacy standpoint no matter what he does from there.
In the meantime, all this regular season running chest bump stuff is pointless and silly. LeBron hit a big shot in regulation, then Wade hit one in OT, that is kind of a normal thing that happens to teams with two good players. Let’s see how it goes in June.
