While “The Big 3″ of LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh scored every single one of the Miami Heat’s 28 points in the fourth quarter Saturday night to eliminate the formidable Boston Celtics in Game 7 of one hell of an Eastern Conference Finals, let’s not forget the crucial impact of “The Not As Big 3″: Mario Chalmers, Udonis Haslem, and Shane Battier, each of whom played 30+ minutes.
There are a lot of reasons the Miami Heat lost to the Boston Celtics Tuesday night in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Finals, putting the team down 3-2 heading back to Boston for a potential series clincher. Dwyane Wade got going too late, our role players can’t live up to their roles, Chris Bosh’s torn tummy, Paul Pierce’s unlikely tre in Lebron James’ face, Eric Spoelstra’s questionable coaching, the Heat weren’t getting back on defense late in the game (even after scoring!), and my leading candidate: the Heat’s lack of identity, a debilitating weakness when the going gets playoff tough and a problem that the Celtics clearly don’t have.
It’s painful to watch, but this is the play the Heat players need to watch — over and over — to get riled up for Game 4 following their loss in Boston Friday night to let the Celtics back into the Eastern Conference Finals.
