Before I unveil Game 3’s winners and losers, let’s get one thing straight: the Miami defense, and not Dwyane Wade, closed out that game. Sure, D-Wade knocked down some jump shots, but that’s exactly the point. He took jumpers. For those of you keeping score at home, LeBron went the same route in Game 2, except he missed. So Erik Spoelstra and Dwyane Wade, you are this week’s first official losers. You got lucky this time, but history has proven that end-of-the-shot-clock heaves are not the answer.
Winners
Dwyane Wade: Just in case everyone forgot that D-Wade’s got handles and ups, he reminded Dirk and Tyson Chandler at the same time.
Joel Anthony: For taking a shot at with 5:57 left in the first! And it was his second shot. Of the series. Alright so he missed, but give the guy a break. Baby steps.
Peja Stojakovic: For scoring his first points of the series at the 5:11 mark of the first quarter. Normally I’d be excited, but he took the worst shot in basketball – a three pointer with his foot on the line. I knew it had to be too good to be true.
Ian Mahinmi: For getting in the game. Although we knew this would happen due to the Brendan Haywood injury. And because LeBron is such a nice young fellow, he christened him with a ferocious posertization.
Brian Cardinal: Also for getting in the game. The fact that the Mavs are in the finals with Cardinal and Mahinmi getting minutes is some awkward combination of impressive and disturbing.
The Juwan Howard vs. Ian Mahinmi matchup: Clash of the titans.
Joel Anthony, again: Wait for it…HE SCORED! First points of the series on his third shot attempt. He ended up with four attempts and only two points, but it’s a win nonetheless.
Dwyane Wade’s Rebounding: He had 11. You’d think that his being 6-4 would make a difference, but no.
Mike Miller: For managing to make it to the third row on a “I’m going to dive for the ball out-of-bounds even though I have no chance of saving it.” I don’t think I’ve ever seen someone go that far into the stands. That’s cool, I think…
Miami Heat: Because ABC aired the story on Mike Miller’s daughter. Clearly it was a ploy to even out the rooting interest of the series. Thanks to the halftime piece, now it’s only 95/5 in favor of Dallas.
Jeff Van Gundy’s Drink Spill Analysis: For the record, I completely agree that fans in the front row shouldn’t have drinks. At the least, make them have bottled drinks. But it probably doesn’t help that arenas take the caps off of everything.
Scottie Pippen’s Hat: Alright, so this one might be a loser. But he gets the win for audacity. Although after wearing that hat, he officially lost any support he had for the comments he made about LeBron.
Losers
Chris Bosh: For writhing around in pain like he tore his ACL. If he ever wanted to seem tough, that did not help his case. Although word on the street is that he’s an awesome pillow fighter.
LeBron James: The media’s short memory is always remarkable. Before the game, LeBron claimed that he was going to go straight into attack mode from the opening tip. Well that attack mode unleashed a total of six shots in the first half and four total free throw attempts.
Peja Stojakovic: For giving up the and one to Bosh in the first quarter. Here’s the sequence of events as related by Mike Breen: “Stojakovic on Bosh. Goes right by him, and one.”
Later in the game, Peja got switched onto Wade. In unadulterated moment of absolute fear, Van Gundy could only muster an “oh my.”
Mike Bibby: Remember how he’s the starting point guard for the Miami Heat? Well, he initiated the offense a whopping three times in his first eight minutes of play.
LeBron James, again: Remember when we believed that LeBron could guard Dirk? Well they actually did go one-on-one for a few seconds, and Dirk slithered by him easily on a smooth up and under.
Ian Mahinmi: Not only for being christened by Father James, but for amassing five fouls in eight minutes. Some guys really are only worth their six fouls.
Jason Terry’s Left Hand: Rise and fire…and swat by Wade. Followed by a fastbreak dunk. And we all knew it was coming too. You know, since Jason Terry still has no left after years in the NBA.
Who do you think were the biggest winners and losers from Game 3?
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