It’s official: LeBron James is totally looking past the Atlanta Hawks and eyeing a showdown with Dwyane Wade and the Miami Heat. Sure, the series between the Cavs and Hawks is only 1-0 in favor of Cleveland, but that does not matter. In the eyes of LeBron James, all that matters is beating his old team.
Okay, so that’s not true. There isn’t another athlete in the NBA who subscribes to the “one day at a time” thing more than King James. But any time LeBron looks past today it’s a bit of a surprise, and during a media session on Wednesday, the former MVP told reporters the thought of going up against Wade and the Heat has crossed his mind a few times. That’s not because he can’t wait to take on his old squad, either. James has simply longed to play against one of his best friends on the postseason stage for years.
“Throughout my whole career, I’ve always wanted to go against Wade in a playoff series” LeBron responded when asked about the prospect of facing the Heat, according to ESPN. “We’ve always talked about it even before we became teammates in ’10. It’s not been heavy on my mind, but it’s crossed my mind throughout my whole career.”
From a basketball perspective, Heat-Cavaliers would be an awesome series, regardless of the “LeBron James used to play in South Beach” subplot. Plus, there would be something poetic about either side – LeBron or the Heat – making it to the Finals by getting past the other. Add in the whole “LeBron and Wade were taken in the same draft” thing and there are so many reasons to long for a series between these two teams.
For now, it’s obviously “we’ll cross that bridge when we get to it” mode with regard to a Heat-Cavs series. Then again, that’s assuming the Hawks and Raptors even let us get to it in the first place.
