A Final Performance?

Near the end of the 3rd quarter of today's NBA Playoff game between the Boston Celtics and the Miami Heat, I saw a Celtics team I haven't seen in far too long. Kevin Garnett was yelling at his troops, the defense was aggressive and persistent, and the offense was clicking on all cylinders and could not be contained. We surmounted an eighteen point deficit to take the lead in the 3rd quarter. Paul Pierce simply wasn't missing shots no matter where they came from. I know, it feels like 2008, right?
Up 3-0 in the series, the Celtics looked they were ready to put the Heat away and give the veterans a break before facing the winner of the Cavaliers/Bulls series. And then I witnessed something I haven't seen in much longer. Dwyane Wade single handedly took over the game - there was not a force on this Earth that could prevent Wade from scoring.

It began with a jumper in traffic that looked harmless and effortless, but there was something about the way ran back down the court after making it. Call it a look, an attitude, a certain "I don't care what it takes, there's no way I'm losing this game" mentality. And he did not disappoint.

Three point shots, drives, screens, cuts - there was nothing that Wade wasn't executing perfectly. Miami out-dueled Boston in a brutal five minute stretch that had Paul Pierce going for shot-for-shot with Dwyane until the older forward couldn't do it anymore. Dwyane was being double and triple teamed, Pierce and the Celtics could not stop anything. Advantage Wade.

The Celtics had given their fans so much hope after winning Games 1 and 2, the second with such conviction and without Garnett in the lineup; we held our breaths at the end of Game 3 as Paul Pierce drained a 22-foot jumper from the right side as time expired, and it felt like 2008 - if only for a moment.

And in Game 4, potentially the last time Dwyane Wade will ever play "at-home" in Miami, the performance was spectacular. He gave every single fan that attended American Airlines Arena what they paid for and more.

So what's going to happen this off season? Is Wade leaving? Is he going to get help? We'll see, but for now, let it suffice that for 48 minutes, Dwyane Wade picked his team up and carried them to victory. I have a friend of mine at work who once said something to the effect of, "Wade is overrated." I submit to you now that there is no such thing.

(4/25 BOS v. MIA: D. Wade: 46 pts, 5 reb, 5 ast, 2 stl - 43 minutes)