RedZone: Post Season Photos

Dancer Gallery Twenty-One

RedZone Diaries: Index

MIAMI, June 2 - It has come down to this.

For the Miami HEAT and the Detroit Pistons, even at two games apiece, in these Eastern Conference Finals, it is getting to be that time.

Which ever team wins two of the next three games advances to the NBA Finals, where the San Antonio Spurs await.

Game 5 is tonight at the American Airlines in Miami. The longer this series goes, the bigger each game gets. This one is the game of the year, for the moment, for the momentum, for a 3-2 series lead.

Through the first four games of this very even series, these two talented and prideful teams are separated by a mere four points and just one rebound. Each team has won once on the others home court. Each team believes they are the chosen ones. Soon, one of them will be playing the Spurs for the NBA Championship while the other goes home.

The two best players in this series so far have been Dwyane Wade and Richard Hamilton. Wade is averaging 30 points a game and scored 38 points a game on 55 percent shooting in Miami’s two wins. He’s been limited to 22 points a game on 36 percent in the two losses.

Hamilton, after starting the series slowly, has re-emerged. In the last two games, he’s averaging 30.5 points on 51 percent. In the first two he was limited to 18.5 points on 35 percent from the field.

And in Game 4 on Monday night Hamilton defended Wade for much of the evening and did that difficult job well. Hamilton regards himself as the best conditioned player in the NBA. He looked it at the Palace on Monday when he played a game high 45 minutes and matched Wade point for point. They both finished that game with 28 points and their battle is really just beginning.

The Pistons defensive strategy against Wade continues to evolve in this series. Tayshaun Prince was the first to guard him and helped hold Wade to 16 points in Game 1. After Wade put up 76 points in the next two games, Prince has since admitted that Wade is quicker than him and tougher to defend than Kobe Bryant was in last years NBA Finals.

It was Hamilton who asked Prince prior to Game 4, if he would mind switching defensive assignments, so he could defend Wade. Tonight expect the two lead guards to battle again.

In the Pistons two wins in this series the Wallace’s have figured prominently. Rasheed has scored 20 points in both Detroit victories and has made 16 of his 23 shots (70%) and gone five of six from downtown.

Big Ben had 13 points and 13 rebounds in the Game 1 win and pulled in 15 boards in their Game 4 triumph two nights ago.

One somewhat surprising element of this series to me has been the three-point shooting. The Pistons ranked 23rd in the NBA this season in three-point percentage, Miami ranked third. However, through four games, Detroit owns the advantage from downtown with 23 triples on 42 percent to Miami’s 17 treys on 34 percent. Damon Jones has been quiet with just six splash downs from three-point land in four games.

On the amazing side DJ has just one turnover in his 112 minutes played in this series.

Lindsey Hunter and Elden Campbell have emerged as important reserves off the Pistons bench, both contributing with their defense.

Tonight Miami must play with urgency, energy, passion, poise and Shaq. The Diesel’s foul-plagued, 25 minutes in Game 4 got him just 12 points and five rebounds. The Big Daddy needs to stay on the court and do what he does. His 24 points in 36 minutes in Game 3 was a blue print for what he hopes to do tonight and for the rest of this series.

Tonight on Sun Sports do not miss Nextel HEAT Tonight, the one hour pre-game show beginning at 7pm. On that program you will see part one of the exclusive interview we had the pleasure of doing with both Shaquille O’Neal and Alonzo Mourning. Part two will air in the Game 6 pre-game show on Saturday night. It is the first time these two tall, talented and driven men have ever been interviewed together and it is worth watching. We covered a lot of ground with the two best centers in HEAT history. Here is a small sample of what you will hear tonight on Sun Sports;

Alonzo Mourning on Shaq;

“I didn’t know he had the charisma that he has and I can appreciate that because that kind of balances me out. I still have an intense and serious approach to this game and I think that is what has gotten me to this point in my career but he has a way of lightening the mood a little bit which kind of relaxes me in some of the tense situations. But at the same time when he approaches the game he’s just as intense and competitive but he does have a more comedic side to him.”

Shaq’s response:

“We are definitely the ying and yang of big men. He’s more serious and everyone knows I’m a clown but when you put us two together, like in Game 2 the other night, there is not much anybody can do…..

“A lot of people don’t realize that too much ego will get you nowhere. We need each other, believe it or not. When you can get a guy like Alonzo Mourning on the market wanting to come play with you, you have to put your ego aside. We are much older now. I’m sure if we were 24 or 25 then it would have been a problem but now we are both 30-somenting and we need each other. I truly believe if he didn’t go out (kidney illness) he would have had one or two championships. Now it’s my time to help him get one and his chance to help me get four.”

For now I leave you with what Dwyane Wade said the other day in Detroit:

“We all believe in each other and as long as we keep doing that, this will be a special season.”