Even amid success, LeBron does not stand alone
By Ira Winderman, South Florida Sun Sentinel
3:49 pm, February 13, 2013
Even though it seems that way, it's not just LeBron James.
It's Dwyane Wade scoring 28 points in the fourth quarters of the past two games.
It's Chris Bosh recording a second consecutive double-double after missing the previous two games with the flu, making his final nine shots in the Tuesday victory over the Portland Trail Blazers that extended the Miami Heat's winning streak to six.
What it is is everything James, Wade and Bosh envisioned when they came together in July 2010.
"It's not pressure on none of us to really feel like we have to shoot the ball every time or score at a high clip," James said, as the Heat turned their attention to Thursday's NBA Finals rematch on the road against the Oklahoma City Thunder, the team's final game before the All-Star break. "Our offense is move the ball, find the guy that's open, and go from there.
"It's not like many isolations. I know I have a few. Chris doesn't have any isolation plays. D-Wade doesn't have many isolation plays."
It's among the reasons James and Bosh are on pace to become the first teammates to shoot better than 55 percent on a minimum of 12 shots per game since the Boston Celtics' duo of Kevin McHale and Robert Parish in 1986-87.
"We know where we're supposed to be," Bosh said of the chemistry reaching another level. "We're in each others' heads pretty well. Just the chemistry is flowing. When you know where you're going to get your shots, where they're going to come from, there's no confusion. You just step up with confidence and it helps you a few percentage points more."
Wade is not far behind at .507 from the field. It has added up to a .494 team shooting percentage, best in the NBA, more than 50 percentage points ahead of the opposition.
"We're kind of getting into the flow of offense," James said, "and that's allowing us to shoot at a high percentage, because we kind of know where we're getting our shots, we know where the plays are coming from and everyone trusts each other. It's just coming in the flow."
With Wade supporting James' 30 and* Bosh's 32 with 24 points of his own Tuesday, it improved the Heat to 16-2 this season when all three score at least 20 points.
It's almost as if Trail Blazers coach Terry Stotts knew what was coming.
"They really have gotten comfortable with each other," he said even before the teams took the court Tuesday. "They have found a style that works for them and they have familiarity with each other. The ball moves more, they know where people are going to be. There's less pressure on them, there's less scrutiny.
"Confidence on offense is paramount and they've gained confidence."
The big show
For James there are milestones, but, more importantly, there is the historical perspective behind them. That's what was most meaningful to him in breaking the tie with Adrian Dantley and* Moses Malone with Tuesday's sixth consecutive game of at least 30 points while shooting 60 percent or better from the floor.
"It kind of blew my mind, not the guys that were on, but some of the guys that weren't on it," James said of the two-man list he separated himself from. "You would think Wilt [Chamberlain] would have like a 40-70, 40 points a game, 70 percent from the field. You would think [Michael Jordan] would have one of those records where he shot unbelievable from the field and 30-point games. You would think so many guys, Shaq, you know.
"But to see how small the list was, and for me even to be a part of the list to start off was like, 'Wow.' "
Familiar look
The last time the Heat played* in Oklahoma City, Shane Battier replaced Udonis Haslem for the Heat's 100-96 Game 2 victory of the NBA Finals. Thursday, with Haslem forced out of Tuesday's victory with a bruised* lower right leg, the Heat could return with that same starting lineup, with Battier alongside James, Bosh, Wade and Mario Chalmers. X-rays on Haslem's leg came back negative, with treatments continuing Wednesday. Amid the uncertainty, center Dexter Pittman was recalled Wednesday from his third stint of the sesaon in the D-League.
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