Miami Heat: Will Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh Step Up in Game 7?
By Josh Hill
This is a scenario the Miami Heat never envisioned themselves being in against Eastern Conference Competition. Monday night can possibly be the final night of the Heat’s 2013 season and it would end before a trip to the NBA Finals. There is no questioning the talent on the Miami Heat roster, but the question that does is exist is whether or not certain talents will show up in South Beach for Game 7.
LeBron James knows how to ball but he also knows that situation. He’s the only member of the Big 3 playing at the level needed to be a championship team and that’s probably not going to cut it against an Indiana Pacers team itching to pull off the major upset on the road.
Both Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh have been ghosts for the Heat with some fans proclaiming that a seriously ill David West looked healthier and more alive than Wade did in Game 6 on Saturday night. The Heat scored a season-low 77 points in their Game 6 loss to the Pacers and while LeBron did all he could, both Wade and Bosh combined for 15 points.
If that happens again in Game 7, the Heat can kiss their season goodbye.
Bosh has had a particularly troubling series as he’s failed to factor into anything for the Heat. The only time his name was worth mentioning was in Game 1 when people were crying about Roy Hibbert not being on the court to cover him or when Bosh was being dunked on over the course of the series.
“There’s not much I can say,” Bosh said via USA Today about his performance against the Pacers. “Just really disappointed in myself. … It’s not really going my way in this series.”
Bosh hasn’t scored more than seven points in a game since the third game of this series and he’s in an ugly 5-for-21 slump over the Heat’s last three games. Wade hasn’t been much better and the Pacers Big 3 of Paul George, Roy Hibbert and David West have outplayed Miami from the start.
“We have to do a good job of making sure me and Chris have opportunities to succeed throughout the game,” Wade said of his Game 6 performance and what needs to happen in Game 7 Monday night.
While Bosh is struggling in the Heat’s last three games, Wade has been ice cold since Miami’s first-round series against the Milwaukee Bucks. Since that series, Wade hasn’t scored more than 20 points in a game and has shot just 44.2 percent from the field in this series against the Pacers.
LeBron tried to calm the masses by saying he believes in his teammates. While that’s an admirable thing to say, it will take a lot more than faith for the Heat to beat the Pacers in Game 7 and both Wade and Bosh need to step up in order for that to happen.
Monday’s game will no doubt have the potential to be an instant classic but the question is will it become such because Bosh and Wade gave it their all or because the Pacers overpowered the better team by proving that talent needs to click across the board in order for wins to happen in big spots in the postseason?