Game Three: Home Sweet Home!

Now THIS was an exciting basketball game! What can you say about D-Wade? 42 points, 13 rebounds, played with 5 personal fouls for most of the 4th quarter, and then made the big defensive play in (literally) the final second to ice the game. But what really warmed my heart was seeing Gary Payton step up and knock down a clutch jump shot with 9 seconds left -- his only points of the night -- to give the Heat the lead and the win. The Glove only played 19 minutes: 2 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 turnovers, a steal and a personal foul. But he was able to deliver when they needed him most.

What to do about Antoine Walker, on the other hand, continues to be an issue in my mind. Only 35 minutes tonight, and spent most of the 4th quarter (thankfully) on the bench while Miami made their comeback. 12 points on 17 (ouch!) shot attempts (including 0-5 from beyond the arc), 7 rebounds, an assist, 3 fouls and 2 turnovers...plus Josh Howard lit him up for 21 on the other end. Antoine is a strong one-on-one player, and when he attacks the basket good things often happen, but he just needs the ball too much in order to be effective, and is at best the third option on this team.

But who do you put on the floor in his place? A three-guard line-up of Williams, Payton and Wade at the 3? Or more of Haslem and Posey on the floor at the same time? What about a veteran off the bench, like Derek or Shandon Anderson? Or if you're Pat Riley, do you just hope that Walker gets more in synch with the rest of the team, or at least starts draining his threes? One of the big problems for the Heat during the Mav's third quarter blitz was that it seemed like his teammates just stopped shareing the ball with Antoine, because they knew that if they gave him the Rock they would never get it back. Meanwhile, Dallas found a rhythm and outscored the home team 34-16. It really was something amazing to watch.

Jerry Stackhouse had a tough night, scoring less in 31 minutes than he did in that amazing 97 second stretch in Game Two. Erick Dampier's 14 points and 5 offensive rebounds (out of 9 boards total) made him a real presence underneath. Nowitzki, Howard, and Terry all played well also, although the Jet looked a little lackluster compared to previous games. Just found out tonight that he has the Seattle skyline tattooed across his chest. Now THAT'S something even an old-school U-Dub Dawg like myself can get behind.

Seems to me that Dallas still has a big advantage in this series -- the little General has the Mavs playing in top form, and I'm not really sure the Heat have an answer. But tonight, at least, the Answer was Dwayne Wade. Call him the South Beach Diet -- just the thing his teammates needed to help them shed the excess weight of defeat, and look like real winners again.