This is Miami’s first Game 7 in the LeBron James, Dwayne Wade, Chris Bosh era.
The Heat’s three stars addressed reporters for the final time on Saturday before Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals, with Chris Bosh saying he again expects to come off the bench, Dwyane Wade explaining the reason for his offensive struggles, and LeBron James asserting it’s absurd for anyone to suggest he could produce Thursday’s eye-popping numbers every game.
Through six games, Wade had just 35 first-half points in this series on 12 for 46 shooting (26 percent). But he has 92 points in the second half.
Wade said because he’s facing so many double teams, the Celtics are “taking me out of the game. So I’m trying to make as much of an impact as possible. I understand I have to affect the game other ways and wait for my opportunities to come.
“It’s not the easiest thing to do. A double team doesn’t let you get good looks, and when you get looks, it gets you out of your rhythm. But I’ve got to stick with it, and that’s what I’ve done.
“I’ve had better second halves than first halves, and if I can pick one, I’ll pick the second half, instead of playing great in the first half and not good in the second one. They put a game plan together, and there’s no question the game plan is to make sure I don’t see a lot of opportunities.”
James said Saturday that “I would love to have another game like” Thursday’s 45-point, 15-rebound epic, but “no one can do that every single game. People say, ‘Why can’t I do that every game?’ That’s the craziest thing.”
Mario Chalmers referred to James’ serious, piercing glare during Game 6 as “his ugly look.” James, informed of that, was amused. “I never had that look,” James said. “I never had that look in my life. It’s a focused look.”
As for Bosh, he said he has no issue with coming off the bench for the third consecutive game since returning from an abdominal strain. “It’s irrelevant,” he said. “It will be irrelevant as long as we’re playing. As long as I get to play, it doesn’t matter. We have a good thing going right now. I will continue to come off the bench as long as it’s good. I’m going to have my time with certain lineups.”
Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said he would not announce his starting lineup until just before tipoff.
