by Marcel Mutoni / @marcel_mutoni
Though LeBron James tried to play it off, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh were more forthcoming: this third consecutive loss by the Miami Heat to the Boston Celtics (who were severely shorthanded) truly hurt.
According to James, these losses will mean very little once the postseason rolls around — LeBron told the story of how in 2007, Cleveland swept San Antonio during the regular season, only to have the exact opposite happen in the NBA Finals.
There’s plenty of truth in that, but preferably sooner than later, the Miami Heat need to get over the mental hump and beat these Celtics.
Dwyane Wade thinks it’s something all teams go through before they can become champions. He likened it to Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls’ early struggles against the Bad Boys-era Detroit Pistons.
From the Boston Globe:
“You’ve got to get over it,’’ said Wade. “I’ve been through this before. You look down the line, everyone has been through it, MJ [Michael Jordan] went through it with the Pistons back in the day. [Getting over the hump] can happen any time. We got plenty of time, it can happen in the playoffs. That’s when we would like it to happen, anyways.”
There’s one final regular season showdown on the schedule between these two foes, before what seems like a pre-destined Playoff war in the Spring.
It’s a mental block Miami has to conquer. The postseason can’t get here soon enough for us and them to find out if they can.
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