2012 Game Thread: Knicks vs. Heat
April 15th, 2012 by Owen | Comments | Permalink |
Have at it….
- 9:56 pm - The Honorable Cock Jowles on Knicks Morning News (Saturday, May 25 2013)
- 8:57 pm - ruruland on Knicks Morning News (Saturday, May 25 2013)
- 8:44 pm - The Honorable Cock Jowles on Knicks Morning News (Saturday, May 25 2013)
- 8:41 pm - yellowboy90 on Knicks Morning News (Saturday, May 25 2013)
- 8:36 pm - ruruland on Knicks Morning News (Saturday, May 25 2013)
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Fire Dolan!
SHUMP SHUMP
nicely done! now we’re in good shape.
Interesting opener. Nicole Scherzinger singing “Black Dog.”
I know I’m a week late with this, but I visited Chicago last weekend for the first time and I had to stop by the United Center to pay ol’ MJ my “respects” (the first two pics posted)…
http://stoptryingtoplayme.wordpress.com/2012/04/15/ny-chi-day-two/
Wanted to share it with yall fellow KB’ers… GO KNICKS!
ughh… 0-3 from the line to start.
wtf Baron?
They look tentative/nervous
We need a smart floor game from B Diddy today. Keep the TOs down.
2 turnovers from Landry…. JR time, most likely.
the D is spry right now, save for a couple missed interior plays on D and a misfortunate on a scramble/fumbled steal attempt.
Wade with two fallaway bankers… tough that guy is.
offense is rugged right now.
They HAVE to rebound today.
Heat are in their, “Oh, so we’re dysfunctional. I’ll show you dysfunctional,” mode
And hit FTs
maybe shumpert shouldn’t go for the steal everytime…
Everyone who would rather play the heat over the bulls please take note.
Sign me up for neither of those two teams….
B Davis is just awful right now.
Cryp keeper in. No way the Knicks could beat the heat in a series without Lin. They would get swept.
Every time I feel like the Knicks would just KILL the Bulls if they rebounded better, even though it’s easier said than done against the Bulls.
Well, that could’ve gone a lot worse. Wade and LeBum hit some tough shots that opening quarter. Good to see Melo taking it to the hole and drawing fouls.
I think we’ve all seen enough NBA games to know that 1st quarters usually mean nothing, unless you get yourself in 20 point hole. Just want it to be close at halftime.
I think a number of teams think that. But like you said, easier to say than do!
I like the JVG commentary.
Bricking open 3s… darnit.
I thought there was way too much soft double-teaming and switching on defense in the 1st quarter.
Jeffries DUNK!
Melo and Novak now at the 4/5. Get well soon Amar’e lol
but they’ve clamped on D. I’m starting to kinda see what people are saying about the Heat’s halfcourt offense being somewhat ordinary…
Smith should’ve called timeout when he hit the floor with the ball there.
Just thinking the same thing. The key to beating them is not turning the ball over (hear that Landry?)
JVG always gets excited to call his old team. It’s nice.
Novak has to release just a little quicker then usual do to the quick closeouts by the heat. That’s the difference. That’s why they are such a great defensive team. You reallly need shot makers like jr and melo against a team like this when you dont have a point guard.
Miami’s collecting fouls on the offensive end. Knicks need to knock down some shots to make them pay… like that Novakaine 3
Hell. Yes. Slow start, but here we go.
Wade was Anthony’s bitch there.
Wow. Melo just smoked Wade out of his shoes on that drive.
So Wade can’t D Melo… fairly logical, but still why do I take some comfort in that?
Who set the screen for Novak on that last 3? Was it Chandler? Novak needs some hella hard screens now that people are covering him so close.
Melo is blowing by Lebron and now Wade like nothing.
Wade also has 2 fouls and no one covered behind him (like Chandler does for Melo), so…yeah.
Don’t understand why they don’t set more screens for Novak.
Sorry, meant Shump, not Melo.
Wow again Melo blows right by LeBron to setup Shump for the open 3pter.
Fuck! I hate Davis
Nice behind the back from Wade there…
wtf was that shot Baron??
Pretty obvious Melo isn’t an elite player, huh?
No t on wade slamming the ball in frustration. What a surprise. F these refs
He and LeBum are good interior passers.
But our boys are sticking with ‘em. Good to see Shump-Shump stick that open 3.
To borrow from David Thorpe, looks like Smith’s really been benefiting from all the confidence Woodson’s been giving him. Much better decision making and focus (for the most part) this game.
Off-topic but I just found out Eli Manning is hosting SNL on May 5. WTF?? lol
Pretty obvious that people can choose the data they think best suits their thesis.
Same goes for Baron Davis, who will chuck up balls like he’s paid by volume, sink his team in the process, and then pull out a “gutsy” performance every so often to instill the idea that he can still play.
His TS% is still .515.
BALL MOVEMENT
This knick team continues to surprise me with their resilience.
Love the replay showing Melo smiling his ass off when he was posting up Wade before passing to Chandler for the dunk.
Agree with B.Diddy, but they’re running the majority of the offense thru Melo today and it’s working.
If “every so often” means the last 10-12 games, then yeah, I guess you’re right. I give up.
I just wish the team had a decent PG. Nash with the MLE?
crazy fadeaway from LeBum…
It’s weird how Lebron is so in love with difficult shots.
Its a trait he shares with Kobe lol
Yeah so um Melo is having fun out there.
Fields is the official momentum killer on offense.
Landry “Buzzkill” Fields
Landry’s a bit outmatched out there…
Baron Davis and Landry fields should not be on the court to end quarters.
Landry is so overmatched against the heat, bulls and celtics. Like a deer in the headlights.
is melo high or why is he laughing all the time ?
Melo’s beastin… gotta give him props.
no excuse to not collect that FT rebound though
Landry fields sucks. And he’s not going to get less than a C in the recap later either.
If you believe ruruland, the smiles and laughter are his way of releasing his emotions and frustration. But I think he’s relishing a game like this.
They should have left Novak out there longer. Even when he misses the defense is so keyed up on him it opens things up. Baron Davis is turrible. Melo brings the ball up so much. Davis should just be part of the second unit when stat comes back.
What happens when Stats come back? Take Melo out of the 4 position?
he should be laughing when they manage to win… i guess he’s just enjoying his numbers…
Why even post today if that’s your angle? Obviously the only chance of you changing your mind is if something dramatic happens statistically the next 100 games or so. What’s the point of you being here?
Yeah. Numbers, it’s all about the numbers for Melo. You want Melo to be in this state of mind. I don’t understand why people even talk about it.
Magic Johnson: The Heat are too close as friends and won’t call each other out.
I was responding to “Is Melo an elite player?” not “Is Melo playing amazingly today?”
Melo smiles. People need to get over it. If he’s on, why shouldn’t he smile? We all like the guys that scowl like shump, but everybody can’t be the same. Melo seems like he wants to win, in my book that’s all that matters. His effort is definitely there. He can smile all he wants. Maybe he’s a smile in your face, stab you in the back kind of guy. If it gets us wins, I’m fine with it.
The “royal jelly” as it were.
lol WHO CARES. Welcome to KB, by the way, stick around.
yep, the bigger the game, the more invisible he is. 8th best player in the league, though.
Dude, I understand what you were responding to.
Like that’s a productive discussion to have in a game thread.
To be honest he’s got this team on his back right now and is singlehandedly keeping them in the game against the heatles. Big time performance so far.
Fields hurts the Knicks offensively and defensively….he is the main reason the Heat are a bad matchup for us…he ends up guarding either Lebron or Wade, gets killed…and on top of that, can’t close out properly on shooters.
+1
Shump, Novak and JR all need to get some hoops in the second half. The heat will double team hard on melo in the second half.
The Heat haven’t double-teamed anyone this year (for those who’ve watched them religiously).
Pretty amazing to think that some slightly above average offensive player could garner such defensive attention from the league’s best wing defenders, allowing great offensive players like Chandler easy opportunities.
Something wrong with that strategy.
They will. Both Novak and Smith missed make-able shots, so hopefully they shoot it better. If I see Fields shoot another pull up jumper I’m going to jump out the window of my 20th floor apt. Ankle doesn’t seem to be bothering Shump too much, but he doesn’t seem to have his same aggressiveness out there. Baron needs to take it to the whole more, and look for his shot…and by shot I mean drive in the lane and not contested pull up or long 3.
Pat Riley hardley ever double-teamed when he was coach and Spo obviously learned from him. Its true you hardly ever see the Heat double team.
Thats one thing JVG did differently from Riley with the Knicks, he would double team alot.
I hear what JVG is saying about flopping, but LeBum bowled Davis over just there.
Lebron is the Baron Davis of jump shots, except today he’s making them.
No reason to chance it Lebron. See you in two weeks.
I love the fact that Melo smiles. It shows me that he’s naturally gifted and comfortable in what he does, a true sign of “flow.”
I also really do think that LeBron’s nail biting is an indication that he’s far too aware of LEBRON JAMES the celebrity instead of LeBron James the basketball player. I think David Foster Wallace’s “How Tracy Austin Broke My Heart,” which I reread yesterday, suggests that the best athletes may be, in those moments of genius and power, completely blank in the mind. I’m guessing, from my limited perspective, that Melo is so ridiculously comfortable at the game of basketball that he is able to simply “be.” That’s pretty awesome.
Still, he’s not as efficient as y’all might make him out to be. As a person, I’d much rather have him than LeBron. He’s a wholly unlikeable person — at least the image of the person that we’ve received from media.
damn.
I’ll take the blame for bringing the term “elite” into the thread. I guess most players are capable of carrying a team on their back for 2 weeks with 2 starters out in the most critical time of the season.
I really don’t know what to make of the Baron-on-Lebron move. What does everyone else think?
For the love of God get Fields out of there.
For the love of God get BD out of there.
BENCH DAVIS, MY GOD
I’ll +1 this
I know Lin played horrible against the Heat earlier this season but man do the Knicks need him right now.
we need a timeout… team is too helter-skelter right now.
Fields is just bad. He’s not adequate, he’s not so-so, he’s not passable. He’s BAD. I hope he’s not on the team next year.
Knicks better be careful before this game gets away from them.
On that 3rd replay of Shump’s offensive foul, I can see JVG’s point. that “shove” was rather slight.
Melo hasnt taken a shot in awhile. Not a coincidence Knicks havent scored in like an hour.
JVG going off on Breen lol
Why are NBA R
Exactly. Woodson needs to call a TO and calm guys (Shump, JR) down.
that call was just brutal when Novak hit the 3
Nobody’s rebounding.
Question: name one positive thing Landry Fields has done in this game?
Sad vs this team. Its one thing vs the Bulls but not against the Heat.
Why are NBA Refs so bad
rebounding is atrocious… it’s like LeBum/Wade are outjumping our wings and they aren’t being boxed out properly
momentum plays Shumpert
Chandler has 4 rebounds. That’s not going to work.
I’m the worst basketball player ever, and when I’m in a game I play just like Landry– I stand around the perimeter and nobody guards me, and when I get the ball I either put up a brick or pass the thing to the first guy I see.
Knicks getting outrebounded by 11 right now despite the Heat shooting a lower percentage.
Rebounds win Championships, if only we can rebound we can beat both the heat/bulls man
Oakley is turning in his grave seeing that flagrant foul call.
Knicks are out of sorts but only down 9…
JVG knows the game, we should keep going through Melo draw the double, get the rotation off and get open shots for Novak and open lanes for Fields
I was just thinking that was a ’93 Oakley “NO LAYUP FOR YOU” hard foul
Yeah no open lanes for Fields cause I doubt he sees the court again today and rightfully so.
we needed that @ JR trey
LOL about the flopping rant by JVG
Yeah he did go HAM on that rant…
Great finish.
JR coming up huge. Knicks might have to win this w/o Chandler rest of this game.
Nice finish to get the game within one-possession to end the Q
Right back in it. Good game so far. Looking forward to the finish.
If that foul on Tyson was a flagrant in the 90s the Knicks would’ve averaged 7.5 possessions per game
great end to the third, Melo is going to need to get 45+ to win this one, maybe 50.
the entire Knicks team besides Melo and Smith has 19 points.
Knicks have missed 8 ft’s so far.
Shump with the D!!!
SHUMP SHUMP!
bad sequence by JR there… good D by the Heat (ugh)
No defender stands within 10 feet of Landry Fields when he’s out on the perimeter. It’s 4-on-5 on offense when he’s in the game.
JR playing PG right now.
Looks like Chandler is coming back into the game.
i kinda do but yeah…i guess it shouldn’t matter as long as he does his thing.
thx – i’ve actually enjoyed kb for quite some time
Wow Shump, Melo and JR and some doses of Chandler and Novak taking on this great Heat team. Pretty amazing to think we’re even competing right now.
Melo can smile all game long if he is going to play like he is playing today lol
Great D and dunk… Good response by Wade…
Why does Melo even bother passing to Fields.
Landry it’s called a head fake, give it a try some time
sheesh… Bosh is showing up today.
Wade and his paint fader/floaters…
Bosh is dominating today, the same Bosh that even the Heat media have been mocking recently for his poor play and for averaging less than 8 rebs per game for the season.
Re: flops
JVG is absolutely right and it it’s frustrating that Breen lets the NBA off the hook (reffing flops is hard, let’s go shopping!). The NBA has been edging toward the disgrace that is soccer for years. Anyone who watched the international refs rob team USA of it’s victory over Italy during the World Cup before last knows what I’m talking about.
It’s true flops are hard to evaluate in real time. But there’s zero reason why teams couldn’t submit a handful of potential flop plays to be reviewed after each game and players be penalized for it later. This is not some intractable problem.
I know right? smh
Little easier to dominate when you don’t have a PF to play against on the other end
You know what I see?
This Heat team are great athletes and Wade is a lethal shotmaker.
But with really sound offensive execution and rebounding, they can be had, as the Mavs showed us.
Can we ever get to that level?
we’ve gone cold… but we got time.
Knicks have to be the worst 4th quarter defensive rebounding team in the league. Horrible.
Game over.
Dumb shots by Melo and Smith at the end there. Gotta be more patient.
they (esp Melo) gotta keep getting into the paint and quit chucking from the outside.
yikes…
Bringing in BD is really not the answer.
That was a horrendous call, Davis got shoved into Jones. Awful.
Anthony didn’t need to hoist that up.
Melo has had a great game but he’s taking stupid, ill-advised shots every possession here at the end of this. Lame.
Not going to happen today. Melo too tired to get to the basket. Bad shots
Come on Melo its crunch time, got to do it now or all you’ve done already won’t matter
Davis was a bit out of control on that drive… but he did get hit from behind.
Dude is tired, Woody should know this and get him into the post
Shumpert’s D was dominating, and then they take him out? Anthony is scoring at will and they stop feeding him for most of the quarter?
Melo is exhausted.
if they lose, this loss is largely on Chandler IMO, only 5 boards is absolutely unacceptable.
Yeah… Wade is more important to the Heat’s title hopes than LeBum. This game proves it.
If only we had more than 1.5 reliable scorers on the floor.
Only FIVE???? I thought he was out of position on some of those Heat offensive boards.
I really can’t explain why Baron is out there. First time I think Woodson cost is a game.
Oh well, it was a fun game for awhile. Unfortunately the reality is the Knicks would be lucky to avoid a sweep vs the Heat in the playoffs unless Amar’e comes back healthy and somehow makes a positive impact for the Knicks.
indeed… Stoudamire would’ve helped immensely.
not sure how, they had almost identical statistical games.
Not a loss to get too crazy about, we didn’t play that badly, and Melo just ran out of gas. Heat brought it today.
Wade is a winner. Wade doesn’t choke at the end of games. No way Lebron closes out championship games.
who should be out there instead? I guess you could make an argument for Novak, but it’s not like anyone is doing anything positive except Melo/Chandler/Smith/Shumpie.
Lin is the player the Knicks are really missing, not Amar’e.
True, except after watching this game, I really feel that the Heat can be had, man. I don’t think we’re that far off from them. Then again, will we have a shot at them at full strength should we meet them in the playoffs? Unlikely.
the very rare game this year that we lost because Chandler didn’t do his job well enough. he needs 15 boards if we’re going to compete against a team that good, not 5.
Big 3 beats big 1. Not a terrible game-the heat are better than us and we just don’t have enough healthy bodies.
LeBron is not known to be clutch. Wade is .
You can def make that argument… I was just thinking that a 16 and 8 game from Amare today could’ve gone a long way. But yes, Lin’s ballhandling and driving were missed too.
Yeah the Heat are definitely vulnerable but not against this current Knicks team unfortunately. Sucks not being able to play against them at full strength.
Dude he basically played the whole game I’m sure he’s exhausted…let it go
Indeed. Hate to go all Brooklyn Dodgers, but wait til next year??
Oh of course the Knicks could use Amar’e too. A healthy Amar’e playing well could mean the Knicks win a couple of games vs the Heat if they play in the 1st round but for them to really compete and have a legitimate shot they need Lin.
Heat doesnt seem to be playing as well last time the Knicks played them prior to All-Star break. I’m encouraged that we will have a competitive series if we meet them in gthe playoffs.
I agree he had numerous put backs by his man
there is some truth here, but also a good chunk of media bullshit. I love that no one remembers the Eastern Conference Finals, where he shut down Rose and won the series. he has led the league in WS in the postseason 3 of the past 5 years, we’re not talking about Charles Smith herte.
(here)
Just read this tweet:
Starters Davis, Shumpert & Fields were a combined 4-for-18 for the Knicks.
Reasons we lost:
1) We can’t defend Bosh – he has killed us in all three games if memory serves me right
2) We didn’t hit free throws…we missed 10? Not a good trend…and that will bite us in the ass in close playoff games
3) No reliable 2nd scorer
4) Fields was ATROCIOUS…just the worst plays at the worst run-killing times. Completely undependable.
Oh…and I’m done starting game threads. Jon, I’ll return the honors back to you
Honestly, Fields or Jeffries takes less off the table than Baron. Either wouldve been ok by me.
1. People trashing LeBron should check themselves a bit…Not his best game, but he was 29/10 and +18. He’s really good and a mess of a matchup for us.
2. The Heat are just an awful match up for us. The best way to beat them is with a good pg (or even a decent one, like JJ Barea) who can take people off the dribble and a good pick and pop game (see Sebastian Pruti’s column on Grantland.) Neither of those are our strengths — our bigs are much more comfortable “rolling” than popping and without Lin, our pgs, well, let’s not talk about it. I would much, much rather see the Bulls — who I think we match up with pretty well, enough to give us a puncher’s chance (10-15%) to beat — or the Pacers, who I think we are better than.
3. THat said, I liked the way we played. Melo was great until he went a little shot crazy in the end, Shump was great, and we got the outside shooting we need. The next game is a huge one — if we can beat Boston, I think we have a pretty good chance of catching the cratering Magic and moving into the 6, which would be fantastic.
You can’t beat that team without much better balance. This was the game I figured we’d lose. Boston will be tough, but much more do-able.
you have to be able to match shots with Miami at the end of games. And you can expect Melo to match Wade and Lebron by himself. He’s beaten both of those guys pretty consistently when they weren’t paired up.
Also…we made 2…that’s right TWO free throws outside of Carmelo Anthony the ENTIRE game. Baron Davis 1-4 and Tyson Chandler 1-4
I agree a lot of it is narrative. I remember how everyone was anointing him after the Detroit three-pointer.
Fields? You can’t be serious
neither of those guys gives you anything offensively, Baron can at times.
Baron is also solid defensively when he wants to be. He did a nice job on Lebron at times. Jeffries is not a great individual defender, and Bosh hurt him.
he definitely has some issues in tight, big games in the last minute or two, but he also plays a ridiculous amount of minutes at maximum effort, which I don’t think is entirely unrelated.
Got burned a few times guarding Bosh chest to chest out at the three point line– a boneheaded “aggressive defense” move I’m used to seeing Amare make — but not one I expect from Jeffries
Jeffries, like Baron, is also playing hurt, he hasn’t been the same since he’s been back.
Awesome game. Sucks how it ended, but an awesome game. The Heats hit a couple of redonkulous shots and got a couple of friendly whistles (and non-whistles). The Knicks missed too many free throws. Melo looked like a monster out there for most of the game. Shumpert looked like he’s a J short of an all-star.
Five parts of me want the Knicks to get to the 6th seed so they can get Lin back, but one part of me wants to watch this team go to absolute war against this Heat team in the first round. Blood, bruises, etc.
Also, god bless JVG for calling bullshit on flopping. Basketball ? soccer.
Don’t think we want any part of the Heat. Right now we’re in 8th behind Philly. The Philly versus Orlando outcome on Monday, will help in deciding whether we should be gunning for 6th. Division is out of the question, don’t know why Woody keeps saying that. Only complication is Bucks right behind us, so we can’t ‘tank’ to get 8th.
But non-equals signs = question marks, apparently.
I think he’s listening to Mike K. :)
but yeah, the division went out the window with the OT loss to the Celtics a while back.
also Shumpert needs to be more aggressive on offense, Melo and Smith can’t do it all themselves.
(Exits home, kicks rock down the street).
We need Lin and STAT clearly. I hope both are back for round one (please). The player who should lose most of his minutes is Fields. This talk of Melo rolling as a 4 is nonsense, against a real 4 today we got hammered on the boards. Our starting 5 today, I think, would have won this game. Even fully healthy (if that does happen again this season) we will have real trouble in Miami, as does everybody.
Well, I wouldn’t bet that they’d win, but I think the Knicks would give the Heats as tough a fight in the first round as any team. And maybe I’m drunk on a Sunday afternoon (I am), but after how this season started, I’ll take a brutal, hard-fought first round exit if every game is as entertaining as this one.
That said, I’d bet this team goes 5-1 down the stretch. So wherever that lands them.
Uh huh. Maybe we can stop this now?
bitter much? =)
Anyway…off to do taxes. until next time
how exactly?
Baron has a .455 TS% so far, he’s murdering the Knicks offense.
he can’t infiltrate, can’t finish at the rim, can’t draw fouls and shoot free throws… he does have some nice assist numbers, but that is skewed by some high numbers agaisnt terrible opponents… he’s had about 4 good games in 25 he played (that blowout against Portland, the first win against Orlando, the loss against Milwaukee and the Wizards game)
he’s been well under average on all the other games, including pretty much all the important games.
infiltrate… hmmm.
The Knicks don’t have any options. Baron can at least initiate the offense at times. It’s really amazing the Knicks are doing what they’re doing
Yep.
If the Magic beat the Cavs tonight, you can forget any notion of moving up to the 6th seed.
I’d still rather give the reins of the offense to J.R, Shumpert and Melo, have them initiate the offense and play Walker and Fields as the backup wings, as terrible as it might seem.
Walker has, in his career, shown that he can be an at least adequate 3 pt shooter.
another option would be, when Amare comes back, to play Novak more at the SF spot… giving us a rotation with Shump + Smith + Baron (very limited minutes) at the PG, Fields + Smith + Walker occasionally, Melo + Novak, Amare + Jeffries + Novak, and Chandler + Amare + Jeffries.
Novak can’t guard small forwards, but he can’t guard good power forwards either, so that’s kind of a moot point.
Just listened to Wilbon and Jon Barry talk about the Knicks-Heat game and immediately regretted it. Talk about the Bulls in anyway and Mike gets very defensive.
No Big 3 tonight for the Celtics at Charlotte. They will probably still win by 20 lol
What???
6-1 should do it. meaning we’d have to go undefeated here on out –Boston, @ Atlanta, and CLippers are the tough games — all winnable.
IF Orlando loses tonight, there’s a good chance they lose 30 games, which means the Knicks can afford to lose another game.
Shoot, the Magic can win tonight and still lose 30 games with their schedule.
Is there not some way for Chandler to establish a low post offensive presence? Look what his 18 pts did for us against Milwaukee.
Sessions has learned how to shoot 3pters.
do what you want, we were in this one a lot longer than we should have been.
Just for the hell of it – an updated Knickerbocker “prism” outlook:
http://stoptryingtoplayme.wordpress.com/2012/04/15/looking-for-the-blue-orange-light-part-two/
Fields and Baron were horrendous today. IMO – Shumpert/Smith should be getting all of the minutes at PG. Baron takes too many shots (80% of them stupid), and is too slow to play defense against opposing point guards. Also, his turnovers have been higher than his assists for a number of games during this run.
I’m not trashing Lebron. He’s a phenomenal player. He’s “clutch” during the regular season. That’s not so much clutch as being that much better than everyone else. He’s clutch during the playoffs against lesser teams. Same thing.
But eventually he comes up against a team in the playoffs who is good enough. And he has to play them every game. And they don’t let him physically overpower them. These are true clutch moments for him because he is no longer in 70 percent conversion scenarios, but more like 50 percent. These moments reveal whether a player is clutch or not. And if you watched the Celtics series and if you watched the Dallas series, there’s no way you can argue he’s clutch. He simply disappears. He looks scared. He hovers.
Very good physical teams can shut Lebron down. He’s missing crcucial go to skills. A quick strong guard can absolutely cut off his drives. His turn around isn’t reliable.
This isn’t true of Wade. He continues to make good plays throughout the game, even when hurt like last year. He can always penetrate because he’s smoother and trickier than Lebron. And he doesn’t get visibly scared.
The media makes up a lot of bullshit story lines. This isn’t one of them.