Can't blame Dwyane Wade for this. Wade gave his all. I was surprised how well Wade played. At first he did look a bit hesitating. But in this game I truly see how a good player Dwyane Wade is, it is to make the players around him better. Wade doesn't always have to give up his body down the lane. He can pass the ball and have his teammates score high percentage shots. Udonis Haslem and Shaq got several easy shots from Wade. He can be such a big factor even playing hurt. He knew he has to play this game no matter how hit he was. He physical presence is already a boost to Heat's morale... When a basketball game is this close, nobody can say the Heat lost the game because the hurting Wade played too much or played at all. He was on fire in the third quarter. Miami would not even have a chance without Wade. Now we know whose team this is. This is why at the ending moments he passed a ally-oop to Shaq. This led me think that this is different from Shaq's Lakers days. If you have followed Lakers three-peat, it was almost sure every time at a close game ending situation Kobe would have the ball and would not give it up to anybody. Here with the Heat, Wade was willing to give it to Shaq, I thought. Wade then made poor shot down the lane, and made a 22-footer which was badly missed with 15 seconds on the shot clock. Wade just made the mistake so many had made before. He chose to shoot a low percentage shot too soon when time is running out. If he had got Shaq involved in that possession, things might have been very different... Detroit is really a dynamic team. Even after this exciting close game, nobody on the team stood out based on impression. Although not scoring a lot during the game, Rasheed is my pick for the X-factor of Detroit. He made big shots down the stretch. He can be annoying when he loses his cool. But he fit in this team very well. He silently contribute big time in the game. Big threes. A crucial put back in the final two minutes. Sheed is giving his all. This is quite different from his days with the Blazers. Dan Patrick said in his radio show that Rasheed was the only guy to have played with his best while all others on the team gave up. No. It was Damon Stoudamire. I have witnessed all that... Let's look ahead to the Finals. It's the Spurs against the Pistons, as I expected. The spurs were very good throughout the playoffs. But after I saw the game 7 performance of the Pistons, without even playing Carlos Arroyo at all, I think the Pistons have as much chance as the Spurs in this series. This series will be the closest series in a long time. I started following the NBA in 1996. This will be the first game 7 Finals for me. I still think the Spurs are the better team. Both teams are experienced teams. This series will be close games after close games. Although the scoring maybe a little low, believe me, all games will be close and exciting. More analysis tomorrow. My pick: Spurs in 7.

6.8.05 photos: AFP/Brian Bahr