Heat Celtics Summary

Best Player / Most Valuable Player: Dwyane Wade (Individual +60, Net +30). This was a surprising result, considering: 1) Lebron's consistently strong play throughout the series, and 2) the circumstantial evidence of Wade complaining about non-calls while the Celtics were scoring in transition. It's interesting that, after a year of blaming Lebron for all the Heat's ills, popular opinion seems to be giving Wade a larger share of the blame for each setback. With matchups against Westbrook or Harden looming, the Finals should be very interesting for D-Wade.

Worst Player: Paul Pierce (Individual -38). Four years ago, Pierce and James went shot-for-shot in Game 7 of a playoff series, a few weeks before Pierce opined on his standing as the best player in the world. Fast forward to today, and Pierce's numbers in the series were significantly worse than his prior work in these playoffs. 34% shooting (26% on 3's), more turnovers than assists, and generally lackluster defense on James or Wade.

Least Valuable Player: Mario Chalmers (Net -26). Matched up with Rondo, Chalmers was going to be a big factor in this series regardless of the outcome. Judging by Rondo's performance, it seems like Miami won despite a poor series from Super Mario. Unfortunately for him, his next matchup (Russell Westbrook) is arguably just as daunting.

Jerome James Award: Kevin Garnett / Rajon Rondo. Three years ago, Lebron James and the Cavaliers were defeated by the Orlando Magic in the Eastern Conference Finals. At the end of the series, James chose to leave the court before shaking hands with the other team, and blew off his obligatory postgame media session. Along with fines from the league, sportswriters had a lot to say about his very unsportsmanlike act:

"If boxers, after getting pummeled by an opponent, can get off the canvas and shake a man's hand, then so can a basketball player, no matter how famous. James, like so many others before him, is going to have to grow accustomed to crushing losses. Only the great Bill Russell, for the most part, avoided them. Wilt lost, Kareem lost, Magic and Bird lost, Jordan lost. But as far as I know, they maintained a level of sportsmanship that isn't optional." - Mike Wilbon

"So, this is new-era sportsmanship as defined by King James: Winners don’t shake hands with their opponents after they lose; competitors storm off when the result doesn’t go their way." - Bill Rhoden

I agree that, as superficial as it may be in the moment, the post-series handshake represents mutual respect by opponents, a key component of athletic competition. Lebron James rightly took a lot of criticism, because competitors should show respect in victory and defeat. So, where's the collective disgust and outrage over Kevin Garnett and Rajon Rondo doing the exact same thing Lebron did at the end of Game 7? The silence on this subject is confirmatory of a simple fact: perception of the Heat and Celtics players drive their respective media coverage more than reality. The Heat are villains, and the Celtics are heroes. Everything that confirms those perceptions is emphasized, and everything that contradicts them is disregarded or ignored. But, when I look at each team objectively, I see three All-NBA talents that chose to team up and win rather than go it alone and lose. The only major difference between them is one championship ring... for now. From that perspective, it's hard to see the relative treatment of the Celtics and Heat as anything but a double standard.