Obviously we've spent loads of time on our show every morning on the NBA Finals matchup. Ever since game 1, I've been wondering aloud about why the Heat are so determined to run everything through Dwyane Wade early in games. There's nothing fundamently wrong with that...except LeBron James is his teammate. They have gotten off to slow starts in nearly every game especially over the first six minutes. 
I know what my eyes have seen. It's LeBron playing the role of a wall-flower from tip-off until about the six-minute mark of 1st quarter. He barely touches the ball and he certainly isn't playing aggressively. He's watching, and I'm sorry but any game plan that calls for him to stand around and watch is nuts. But having seen that, you know me, I still went to the numbers to see what story they told. See the graphic below that charts the numbers for LeBron and Wade over the first six minutes of the first quarters of each of the first five games of this series.
Now I don't think these starts or this philosophy has cost them games, per se, but it sure isn't helping. LeBron of course has played all 30 minutes that the first 6 minutes of games 1-5 encompasses. But look at how dreadful his numbers are. Just 9 points on 7 shots, 3 rebounds and 4 assists. It's just my opinion, but if I had the Heat's ear, I certainly would encourage my team to put an end to this scenario tonight.
- Wex (@awexler)
