Very few people envisioned Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Finals going the way it did on Tuesday night. The Celtics were able to put together two huge wins at home to even the series at 2-2, but it was widely assumed that the Heat would take Game 5 at home and then close out the series either in Boston of Miami. The “aging” Celtics had other plans.
Call it a Freudian slip or call it a simple programming error but — as you can see from the screenshot above that Peter Kim shared with us on Twitter — someone over at ESPN accidentally crowned the Heat victorious before Tuesday’s game ended. A picture that Dwyane Wade and LeBron James with a banner that read “1 Win From the NBA Finals” was up for a very brief time on the NBA on ESPN Facebook page before being replaced with one that features Rajon Rondo, Kevin Garnett, and Paul Pierce.
There have been plenty of rumblings that the NBA wants the Heat to win and that the officiating has reflected that, but I thought the officiating crew on Tuesday night did a nice job of letting the game play out. There were some typical poor calls, but they let 50-50 balls play out and were not quick with the whistle. If there was ever a time to determine what LeBron James and company are made of, Thursday night is it.
