We’re gonna give it to you straight: when the calendars flip to May, playoff basketball gets serious. It’s different. We’re not exactly sure what it feels like, but we think it might be something along the lines of drinking too much Tequila. Things start moving really fast, and players start acting out of character. Then there’s Dwyane Wade, who’s apparently on an entirely different level. He arrived at the gym three hours early yesterday morning, revving up his engines for perhaps a defining moment in Miami’s season … Before Game 1 of the Miami-Boston series, there was a lot of talk coming from South Beach about how these two teams apparently aren’t buddies. LeBron even went so far as to say that this series was “personal” to him. It did look like it meant extra to the Heat as they took that all-important Game 1, 99-90, over the C’s. The Heat were everywhere, the enforcers and the aggressors all game long, playing the way everyone envisioned them to play this summer when future championships seemed all but guaranteed. For them, it’s about breaking teams down with dribble penetration from LeBron (22 points) and D-Wade (38 points) and surrounding them with shooters like James Jones. He did work (25 points on 5-7 from three), making the Celtics pay whenever they collapsed on Miami’s stars. But it was Wade who provided the killing strikes, hitting jumpers all over the court and getting so hyped at the end of the first half, we thought he might hyperventilate. It had to feel good after Boston had made him look quite Larry Hughes-like during the regular season … If Wade and LeBron are hitting jump shots and playing sleeper-hold defense, this team cannot be beat by anyone in the East … While LeBron’s stat line was outshined by D-Wade, he produced the two highlights of the day. First, he caught a front-of the-rim lob from Wade, brought it over his head and flushed it. Then a pocket-picking, followed by a perfect QB toss to Wade on the break that probably made Chad Henne a little bit nervous … We do want to throw some love over to Miami fans for really “fanning up” in their last few playoff games. After a poor showing in Game 1 of the Philly series (dudes were leaving early from a freakin’ playoff game), Miami has really stepped up to the plate. Now, if they only showed up before the six-minute mark in the first quarter, the “fan up” would be complete … Ray Allen showed up (25 points, five threes). But where was Kevin Garnett (six points) and Rajon Rondo (eight points)? We were all sitting around SMH-ing at Paul Pierce‘s (19 points) ejection. The Celts needed PP down the stretch, but he acted a fool by getting tossed. You’re on a basketball court, Paul, not next to a dumpster in an alley at 3 a.m. If you’re Pierce, you don’t even take the chance of getting thrown out on that moving screen call. We believe the phrase Udonis Haslem used at the beginning of the season was “studio gangster.” We’ll just use one word: “disappointment.” … The Grizz have to be excited after continuing their total playoff domination with a 114-101 win over the Thunder in OKC. They’re only the second eight seed to ever take down a one spot and then follow that up by winning their first game of the second round (the 1999 New York Knicks did it first). Their 1 p.m. Sunday game in Oklahoma City brought more of what has gotten them this far – frenetic energy, incredible interior play and an aggressive defense that forces turnovers. We saw the good and bad sides of Russell Westbrook (29 points) as he was adamant about getting to the rim while Kevin Durant was Kevin Durant (33 points, 11 rebounds), but the Grizzlies were just better than them. We’ve liked the Grizz all year, but are starting to exchange a ton of “Wait, is Memphis really this good?” looks around the office. In Game 1, they definitely were, jumping out to a big lead early and then fighting off OKC the rest of the way … Zach Randolph (34 points, 10 rebounds) and Marc Gasol (20 points, 13 rebounds) were abusing the Thunder frontline all game, even showcasing jumpers that should be illegal for guys that physical. If your starting frontcourt can put together 54 points, 23 rebounds, six assists, four steals and three blocks, you’re in great shape. 12 months ago, if you had told David Stern that Z-Bo would be the big name of the 2011 playoffs, how quickly would he have fainted? … Yesterday afternoon, Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau was presented with the NBA’s Coach of the Year award after leading Chicago to 62 wins and the number-one overall seed in the playoffs … We’re out like Paul Pierce.
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