MIAMI — Not that these stars usually need much extra, but some secrets are being revealed about how LeBron James and Dwyane Wade are getting up for playoff games.
For James, it's his Book of the Series Club. The Miami forward was seen reading "The Hunger Games" before his epic 40-point, 18-rebound, nine-assist performance starved Indiana on Sunday.
"I've been doing it since the playoffs started," James said Monday about reading before games, the latest a 101-93 Heat win that tied the East semifinal 2-2. "It just puts me in a different mindset, honestly, before the game. I kind of don't even think what's going to happen throughout the game. I've just been reading and just been able to calm me down, and then once I get on the basketball court I just kind and react."
As for Wade, he was said to have watched movies in his room during his troubling period between Games 3 and 4. Maybe the Heat guard caught part of "Rambo” at halftime Sunday, considering he had 22 of his 30 points after intermission.
As has been well chronicled, Wade was a disaster in the Game 3 loss, scoring a meager five points, failing to always get back on defense and getting into a heated discussion with coach Erik Spoelstra on the bench.
To help ease his mind, Wade sought out his former Marquette coach, Tom Crean, going down to Bloomington, Ind., where he now coaches Indiana. Miami forward Udonis Haslem said he did his part to help longtime buddy Wade.
"I had a couple of movies that I brought with me on the trip," Haslem said. "I took a couple movies to his room so he could watch some movies and just rest his mind and get himself ready for the next game."
What were the titles?
"It's our secret," Haslem said.
When Wade was asked for the titles, he said, "I can't put that information out there." Then he yelled over to Haslem to make sure he had no thoughts of revealing them.
Game 5 is Tuesday night at AmericanAirlines Arena. So figure James will be reading before the game and Wade just might continue to watch movies. There were two days off between Games 3 and 4, plenty of time for James and Wade to come in well rested. But there will be just one day between games the rest of the way.
Game 6 is Thursday at Indiana. Game 7, if necessary, would be Saturday at AmericanAirlines Arena.
The Heat potentially have two of the three games at home. But a lack of extended rest might be more beneficial to the Pacers, who have a deeper team, especially since the Heat have been playing without forward Chris Bosh. Plus, Wade and his recovering left knee could be facing four games in seven days.
"I got out of bed this morning, and feel like, yeah, this is the playoffs," said Wade, who wouldn't talk about his knee Monday but did admit to being weary after playing 41 minutes on Sunday, his longest outing of the season in a non-overtime game. "You don't feel like this is the regular season much."
It might seem James never gets tired. But he also admitted to being worn down a day after logging 44 minutes, also the most he's played all season in a non-overtime affair.
"I don't have any," James said Monday when asked how his legs felt. "It's definitely going to be recovery and a mental day for me to try to prepare for [Game 5]."
Fans, though, don't care how weary James and Wade might be. They don't care that the Pacers are going to focus even more on the two stars while not having to worry about Bosh, who has been out with an abdominal strain suffered just before halftime of Game 1. Bosh could miss the rest of the series, although Spoelstra said "it's too early to tell" for a possible Game 7.
Plenty of fans are going to figure James and Wade can combine for another 70 points on Tuesday and throughout the series – James scored 40 and Wade 30 in Game 4. James was asked just how realistic that line of thinking is.
"It's not realistic," James said. "You got to make shots. The shots that we've taken, we shot a high percentage. All the great players, if they could do it every night they would do it every night. If you can have 40, 20 and 10, you'd do it every night. But it's not realistic. You just take each game by its own and be satisfied with the way you play."
It's more realistic for James to continue to put up huge numbers. Still, he has displayed human traits at times.
James has been much better in the playoffs when he's more rested. When he's had at least two full days of rest before a game, he is averaging 33 points, 10.6 rebounds and 5.8 assists, while shooting 49.5 percent in six games. On one day's rest, James is averaging 23.0 points, 7.7 rebounds, 5.7 assists and shooting 45.2 percent in three games.
For Wade, there's also a noticeable difference, although his disastrous Game 3 showing, which came after just one day off, does skew the numbers. When he's had at least two full days of rest, Wade averages 23.2 points, 3.7 rebounds, 4.3 assists and shooting 46.9 percent in six games. On one day, Wade is averaging 18 points, 5.0 rebounds, 3.0 assists and shooting 39.6 percent in three games.
Wade is well aware of the compact schedule facing the Heat this week. While Wade did say Monday that James' Game 4 performance was so "amazing" it was "video-game like," looking back will be at a minimum.
"We got a game every other day right now against a very tough opponent, so we don't have time to pat each other on the back," Wade said.
In the series, Indiana is 2-0 when there's one day off between games and the Heat 2-0 when there's more than a day. Obviously, though, there are plenty of variables involved.
Even though James and Wade excelled in Game 4, the Heat might not have won had it not been been for a surprising showing by Haslem, who entered averaging just 2.0 points in the series.
Haslem came off the bench to score 14 points, including 10 in the second half after Miami trailed 54-46 and eight after he took an elbow from Indiana's Lou Amundson above the right eye with 9:37 left in the game, opening up a wound that required nine stitches.
Seems Haslem made quite an overall contribution for Sunday's game. While James said he's been reading before games throughout the playoffs, this movie bit Haslem started appears to be something new for Wade in this series.
Whatever Wade watched before Game 4, it might be wise to have an encore presentation prior to Game 5.
Chris Tomasson can be reached at christomasson@hotmail.com or on Twitter @christomasson
