At times, it might seem like Stephen A. Smith is talking out of his, you know what, when making some of his predictions. However, before Game 4 tipped off, when asked how many points LeBron James would score, Smith said "37." The number would be double his game-high in the three previous games as James had not scored more than 18 points in the 2013 NBA Finals. Low and behold, the prediction almost came true.
James finished with 33 points in Game 4. Had James made a three and a free throw, Smith's prediction would have been perfect. James shot 15-25 from the floor, 2-4 from the free throw line, missing the Heat's only free throws in the game. Though nobody pointed this out, James hit an unnecessary three to really sink in the dagger as the Heat were already up by 13 points with just seconds remaining in the game. With the bucket, James made sure he was well over 30 points and almost doubled his scoring performance from previous games.
Smith knew the Heat would need a big night from James, who had been held silent in the previous three games. In Game 1, James focused on distributing, finishing with a triple-double as he finished with 18 points, 18 rebounds and 10 assists. The Heat still lost and James noticed he would have to do less distributing and more scoring. In Game 2, yes, Miami won, but James finished with just 17 points and it was Mario Chalmers who carried the load. Disappointed with his Game 3 performance, shooting 7-21 from the field and once again scoring under 20 points, James vowed he would excel and have a stronger performance in Game 4.
James stepped on the pedal after the Heat were trailing big in the first quarter. The scouts and analysts say that if James catches the ball on the run, he's unstoppable and the Heat made sure to get James the ball while he was on the move. James took the ball from coast-to-coast on a couple of occasions, truly proving unstoppable.
James did not double his points total, but he did make a lot of buckets. He had previously only made seven shots in each of the first three games and James finished Game 4 with 15 buckets. He has to thank Dwyane Wade, who was disruptive and playing like it was 2006. Wade finished with 32 points in Game 4, helping the Heat completely dominate in the second half of the game.
Let's see what predictions Smith makes in Game 5 as the series is now knotted 2-2. The Heat guaranteed they take a trip back home and play at least one more game in front of their home crowd.
