NBA superstar LeBron James was arguably in his athletic prime during his time with the Miami Heat. The 14x NBA All-Star dominated the league and led the Heat to four straight Finals while winning two rings. After winning the title in the 2011-12 season, Miami was unstoppable in the next season as they won back-to-back rings. They defeated the San Antonio Spurs in the Finals. However, a former New York Knicks star believes his team would have won it with Carmelo Anthony‘s help if it was not for Paul George and the Indiana Pacers.
James and the Heat lost the two title match-ups against the Dallas Mavericks and the San Antonio Spurs. After losing in the 2012-13 Finals, the Spurs had their revenge in the next season as Miami fell short of a three-peat at the finishing line.
Tyson Chandler was confident about beating LeBron James again
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NBA veteran Tyson Chandler recently made an appearance on the All The Smoke podcast. During the show, the 2013 NBA All-Star opened up about a variety of interesting details about his experiences in the league. In one instance, Stephen Jackson asked Chandler about his time with the New York Knicks. Jackson wanted to know what went wrong for the Knicks, despite their strong lineup and impressive performances in the regular season.
Chandler stated that complacency led to their failure in the playoffs. He noted that the Knicks could have won it all given the way Carmelo Anthony was performing. However, after winning the first round against the Boston Celtics, the Knicks lost to Paul George and the Indiana Pacers in the second.
Talking about the missed opportunity, Chandler said, “I really honestly feel like how we got past that. I feel like we probably we have a legitimate shot to win the chip that year”. He added, “Miami was trying to go for the back-to-back. And I really feel like we would have beat them that year with that Knicks team.”
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Notably, Chandler played a huge role in the Mavs’ Finals win over LeBron James and the Heat. He claimed that the Knicks lost the series against the Pacers after poor preparation for game 1. He noted this led to the Pacers winning the first game in New York and ultimately helped them win the series 4-2.
Paul George and the Pacers
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Paul George and the Pacers were playing at a high level in the 2012-13 season. After defeating the Knicks in the second round, they faced the Heat in the Conference Finals. Behind George’s inspired performances, the Pacers gave Miami the run for their money. The games were very closely contested, and it was a treat for all the neutral fans around the world. Finally, the Heat prevailed as they defeated the Pacers in game-7.
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