<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">There's perhaps no greater sign of respect from the Indiana Pacers than to have Ron Artest switch off the man he's guarding to deal with the opposing team's player with the hot hand. It's a feeling Miami Heat rookie Dwyane Wade should know after his 22-point effort, in a losing cause, against the Pacers Thursday night in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinals at Conseco Fieldhouse. With the game seemingly out of hand and the Heat trailing by 23 points in the third quarter, Wade went to work. He scored 15 of his points in the game's final 17 minutes, prompting the Pacers to send a procession of defenders his way, including the NBA's Defensive Player of the Year as time wound down. "He was just scoring a lot," Artest said, "killing everybody that was on him. He was hitting jump shots and everything, so I just had to go and try to help out." That's the same reaction many defenders have had against the Heat's rookie point guard. A shoo-in for Rookie of the Year in any class that doesn't include LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony, Wade has spent much of his first season raising eyebrows with his play. He sank the winning shots in Games 1 and 5 of the Heat's first-round bloodletting with New Orleans. He also fueled the Heat's attack by repeatedly driving the lane for layups, dunks, pull-up jumpers and passes to open teammates. Even the Hornets praised the rookie after the series ended. "He's not a rookie anymore," New Orleans veteran David Wesley said. "He's done too much in too many big situations to have that label at this time of year."</div> <div align="center"><u>Full Story</u></div> <div align="center"> </div> <div align="left">This kid is the reason the Heat were able to pull back into the game. The one thing I credit to his playoff success is last years final four. He showed then that he was a big time player and he is showing it now. </div>
