LeBron James and Dwyane Wade must take over or find themselves watching the NBA Finals from home./AP

60.

That’s the magic number.

With Chris Bosh out with an abdominal injury that will take 2 1/2 to 6 1/2 weeks to heal depending on who you believe, the Miami Heat need their two superstars – LeBron James and Dwyane Wade – to average at least 60 points in order for the Heat to get past the Indiana Pacers and win it all.

Right now, James and Wade are averaging a combined 46.6 points in this Eastern Conference semifinals series that the Heat are trailing 2-1 heading into Sunday’s Game 4 in Indianapolis.

James is at 27.3 a game. Wade 19.3.

That’s not enough.

In desperate times, the superstars get it done.

Ten years ago, Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant showed us all how.

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First off, Gerald Green should have never been in the D-League in the first place.

So I’m not even going to make that connection to it, but thank goodness for him he used his time there wisely and played well enough to get a 10-day contract with the New Jersey Nets.

I saw him in his first game in the D-League when the Los Angeles D-Fenders came to Erie to play the BayHawks. He’s come a long way since then. Check out this windmill dunk off a lob pass against the Houston Rockets that would have won this year’s NBA Slam Dunk Contest.

Wow.

Can’t blame this on Carmelo Anthony can you?

Can you?

After missing seven games with a groin injury, the NBA All-Star saw his first action with the New York Knicks since Jeremy Lin has turned their season around.

Tonight, the Knicks lost to the lowly New Jersey Nets, 100-92, at Madison Square Garden. The last time the Knicks saw the Nets, Lin had 25 points off the bench in a 99-92 win Feb. 4.

The Knicks went 7-1 with Lin starting before Anthony came back tonight. In his return, Anthony shot 4-of-11 for 11 points in 37 minutes. Anthony had six assists, which shows he can share the ball, but also had six turnovers, which shows he can share it with the other team, too.

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God bless him.

We’ve seen this before in Erie.

Power forward Ivan Johnson, 27, who was no stranger to picking up technical fouls playing for the BayHawks in the D-League last season, was whistled for one in his NBA debut Wednesday night for the Atlanta Hawks.

Johnson replaced Tracy McGrady with 6:27 left in the game. At the 4:15 mark, Johnson picked up a technical after getting tangled with New Jersey big man Mehmet Okur on a rebound attempt.

Johnson finished the game with two points, four rebounds and an assist.

Charlotte Bobcats' D.J. Augustin is an emerging star PG in the NBA./AP Photo

With the NBA in lockout mode, it may be easy to forget how the 2010-11 season reestablished the league as one of the best in pro sp0rts.

While the owners and players try to work things out, here’s a look at my five favorite players who I consider to be under the radar. They can play.

Just aren’t on TV enough for people to notice or they’re playing for bad teams or they’re part of a team that’s a playoff contender or they’re one of many who excel at the same position (Hint! Hint!).

Now I tried to avoid guys who have made the all-star team. That kept hem from including Al Hortford. Guy is an very good player, but teammates Joe Johnson, Josh Smith and even Jamal Crawford get more pub than him in Atlanta.

I could have put guys like Houston Rockets forward Luis Scola on there, but people talk so much about how underrated he is, we all know who is he now.

In closing, I really wanted to put Philadelphia 76ers forward Thaddeus Young on the list, but I want to see how he does with coach Doug Collins for another season. I love Young’s game.

Look for more Top 5′s from me at www.goerie.com/blogs/giveandgo.

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Here are recent stories about both teams heading into today’s 7 p.m. game at Tullio Arena.

1. Cavs rookie set to display “world class” athleticism for the BayHawks

2. New coach, BayHawks ready to run in third D-League season

3. Goldcamp sticks with BayHawks for second season

4. BayHawks hold off Mad Ants

5. Springfield Armor’s Brian Leggett back at the scene of his greatet triumph

6. Springfield Armor set final regular season roster

7. Nets to take over running of minor league team

8. Armor drop first–and only–preseason game

No one was more fun to watch in college basketball last season than Kentucky freshman point guard John Wall.

Let’s take a look at the first five picks of Thursday’s 2010 NBA Draft and see what they bring to the table.

1. Washington Wizards – John Wall (6-4, PG, Kentucky).
Strengths: Gifted athete, playmaker and brings size to PG position. Weaknesses: Needs to improve FT (Shot 75.4 percent at Kentucky), inexperience.
Impact on Wizards: Not only will he bring fans to the arena, Wall gives Washington a player they can immediately build around and put past troubles with the franchise.

2. Philadelphia 76ers – Evan Turner (6-7, SG/SF, Ohio State).
Strengths: Clutch, seasoned (played three years in college) and shoots a  high percentage  (shot 51.9 percent from the field last season). Weaknesses: Turnover prone and not as explosive around the rim in terms of finishing in traffic.
Impact on 76ers: Will have to play small forward, but teaming up with Andre Iguodala will give the 76ers two very good perimeter defenders. Has a very competitive edge, which Philadelphia has lacked in recent years.

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OK. OK.

LeBron James showed for his appreciation day in his hometown of Akron, Ohio, on Saturday – late. Spoke for no more than 30 seconds and bounced.

Don’t know what to make of it.

We’ve all tried to interpret the guy’s every move since the Boston Celtics eliminated the Cleveland Cavaliers in stunning fashion in the Eastern Conference semifinals this season.

So I’m not going to determine anything based on a short speech.

Wait a minute. Who am I kidding? Here’s what I got out that.

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Instead of NYC, columnist Sam Smith believes LeBron may join Kobe Bryant in L.A.

With the Cleveland Cavaliers playing at the New York Knicks in Madison Square Garden tonight on ESPN (8 p.m.), it gives reason to discuss the possibility of LeBron James playing for the Knicks or the New Jersey Nets after this season.

James will be an unrestricted free agent after this season. Just for argument sake, check out Sam Smith’s column on the idea that James may head to Los Angeles to join Kobe Bryant and the Lakers.

Now, the question isn’t will or will he not go. It’s more of should he go.

My take?

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Quincy Douby is playing for Toronto this summer.

This is how guys who want to play in the NBA would like to spend their summers.

Erie BayHawks players Erik Daniels (Memphis Grizzlies), Maureece Rice (Cleveland Cavaliers), Darian Townes (Orlando Magic) and Quincy Douby (Toronto Raptors) are either currently playing in the NBA Summer League in Las Vegas or played in the summer league in Orlando earlier this month.

This is how they’re fairing  so far or how they fared.

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