By J.A. Adande
ESPN.com
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MIAMI -- To the extent it's possible for anything about this Miami Heat team to be underplayed, LeBron James' serving as the magnet to draw pressure and attention away from Dwyane Wade doesn't get enough run.

I don't recall any columns calling this the most important series of Wade's career or describing the expectations placed on him, as they did in the case of LeBron. James' late-game shortcomings overshadow the fact that Wade didn't make any last-second winning shots himself this season. Wade isn't the one who's had to spend the season trying to justify breaking up with his city on national TV.

From Miami's standpoint, Wade had more atoning to do in this series than LeBron. What did LeBron's struggles against the Boston Celtics have to do with the Heat? Wade's 28 percent shooting and 13-point average against Boston in the 2010-11 regular season were of greater impact on the Heat's dropping three of the four games than anything James did in a Cavaliers uniform. While that got some play, it didn't serve as the narrative of the series. In a matchup loaded with big names, LeBron's is the one that goes above the title.

LeBron looked like the one trying to prove something in the early going of the first game of this Heat-Celtics series that felt more like a Game 5. He let Paul Pierce bump him out of his desired spot on his first shot. James made a fancier-than necessary between-the-legs pass to Zydrunas Ilgauskas. James missed his first two field goals and first two free throws.

Meanwhile, it all came easy to Wade, who scored 38 points in the Heat's 99-90 win over the Celtics in Game 1 of their Eastern Conference semifinal series.

"I came out and hit two jump shots early," Wade said. "After that I was able to see things differently when I had my shot."

By the end of the first quarter he had 13 points, already matching his average against the Celtics this season. Wade was the steadying influence, the lead dog on this day, setting the tone for all the good things that happened for the Heat the rest of the way.

Comfort was everything in this game. Beforehand Doc Rivers expected good play because "both teams are exactly where they want to be," finally ready to settle this on the court after so much conjecture. But it was the Celtics who came out anxious to score, from Rivers' perspective, and in the second Paul Pierce was too intent on retaliating and being what Quentin Richardson once called a "studio gangster", drawing two technical fouls and an ejection for his actions.

All along, Wade had a nice demeanor to his game.

"I don't think he hit a lot of tough shots tonight," the Celtics' Ray Allen said. " I thought he scored within the confines of what they were doing. ...He was getting stuff in the flow."

"Dwyane set the tone with his energy," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said.

LeBron got untracked and had his typical all-around game. James Jones went nuts, hitting five of seven 3-pointers and drawing double-teams beyond the arc by the time the third quarter rolled around.

By the second half, Wade was consistently attracting the attention of three Celtic defenders. On one play he froze a trio of green jerseys with a move. Joel Anthony was so wide open, you could see Wade pausing to ask himself, "Do I really want to do this?" before he gave the ball to Anthony. Anthony who went up to dunk and had the ball slip out of his hands and float harmlessly over the rim.

Wade got much better results on another Celtic triple-team, when James slipped behind the defense and Wade found him for an alley-oop dunk.

It was the ideal game for the Heat, who needed this victory more than the Celtics did. There's uncertainty about the Celtics, brought on by the ebbs of the season such as Sunday. But there are doubts surrounding the Heat, and dropping Game 1 would have unleashed those doubts from all corners of the NBA universe.

Mentally, Heat victories carry added weight thanks to the additional benefit of sparing them from criticism. And we know who'd get the brunt of it. That's the burden LeBron's presence removes from Wade. Wade paid him back Sunday by giving LeBron some space, sliding in a fresh, positive memory to replace the image of LeBron's walking off the court and removing his Cavs jersey for the last time in his previous playoff game against the Celtics. As a result, both of their lives will be easier than the Celtics' players over the next two days.

The only things that matter in Game 1 are the things that are likely to be repeated. So throw out Jones' 3-point shooting. Boston actually had a better game from beyond the arc than the Heat, making 12 of 24 to keep the game within sight. They won't shoot 50 percent from deep for the rest of the series, so those wash out. Bosh will score at some point. So will Kevin Garnett.

That leaves Rondo as the wild card.

It was telling that among the bullet points listed on the Heat's locker-room white board (mostly the usual stuff about being active and aggressive) Rondo was the only Celtic mentioned by name.

The Rondo who beat the Knicks in the third and fourth games of the first round can also beat the Heat. But the Rondo of the second half of the regular season is the primary reason the Celtics don't have home court in this series, and the primary thing that went wrong today. If Rondo is going nowhere the Celtics will end up right there with him.

"Rondo tried to attack too much," Celtics coach Doc Rivers said. "He'll be fine."

Mike Bibby did a good job covering him, but he isn't known as a lockdown defender. Miami's team defense is that good, so it's not as if Rondo will be granted free trips through the lane.

Wade no longer needs to worry about adjustments. He's done his homework and solved the scoring struggles against the Celtics. Fewer attempts to get all the way to the basket against the heart of the defense (with fewer turnovers as a byproduct.

"He figures it out," Spoelstra said. "He is a student of the game. He's very diligent and introspective."

He was allowed to work in relative quiet.

"There were times I got the ball and I have the luxury," Wade said. "That's the reason we're playing together. You have other guys who are attack guys and carry the load for a while."

In that respect, LeBron took the pressure off him. Wade took it from there.

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