If LeBron James wins his first championship Thursday, and does it in a style befitting the way he’s played throughout these playoffs, there will be a rush to put his performance in perspective.

So let’s look at it from a local angle.

Prior to this run, the most impressive postseason in history by any Heat player — from start to finish — was the work of Dwyane Wade, in 2006.

Here are Wade’s numbers:

23 games, 28.4 points, 49.7 percent FG, 80.8 percent FT, 5.9 rebounds, 5.7 assists

Here are James’ numbers:

22 games, 30.5 points, 50.1 percent F, 73.3 percent FT, 9.8 rebounds, 5.3 assists

Guessing this will be the consensus — that James had the better overall playoffs, but Wade had the more memorable Finals.

Russell Westbrook’s performance was brilliant

His thinking on this play? Not so much.

“It was a miscommunication on my part,” he said.

Numbers and quotes of note from the Heat’s 104-98 win:

17: The deficit in the first quarter.

16-0: The Heat run to get back in the game. This, surprisingly, had a lot to do with Norris Cole, who went back to his flat-top fade and played as if at Cleveland State. His energy changed the game. Eight points in under eight minutes. Credit to him for staying ready.

43: Points for Russell Westbrook, on 20-of-32 shots. We’ve seen only one performance like this against the Heat this season. That was another point guard, Rajon Rondo, in the last round. Westbrook was 7-of-9 in the fourth. He never stopped.

1: The number of rebounds by which LeBron James missed a triple-double. Not that anyone will care. What mattered more was the way he shook off cramps to splash a three, to put the Heat ahead. Miami would not trail again, even with James sitting the final 55.5 seconds.

9-of-12: Mario Chalmers after starting 0-for-3, extending his errant run to 2-of-18 over two-plus games. But there was Chalmers asking Dwyane Wade for the ball out of the timeout, weaving through the defense and making a layup. Then he made two free throws.

12-6: The scoring between Chalmers and Kevin Durant in the fourth quarter.

2-of-10: James Harden struggled again. That’s three of four games. That’s too many for OKC.

20: Minutes for James Jones, who is getting the second half time, after Erik Spoelstra shelves Mike Miller.

“I just don’t understand why we start out the first quarter the way we did, with the lineup that we had, and all of a sudden we change and adjust to what they had going on. So they won the last three quarters, that’s what happened.” — Kendrick Perkins.

“It’s basically like your body shuts down, your legs shut down on you, there’s nothing really you can do about it.” — LeBron James.

“No, I didn’t fight him. I caught the cramps the one time, and tried to get some liquids in me, get rehydrated and went back in, and it happened again at that point. I knew I probably wasn’t going to be able to finish the game.” — James on Erik Spoelstra’s decision to pull him again with 55.5 seconds left.

“I’ll be ready for Game 5, and hopefully I can stay hydrated where it doesn’t happen again.” — James.

“I took that as a little sign of disrespect.” — Mario Chalmers on Kevin Durant guarding him.

“He actually thinks he’s the best player on this team, and that’s a gift and a curse. But tonight it was a gift for us because he never gets down on himself.” — Dwyane Wade on Chalmers.

“Let me get this straight. What you guys say doesn’t make me sad, doesn’t make me happy.” — Russell Westbrook to the media.

It was a strange sight, to see Rick Carlisle in an NBA Finals interview area at AmericanAirlines Arena again.

But there the Mavericks coach was, to present Pat Riley with the Chuck Daly Lifetime Achievement Award, voted upon by a panel of coaching luminaries that usually includes Riley — though this time, the Heat president abstained.

Nearly as much was said about the late Daly, a former Jupiter Isles resident, as Riley.

Carlisle recalled Daly asking about Riley: “Can u imagine what it would be like to be that good-looking?”

Riley’s comments will all be published on the site sometime during the game, including reference to the Irish prayer on the card he received at Daly’s funeral.

 But two quotes will get the most attention:

First, when asked about whether he missed coaching, Riley said, “As far as me missing it, I don’t really miss it. I did it 30 years. That’s enough.”

Steve Kerr and Jason Kidd participated in a conference call Monday to promote the American Century Championship golf tournament, which will start July 20th in Lake Tahoe and air over that weekend on NBC. Shane Battier will be among the golfers, looking to follow Kidd’s feat from last year, and being able to brag about just winning a championship.

“LeBron to this point looks totally different from what he did a year ago, when Jason and his teammates kind of took control of that series, and LeBron looked confused out there,” said Kerr, a TNT analyst. “But in this one, he’s just been so determined and physical and dominant, that I would expect that to continue. He’s just in the right mindset.”

Kidd was on the floor against James in the 2011 Finals.

“I think the biggest difference is not settling,” Kidd said. “He weighs between 260 and 270, so he is putting his body on the opponent and not settling. He is taking the ball to the basket. He is playing on a different planet right now. You’re talking about a guy who is scoring 30, with 8 (rebounds) and 6 (assists), those numbers are just unheard of. And he’s doing it on a nightly basis. It’s fun to watch?”

What did the Mavericks do to him?

“Well, we tried to put an older guy on him,” Kidd said. “He’s such a nice gentleman, he respected me I guess too much.”

Kidd laughed.

“No, we didn’t do anything,” Kidd said. “We tried to show him four guys at all times, in the sense that if there was someone guarding him, he also saw two or three more guys that he has to try to beat. But now he’s like a quarterback, he is understanding situations, and he’s delivering, making the right pass or finishing the play. So now he’s playing at a different level than he did last year.”

Kerr’s view on Wade?

“I think Dwyane has lost a step,” Kerr said. “He’s still a great player, but he’s not what he was five, six years ago. When you get older, you have to start relying on your jumpshot more, and his jumpshot has never been the best part of his game. He’s kind of a streaky shooter. The first time Miami made the Finals in ’06, he was getting to the line 15, 20 times a game. That just won’t be the case anymore. He won’t be as consistent with his production.”

Phil Jackson sat down for a lengthy interview with HBO’s Real Sports, with the segment initially airing this upcoming Tuesday at 10, and extra footage featured on HBO.com.

Here’s what he told Andrea Kremer about the Miami Heat:

ANDREA KREMER:  Do you think LeBron’s not being utilized in the best way?

PHIL JACKSON:  Oh, they’re– they’re using LeBron every possible way they can.  He’s such a great player.  I still think his game is gonna grow.  I still think it’s gonna grow.  But he was like Scottie Pippen was to the Bulls.  He’s maybe a pass first and shoot second player.  Whereas, you know, Michael or Kobe are like, “I’m gonna shoot this ball.”  Every time they get the ball, they’re looking to score.  LeBron’s not like that.  And I love that about him.  But he also, when he goes after scoring, he’s also terrific.  You want a player that can do both.  I tried to get Kobe to do both for numbers of years, and he could.  But his first instinct is to beat the guy that’s in front of him.

ANDREA KREMER:  Having had the formula for success, for melding together two talents, when you look at a LeBron James and a Dwyane Wade, what do you see?

PHIL JACKSON:  They’re doin’ great together.  I mean, they really play off each other well. They are doing really well together.

ANDREA KREMER:  Do you ever think about coaching those two?

PHIL JACKSON: No, I never– I never considered that, no.  You know, they’re talents.  And– you know, I think Pat has his finger on the pulse there.  And he knows what he wants.

ANDREA KREMER:  Could you ever work with or for Pat Riley?

PHIL JACKSON:  Of course.  I mean, we both have respect for each other.  And we’re both basketball-minded guys.  I mean, yeah, that’d be no problem.  But I’d probably rather have him working for me than me working for him.

Serge Ibaka wasn’t supposed to be one of the primary storylines of this series, and certainly not due to anything he said.

Yet, after Monday’s practice, Ibaka said this to a trio of reporters — including one from the Palm Beach Post:

“LeBron is not a good defender,” Ibaka said. “He can play defense for two to three minutes but not 48 minutes.”

This, of course, became a primary media talking point overnight and into the morning.

James’ response?

More amused than annoyed.

Like dirt on, and off, the shoulder.

“I’m not sitting here saying that I’m a Durant stopper, because there’s no such thing,” James said. “I’ve got to rely on my defense behind me to communicate with me. But I don’t really care what he says. It’s stupid. Everyone says something to me every series. You guys keep trying to get a quote from me.”

James then clarified that the “stupid” comment wasn’t directed at Ibaka, but toward the controversy.

“I don’t really care what he says,” James said. “It’s stupid.”

Scott Brooks, the Thunder coach, said he had never spoken with Ibaka about the Thunder forward’s opinions of James — and why would he? — but agreed with the assessment that no one player can guard Kevin Durant, or James for that matter.

Ibaka did not speak to the media after Oklahoma City’s shootaround, but Durant had this take, according to @DailyThunder:

“Serge believes in me and he believes in what we do here. He’s just taking up for me and taking up for our whole team. LeBron’s a good defender. I’ll tell him that. He’s a good defender. But it’s not about him, it’s about us, what we can do. We can’t come into the game worried about how he’s going to guard me, how he’s going to guard Russ, how he’s going to guard James (Harden). We can’t worry about that. We just have to play our games and that’s basically what Serge was saying. Just play my game.”

Dwyane Wade’s view on the whole thing?

“I don’t think LeBron James needs any extra motivation,” Wade said.

There’s been some trash talk between the two teams over the past two years.

Durant called Chris Bosh “a fake tough guy,” after Miami’s early 2011 win in Oklahoma City.

“We squashed that at last year’s All-Star Game,” Bosh said.

Kendrick Perkins mocked James’ use of Twitter to praise Blake Griffin’s dunk on Perkins. Udonis Haslem called out Perkins on Miami radio, saying Perkins wouldn’t be so tough on a playground, with the protection of the rules and officials.

“Things are going to escalate as the series goes on,” Bosh said. “So that is nothing out of the norm. You can get sick of seeing the same dude over and over and over, and you can really despise a team after playing a series against them. I think everybody in the league will tell you that. But it’s nothing out of the norm. We’ve seen everything.”

During a postseason with some potholes, Dwyane Wade has looked outward as well as inward — even taking a one-hour trip from Indianapolis to Bloomington during the second round to visit with his college coach, Tom Crean.

Sources told the Post that, last week, Wade also reached out for a trusted friend and adviser to come to him.

Tim Grover, the founder and owner of Attack Athletics, is best known for all his years training Michael Jordan, and has been working lately with Kobe Bryant in Germany. After returning to the United States, Grover went with Bryant to Los Angeles, when Wade requested he come to Miami. With Bryant’s permission, Grover flew to South Florida, arriving on Saturday, watching Game 3 of the NBA Finals from AmericanAirlines Arena on Sunday night, scheduled to stay a few days to work on Wade’s body and mind.

It is no secret that Wade’s lower legs – especially his left knee – have been bothering him throughout the playoffs. It is also not a secret that some in the organization were less than thrilled with the basketball condition in which Wade arrived to training camp this season, though Wade recently said he believed his offseason program had served him well during the lockout-compressed schedule.

He spent less time than usual with Grover at Hoops Gym in Chicago this summer and during the lockout, in part so he could work more closely with LeBron James. Grover was largely credited with getting Wade back into premium shape in 2008, after Wade had suffered a number of injuries. Wade showed the worth of that work by starring for the U.S. Olympic “Redeem Team”, as arguably its most dynamic player.

Wade has played the same number of playoff games so far, in 2012, that he did in 2011. Perceptions aside, his overall numbers actually aren’t all that different, in several categories, and some of the difference is a result of the larger role that James has taken. Wade has played three more total minutes than in the 2011 postsaeson, has made just one fewer field goal and committed just one more turnover. He is averaging fewer points (22.9 compared to 24.5), fewer rebounds (5.1 compared to 7.1), and shooting slightly lower percentages from the floor (46.1 vs. 48.5), the three-point line (25.8 vs. 26.9) and the free throw line (73.0 vs. 77.7).

(Here’s video of Wade discussing his relationship with Grover in 2010.)

Alluded to these numbers in my column Sunday night, but here they are again:

In the 2011 Finals, LeBron James attempted 20 free throws in six games.

In the 2012 Finals, he has attempted 29 free throws in three games.

In the 2011 Finals, James took 90 shots the entire series.

He already taken 69.

In the 2011 Finals, he scored 107 points.

He has already scored 91.

“Yeah, he’s a totally different player,” Dwyane Wade said. “Obviously up until The Finals last year he was having an amazing playoffs. He had a game (Game 3 of the Finals) where he struggled and he kind of let that get into his mind a little bit, and he was thinking too much. Now he’s playing, he’s on attack, and being very aggressive. When he puts his head down to go to the rim, you have no other choice but to foul him or he’s going to finish…. He’s playing aggressive, and that’s the difference obviously from last year to this year, and the difference in our team.”

Numbers of note from the Heat’s Game 3 win:

16 percent: What the Heat shot outside the paint. And still won, because it went 31-of-35 from the line, and scored 46 points in the paint.

15-7: The Heat run in the third quarter after Kevin Durant picked up his fourth foul and Scott Brooks also put Russell Westbrook on the bench. Brooks said it was to settle Westbrook down some, but it was a strange decision, and it backfired.

31-of-35: It’s become impossible to explain the Heat at the line.

29: Free throw attempts for LeBron James in three Finals games. He had 20 in six Finals games in 2011. “I just wanted to counter their aggression with aggression,” James said.

8: Straight shots that Chris Bosh missed after a hot start. But he did make two big free throws down the stretch, and he had 11 rebounds, four on the offensive end.

8-4: The scoring edge for James over Durant in the fourth quarter, even with James shooting from the field two fewer times. That should quiet everyone… for a minute.

5: Turnovers for Dwyane Wade, though it felt like 50. He had one of his better passing games of the season, setting up Bosh several times early, and deserving more than the seven assists he recorded. But he had terrible trouble handling the ball in traffic. Eventually, Erik Spoelstra put the ball in James’ hands.

12: Minutes for James Jones, who couldn’t get off the bench in the 2011 Finals. He had six points, and was one of two Heat shooters fouled on a three. This came after Mike Miller gave Miami six active minutes in the first, even providing a rare tap-in.

12: Rebounds for Kendrick Perkins, whose presence on the floor has been questioned.

9-9: The scoring between James Harden and Derek Fisher. That says more about Harden (2-of-10) than about Fisher.