I don't watch a whole lot of non-Bulls NBA games, but I've watched several Heat games and I watched them beat the Lakers last night. What I saw last night, and particularly in the 4th quarter, gave me pause. One problem that the Heat have had in earlier games I watched is that they seemed to play as if their big 3 could take turns playing the role of "Alpha Dog." In the NFL, they say that if you think you have 2 starting QBs, you don't have a starting QB. The same can be said about alpha dogs in the NBA. Down the stretch the Heat completely turned the game over to Wade the same way that the Lakers turned it over to Kobe. Since they were defending each other, it became a classic death match...and Wade won it. I'll be interested to see if the Heat stick to this. If they want to win, they should. Also of note was that Bosh was used very effectively, Mike Miller played some great ball for the Heat last night and Mike Bibby gave them a huge lift hitting consecutive 3s early in Q4. It was an impressive performance. If they stick to the strategy they used last night, my guess is that they're about to go on a tear.
Kind of disrespectful, and not factually based. Wade was bad against Chicago in their last loss, 20 points 7 turnovers. Bosh was historically bad against Chicago in the other loss. LeBron is the most consistent of them, you're giving the others a pass out of ignorance. The Heat's problem is that Wade has played poorly during this losing streak, not that he doesn't get shot opportunities. He gets 20 shots a night to make his case, he hasn't performed well. LeBron has always had monster clutch numbers, his teams haven't been able to play defense which is different. Wade's not hitting at a good clip in crunch time, he creates for himself so he has no excuses. Also Wade was terrible throughout most of the game, he had a game score of 14. My guess is that once people stop talking about 1 point losses, they'll realize this closing stuff is mythology and the Heat simply need normal production from Bosh and Wade.
Wade has played poorly against elite defenses this season, if he is better at the beginning of games the Heat win. He's 1-8 at the end of games in tying or winning situations, the pass you're trying to give him doesn't work.
Thanks, huevonkiller...you'd know better than me. It just looked to me that your team looked more focused with Wade taking the lead role down the stretch and the other players in supporting roles.
Transplant, I have watched the Heat all season, and what you say is more true early in the season. They could not have Wade and LeBron alternating as alpha dog. Their record improved remarkably when they basically mad LeBron the primary ball handler. The price seems to be that Wade isn't as sharp in clutch situations as he has been. What you describe is something of a shakeup that seems to have worked - at least for the one game.
Even mediocre teams are supposed to beat a good team at home every once in a while. I'm sticking to my premature pronouncement that they're dead, until I see a little more from them. Then I'll make a premature announcement that they'll win 8 championships. That's how this goes.
Denny, then it does indeed sound like a baseball manager trying to break a losing streak by shaking up the lineup. Sure looked good last night. If Spoelstra is like any self-respecting baseball manager, he'll stick with this until they lose 'cause as Crash Davis said, you never fuck with a winning streak.
Bosh was involved, they won...hmmm. Wade closing out instead of LeBron, they could be on to something!
They could be on to something....until it doesn't work. It's still a recipe for frayed egos and bruised feelings. But yeah, if they actually decide to serve the team instead of themselves, then there might be trouble down the road.... And by the way, Phil Jackson likes to set up his opponents by making them overconfident or focused too much on themselves. I remember he was said to have shouted at Pippen when Portland nearly eliminated LA, "You can't do everything, Scottie!" He has a way of f'ing with your mind that's very hard to resist. This is my way of saying that I wouldn't be surprised if he isn't too unhappy that Miami won now. But, I like PJ consipiracy theories.
Still looked like 1 on 1 basketball to me with the occasional kickout. Given heat has some of the best 1 on 1 players in the world, they are going to win a few. I do think Wade is a better closer than LeBron.
The Heat have their "swagger" back after the win, but I think the loss to Portland really exposed Miami moving forward. The Blazers focused on shutting down the supporting cast and let Wade & LeBron shoulder the offensive load on 41 of 72 possessions.
I didn't see the game. I have watched ten to fifteen or so other Heat games this season, and the Heat don't have one problem, they have many. No one on that team guards the basket. Their half-court offense grinds to a halt because all three of their primary scorers need the ball in their hands. Their bench sucks, not due in small part to the fact that they never run without one of the "stars" on the court. Their defense breaks down at crucial moments because they have no big men who scare guards. Bosh is inconsistent and get's caught up in shooting outside shots too often, when, in their offense, they really need him to stick in the post. Their rebounding is wicikedly inconsistent unless they get a supreme performance from their 92 year old center. It goes on and on and on. Mediocre teams beat good teams at home. That's the way it goes. I don't think the heat are ready for the playoffs and cast them in the lot of the Dallas Mavericks, where they could have a much better record and I still wouldn't fear them. A win against the Lakers doesn't change any of the above.
Yeah and Kobe was a better closer than Shaq. Too bad Kobe was an inefficient volume scorer that never won the Finals MVP those years with Shaq. Wade is an inefficient and inconsistent player in crunch time, and it doesn't matter what you "think", you're wrong in this case. He was very bad against Chicago, San Antonio, and New York. LeBron is better against the Lakers too, so when you can present an argument that matters I'll listen.
The Heat have lost a handful of games by one possession, if they use James Jones instead of Mike Miller they'd have homecourt advantage over Boston. They have a few problems that media hacks like to exaggerate. They were in a terrible slump, and only have one more loss than LA. Winning close games in the post-season is what will define them, not getting the job done in early march. The Cavs were masters of that, now the Heat can try to be the opposite of them.
Do you have stats to proved that Wade is an inefficient and inconsistent player in crunch time? Let's face it. Wade was closer for a championship team. Kobe was the closer for 5 championship teams. Lebron hasn't closed anything. Deal with it.
I really hope Miami thinks their performance at the end of games is just a statistical anomaly and don't change a thing. Let Lebron take wild charges in from the top of the key.
Hollinger was talking about the Lakers but mentioned how rare it was for a #3 seed to win a champtionshiop. Twice in the last 30 years. The regular season matters.
I like your optimism and I'm never going to try to talk anyone out of believing in their team (except when I try to talk people out of believing in their teams.) I think the broader point is this: If the Heat win a championship, they're going to have to win in a way that has not been done in recent history. Right now they're constituted like the Mavs, this year excluded, or the Suns, where their best play comes when they get up and down the court and score points in transition. They don't have players who can guard the hoop and don't function that much above average in half court sets. The recipe for a championship seems to be defense, controlling turnovers, manning the boards, executing on offense in half court sets, and finishing well; not getting out, running and destroying teams in transition. That hasn't worked well in the past. When it gets to the last quarter or so of the season and into the playoffs, the teams that are able to grind it out, who can play and inside and outside game, seem to flourish. This has been true since at least 1988 (Lakers, Lakers, Celtics, Spurs, Heat, Spurs, Pistons, Spurs, Lakers, Lakers, Lakers, Spurs, Bulls, Bulls, Bulls, Rockets, Rockets, Bulls, Bulls, Bulls, Pistons, Pistons.) Riley sold Lebron James on his three star theory, which is fine. I see the thing that ties the above teams together is half court execution, on both sides of the ball. It's still possible the Heat, even as currently constituted, put things together and show more than they have in the past. I just don't see how they're particularly well built for a playoff run. Edit: One last comment, in regard to media hacks no one has received more protection than the Heat. I think the Heat deserve every story that is written about them because they are so dang fascinating and everyone wants to read about them. But to claim that they media is unfairly criticizing them just isn't right. They're a good team, Oklahoma Thunder good, but have a ton of flaws. That statement from the Heat beat writer last night that the Lakers will regret losing in Miami remains a 10 on the unintentional comedy scale.
Here's another example of what I'm talking about. The headline in today's run down of the Heat-Grizzlies game: The Heat are five games behind Boston in the loss column when you factor in that the Celtics own the tie breaker. (They're also four games back of Chicago but whatever.) Do the Heat have any chance of making up five games on Boston when there're only nineteen games left in the season? No. Why would you write that headline?
