Last night, the Miami Heat lost to the Orlando Magic by a score of 99 to 96. At first glance, the score does not appear to be that big of a deal - after all, they only lost by three points. However, the Magic were down by 24 points in the third quarter, then went on a 40-9 run over the next fifteen minutes to pull out the victory.
This season, there have been six occurrences where a team has lost after pulling out to a 22 or more point lead. Miami has two of those six. Also, the Heat have seen leads of 15 points evaporate to the Knicks, and barely hung on to a victory over the Magic last month despite a 23 point lead. They also had a 23 point lead over the Indiana Pacers a couple of weeks ago, which they managed to hang on to.
This is a sign for the Heat, and is a damning indictment for what was supposed to be a team that should breeze through the calender towards their anointment as champions. Despite having a great deal of talent in their 'Big Three' of LeBron James, Dwayne Wade, and Chris Bosh, they lack the intangibles. They lack the killer instinct. They lack heart.
Looking at teams that the Heat may have to face in the playoffs, this promises to be magnified further. The Celtics of Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce would never allow this to happen. Kobe and the Lakers would never allow this to happen. Even the Orlando Magic have proven that they will not back down, and can stand up to the paper champions.
The Heat are similar to the classic schoolyard bully. They can dominate the weaker opposition with ease, but cannot handle it when someone stands up to them. In retrospect, should anyone truly be surprised by this? The foundation of the team is a player who quit during the playoffs last season (James), someone who has never made it out of the first round and has not displayed any leadership qualities whatsoever (Bosh), and someone who is going along with what his pals want (Wade). Yes, Wade has won a championship, but it makes one wonder how much of that should be attributed to an angered Shaquille O'Neal at this point. Could it be that Shaq carried Wade to the title, as opposed to the other way around, regardless of what the statistics may have said?
Yes, the Heat will make it out of the first round, mainly because they will draw a team that won't stand up to them. But it would be shocking if they made it past round two, especially with fortitude they have displayed thus far.
Showing posts with label Chris Bosh. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Chris Bosh. Show all posts
Friday, March 4, 2011
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
The NBA has a looming problem
In the wake of the Carmelo Anthony trade to the Knicks, a pattern has begun to develop. At this point, players have begun colluding amongst themselves, agreeing to play for a specific teams in order to build a few 'super teams'. Now, there is nothing illegal about this on the dies of the players, but if the owners were to get together in order to lower salaries, it would be a severe issue. Nothing quite like a double standard.
When did this all begin? In terms of athletes intentionally creating the 'super team' concept, it leads back to the Boston Celtics in the 2007-08 season, when Ray Allen and Paul Pierce pleaded with Kevin Garnett to join them in Boston. With the formation of the 'Big Three', the die had been cast.
Fast forward to this past off-season. LeBron, Dwayne Wade, and Chris Bosh meet several times, and decide to partner up in Miami to create their own Super Team, only their version is a younger, more dynamic group with three players entering their prime. It doesn't matter that the Heat no longer have anything resembling a surrounding cast to support them, as there was no longer any room under the cap. They have their version of the Big Three scoring roughly 68.6% of the team's points. The fourth leading scorer? Udonis Haslem, who is out for a long time at 8.0 points per game. Behind him? We find Eddie House at 6.9 points per.
Now, the New York Knicks are joining the party. After picking up Amare Stoudemire through free agency, they picked up Carmelo Anthony, who forced the Denver Nuggets to trade him. So who is the third piece? None other than Chris Paul, who joined Carmelo and Amare in toasting to playing together in New York during Carmelo's wedding. Paul happens to be a free agent after next season, so don't expect him to sign an extension in New Orleans.
The NBA is rapidly becoming a collection of the haves against the have nots. Why play in a place like Toronto or Sacramento, when you can force that team to deal you to a team like Miami or New York? Why attempt to build something in an area that truly enjoys basketball, but happens to be in the middle of nowhere? After all, image is so much more important than the game, right?
This is something that David Stern needs to look at during the collective bargaining agreement. The league may become nothing more than six to eight teams loaded with superstars, while the rest of the teams either have to fold or play in obscurity. A hard salary cap would help to fix this issue. So would creating a franchise type tag in the NBA. But regardless of what they determine the answer to be, this needs to be fixed. And soon.
When did this all begin? In terms of athletes intentionally creating the 'super team' concept, it leads back to the Boston Celtics in the 2007-08 season, when Ray Allen and Paul Pierce pleaded with Kevin Garnett to join them in Boston. With the formation of the 'Big Three', the die had been cast.
Fast forward to this past off-season. LeBron, Dwayne Wade, and Chris Bosh meet several times, and decide to partner up in Miami to create their own Super Team, only their version is a younger, more dynamic group with three players entering their prime. It doesn't matter that the Heat no longer have anything resembling a surrounding cast to support them, as there was no longer any room under the cap. They have their version of the Big Three scoring roughly 68.6% of the team's points. The fourth leading scorer? Udonis Haslem, who is out for a long time at 8.0 points per game. Behind him? We find Eddie House at 6.9 points per.
Now, the New York Knicks are joining the party. After picking up Amare Stoudemire through free agency, they picked up Carmelo Anthony, who forced the Denver Nuggets to trade him. So who is the third piece? None other than Chris Paul, who joined Carmelo and Amare in toasting to playing together in New York during Carmelo's wedding. Paul happens to be a free agent after next season, so don't expect him to sign an extension in New Orleans.
The NBA is rapidly becoming a collection of the haves against the have nots. Why play in a place like Toronto or Sacramento, when you can force that team to deal you to a team like Miami or New York? Why attempt to build something in an area that truly enjoys basketball, but happens to be in the middle of nowhere? After all, image is so much more important than the game, right?
This is something that David Stern needs to look at during the collective bargaining agreement. The league may become nothing more than six to eight teams loaded with superstars, while the rest of the teams either have to fold or play in obscurity. A hard salary cap would help to fix this issue. So would creating a franchise type tag in the NBA. But regardless of what they determine the answer to be, this needs to be fixed. And soon.
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