NBA
Lebron will never be Michael...
THE HEAT LOSE A CLOSE ONE, AGAIN…
The Miami Heat have played 61 games, and have the second best record in the East behind the Boston Celtics, but they are far from a Championship caliber team. They are 29-2 against teams with sub .500 records, which is what great teams do, but they are 14-16 against those teams over .500. The Heat lose too many games they should win, and are an abysmal 5-12 in games decided by 5 points or less. The Heat continue to fail against quality opponents and continue to do so in troublesome ways. For the third time in eight days they blew a big lead against a potential playoff opponent and for the third time they didn’t execute on offense in the closing stretch, despite having two of the greatest offensive players in history.
It started February 24th, in Chicago, when the Heat had a 9 point half time lead, and a four point lead with under 5 minutes to go. They were beaten up on the backboards, outrebounded 53-39. Miami’s team is 7th in rebounding but lacks size to defend the bigger and better teams in the league. Chris Bosh shot 1 for 18 in this game, the worst since Tim Hardaway shot 0 for 17 in 1991. So much for the Big Three, Bosh is a nice player, but by no means a star player. He is also a soft power forward, as in he shys away from contact and would rather take a 15 footer than go into the paint. The Heat still were in this game until the very end, but their lack of execution down the stretch has become a major flaw with this team. Lebron James, the chief culprit, threw up an off balance potential game tying three with 9 seconds left. There was no need to rush this shot as they had just gained possession. I don’t know if coach Eric Spoelstra drew up this play or the stars on this team are running the show. I’m sure Spoelstra is a good coach, but I have believed from the start that this team needed a name coach, whether it was Pat Riley or someone else.
They followed up this performance with collapses against the Knicks and Magic. In the Knick game they were ahead by 15 in the first half, and 84-78 with 3:05 left. The Heat couldn’t close the game out, again. Lebron was again given the opportunity to close the game out, and had a layup blocked by Stoudemire when his team was down by 1 with :07 seconds left, and then missed a wide open game tying three to end the game. James has not developed into that Michael Jordan type closer. He is the most talented player in the league and he needs to take start playing like it in the 4th quarter of games. This takes us to the Orlando game. The Heat were up 73-49 in the 3rd quarter, and lost 99-96. Orlando went on a 40-9 run in this game. How does that happen? Lebron was scoreless in the 4th quarter, and missed another game tying three. This is another example of how inept they have been down the stretch against good teams. I also don’t understand how Dwyane Wade doesn’t get an opportunity to make a play in crunch time. He has led a team to a Championship, and does not need to defer to Lebron.
All this being said, the Heat have 21 games to figure it out, and I don’t think they will. This team is missing something, maybe its toughness. They are 0-3 against the Celtics, who outmuscle and outphysical them. Boston is simply a tougher team. The Bulls and Orlando have quick penetrating point guards, as does Boston in Rondo, who can break down the defense forcing Miami to double and chase. Out west, the Lakers and Spurs are also better teams than Miami. However the Heat know, a win in San Antonio on Friday or against theChicago Bulls on Sunday or even the Los Angeles Lakers next week will be like a salve. It always is. In the regular season, you’re only as healthy or sick as your last game. That being said, I simply don’t think this team has the mental or physical toughness to win a championship. But what do I know…
