>If you can’t take the Heat by Brian Geltzeiler
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Its been difficult writing about the NBA this season and not overdoing it about the Miami Heat (or as Chris Webber likes to call them, The Miami Warm…) And as consumed as the NBA community was with the never ending Carmelo Anthony saga, the most compelling theater of the regular season has been Miami, win or lose. This column will be partially devoted to my take on what ails the team the whole league loves to hate and then I will finish with a few other random thoughts.
As we stand right now, Miami has lost five of their last eight, but they’ve won two in a row at home against the Lakers and Memphis. Generally they have not fared well at all against the better competition in the league, exempting their season sweep of the Lakers. And while this is an issue, it doesn’t mean a lot until the playoffs. The issue that has been beaten into the ground are the Heat’s consistent failings in the last 10 seconds of games. It seems as though the old Michael Jordan formula of clearing out for one guy and letting him do his thing doesn’t actually work that well, unless your team has, well, Michael Jordan. In Miami’s case, they have anointed the self proclaimed King, everyone’s favorite narcissist, Lebron James as their version of late game Jordan.
Now please don’t get me wrong. With the right match up, a clear out for one player can be a very good strategy in the last seconds of a game. And there certainly are a select few that come to mind besides Jordan who have earned the Jordan treatment in the last ten seconds of games. Kobe Bryant immediately comes to mind, but the list is short. Lebron James would like to be on that list. A player doesn’t land on that list, through endorsements, global branding, or statistics. Guys get on that list because they win games for their teams in the final seconds. That and only that, earn permanent last second clear out status. James has been awarded that status in Miami without ever earning it.
I’m also not sure that Dwyane Wade has earned it either. The easy answer for the Lebron haters has been to declare Wade as the Heat’s last second answer. Although Wade’s involvement in these spots has been generally limited, his execution hasn’t exactly been flawless either. So until one of these two star players earns that right, the ensemble approach is the best approach. The answer to the question of who takes the big shot is simple. The player with the most favorable match up should be getting the chance to close games, whoever that may be.
The other huge problem the Heat are having is this combined loss of intensity and focus in the second half of games in this recent swoon. Because the Heat do not have a consistent post player, they struggle to get easy baskets in the half court. However, the Heat have two of the best athletes in the league in Wade and James who are virtually impossible to stop in the open floor. It doesn’t take a Nobel Prize winner to figure out that Miami needs to take every opportunity they can to push the ball in transition and get their studs out in the open floor. Too often, in the third and fourth quarter of games, the Heat are content to walk the ball up the floor. Because of their lack of a post presence and their propensity to attempt long two pointers, despite all the talent, they’re not a great half court offensive team. Easy baskets in transition are crucial for them because they’re not getting a ton of easy ones in the half court. Miami needs to push the ball just as aggressively in the second half as they do in the first. Part of the problem is their lack of a competent point guard who is comfortable pushing tempo. That puts the burden on Wade and James.
In the end, this year’s Heat team will be defined the same way the other top teams in the league are defined. No one remembers what happens in the regular season. It will all come down to what Miami does in the playoffs. And the bottom line is that beyond Wade, James, and to a lesser extent, Bosh, the Heat don’t have enough quality personnel in the places they need it to do any kind of significant damage in the playoffs. I believe the same thing I believed before the season began. This is a team capable of making it to the East finals this year and no further. Ne t year, depending upon a large variety of factors, could be a different story. But for this year, the Miami Warm have a ceiling on how high the temperature can get.
As always visit Brian at HoopsCritic or chat with him on twitter
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