Heat's failings have to be bringing joy to some

I imagine there is an awful lot of glee floating around these days about the plight of the Miami Heat.

The team so many love to hate – and for a lot of right reasons, actually – looks beaten, bowed and dysfunctional today, hammered in Indiana last night, minus Chris Bosh and with Dwyane Wade alternating between awful and clashing on the sideline in a very emotional confrontation with coach Erik Spoelstra.

Now, it’s dangerous to say they’re done – the series is only 2-1, they do have LeBron James and the Pacers don’t have a rich playoff history to draw on as close-out games get closer – but, man, Miami looks pretty average.

Great, isn’t it?

Ever since the totally unwarranted, over-the-top “celebration” of the Big Three, the Heat have been one of the most unlikable teams in recent sports history for a lot of people.

I truly believe many of us like our sports stars to be a bit humble, to behave in a certain way, a wee bit of swagger but not that much, and the Heat have fallen far below those standards.

They have been boastful to some degree and in-your-face far too much.

They seem to have some sense of entitlement built on reputation rather than performance; yes, they have been good with gusts to great and they did play for a championship a year ago but, really, they haven’t come all that close to the greatness and dominance they told us would come when they spoke of rolling to multiple championships with an unprecedented roster of talented individuals.

A lot of people I know love it and I presume that includes more than a few NBA general managers. The great fear when Miami was putting together this roster and the players were conspiring to seemingly make it easy on themselves to win was that it would work. That the Heat would get two, three, four titles and then everyone would have had to either find a way to put together Super Teams or hope that star players wanted join forces on some other franchise like James and Bosh did when they hooked up with Wade and “took their talents to South Beach.”

But it is, to me, simply great that it hasn’t really worked out that way quite yet; nor has it worked in New York with another group of stars who finagled their way on to the same roster.

I love that a “team” is beating a “collection of stars” so handily, I love that the Indiana Pacers are getting some appreciation for being more than the sum of their parts.

I value team over individual every day of the week, I like chemistry and playing for each other and a group that simply does what it takes with little regard for ego or The Man or “I’m going to get mine and then you get yours.”

Now, as I said, we may rue the day we counted the Heat out, they could very well not only win this series but the next one and play for a second championship in as many years.

But it doesn’t look like that today and I, and I’m sure a lot of you, are quite happy about that.

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Now, I mocked disco with the best of ‘em, it was more noise than music and it was an era that I don’t imagine too many of you miss.

But there is no denying this woman’s singing chops, is there?

RIP Donna Summer.

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Well, there’s goes the undefeated season.

Yeah, Mighty Red Tigers go down to Opening Day defeat but it goes in the books as a one-run loss (we ran into a curfew after the Other Evil Doers got a few in the top of the seventh) but we comported ourselves well and even as the youngest team in the league – more than a couple of 14-year-olds on a 15-man roster playing against kids up to 17 – we’re going to be all right.

Take too many pitches, need to get better jumps on balls hit to the outfield but that’s where coaching comes in, I guess.

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Mail? Please. I have a few hours to kill before, well, before the weekend hits and there aren’t an awful lot of questions, comments or hellos over there.

Help a fella out?

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So, Adam Lind’s in Vegas.

How the somewhat mighty have fallen.

There are far brighter baseball minds than mine that will dissect and discuss the TOD demoting the first baseman – seemingly out of nowhere – yesterday afternoon but what I want to see is how Lind handles getting sent to the minors.

It’s a slap in the face, no question, but he had to know something was coming because he simply wasn’t producing; being bounced down the order was the first step and when things didn’t improve measurably, the step taken Thursday was logical, if a bit earlier than some had thought.

But does he go to Vegas and pout? Or perform.

There is no question he has a large measure of skill, he’s performed admirably at the major league level, hitting consistently and he became a far better first baseman than a lot of people ever thought he would by sheer hard work.

Now he has to put that effort to work in the minors and force the Jays to do something with him.

Wonder if he will.

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I must be missing something because when we were trying to get a gaggle of folks out for a post-game social session last night far too many family members had to race home to see Gray’s Anatomy.

Guess Dr. McDreamy’s still there?

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I bet you could have made an awful lot of money if you’d wagered that the only winter pro sports team playing in Los Angeles when the American Memorial Day weekend hit would have been the pucks.

And a weekend that could been epic – a hockey game last night, NBA tonight, two NBA games tomorrow, a pucks-hoops doubleheader on Sunday – now looks downright funereal.

There’s every chance the only team standing come Monday morning will be the Kings.

Oh, yeah, a Kings team that was the eighth seed going into the post-season. Bet fans out there are pretty glad they didn’t tank.

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Comments

[LeeZ]

The Lawrie helmet throwing incident has spawned yet another Hitler parody on youtube. This one might be my favourite, though. Laughed till I cried:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T-BZIEBnDHw&sns=em

[511]

So true about the Heat. If it keeps up (and yes, fingers crossed!) it would be a whole lot of justice prevailing. For a moment back then - when the ‘decision(s)’ were made - it felt like the tenets of teamwork and team-building were being seriously challenged. So ... go Pacers! I think I’ll pull out my DVD copy of Hoosiers over the weekend.

[LeeZ]

Doug, I...I...I simply have not the words, so I will post this link and be done with it. Red Rocket fans, prepare to fall in love with one Patrick Gonzalez!
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/05/17/patrick-gonzalez-matt-bonner-haircut-photo_n_1525578.html
P.S. How the hell did the barber do it? Pretty amazing. Oh, and the kid and his family scored tickets to the Spurs Clippers game, courtesy of the Spurs. And Matt sent the kid a personal message: “Keep supporting us redheads in the NBA.”

[Felix]

Doug,

This isn't meant to sound confrontational, but I am confused with your assessment of the Pacer-Heat series. In the past, you have said that you would rather have a team with a star that can take over at the end of games, than a bunch of role players. But here you wrote "I value team over individual every day of the week". Could you clarify the distinction?

Blogger's note: Yeah, I would rather have a team that works together to be better than perhaps the sum of its parts with a guy or two who can make a play when necessary. But that guy never gets the opportunity if the team doesn't work

[David in Oakville]

Hmmm... seeing the HEAT collapse like that without Bosh in the lineup makes me wonder if they picked the wrong guy as MVP.

I think it must be CB1's sense of humour that keeps the other two loose and from taking themselves too serious.

Bosh for MVP? (I keed...)

[David in Oakville]

And ohhh.. the Donna Summer passing caught everyone off guard. As my wife said to me last night.. "I didn't even know she was sick". To which I replied... "hmm.. must have been Disco Fever!". Sorry I couldn't resist. RIP Ms Summer!

[Gord]

'seemingly out of nowhere'….??? Seriously!?!?! He only had a early season discussion with AA in spring training about him hitting .140 last July, .213 last Aug and .210 last September and what the team expects of him in the 4th spot this season. Then had another discussion with Farrell 10 days ago about hitting .146 in April and .209 so far this May than moved to the eighth spot – if that is not enough for a player to see the signs, I don’t know what is. So, not really “out of no-where” was this move.

“Bet fans out there are glad they didn’t tank” – Hmmm, the word “tank” wasn’t even mentioned with that Kings team or their fans this year or last!…they made the play-off last two seasons, they made a huge trade last summer to try and win more and take a further run in the play-offs, they were always in play-off contention this year (playing the majority – if not all - of the season in a play-off spot), never playing in the bottom tier of the league. They tanked a few years back cashing in over the past two seasons on those draft picks….they were actually underachieving this season with lack of goal scoring production (but not even thinking of tanking) this why they finished eighth, the expectation of the team was to play better then they did, but they were still a play-off team….what team tanks or even talks about it while they are in a play-off run?. Then, the fact they traded one of those lottery picks (Jack Johnson) for Jeff Carter (veteran play-off player) at the deadline this year should tell you – the team and it’s fans never mentioned “tanking” from what I recall - they weren’t even thinking of it, they were making a Cup run push. Maybe you read something I didn’t, it’s possible. For some one who is writing on “sports blog” now should get the story covered more deeply before commenting on it! as a reader that is what I want!

Blogger's note: Feel free to seek other places

[DaveT (Ottawa)]

While I think it's a little too early to write off Miami (it's only 2-1 and either one of LeBron or Wade is capable of putting the team on his back for one game; if they go home tied 2-2 I don't like Indiana's chances), at least for this round, how much are they missing Chris Bosh?

He's certainly the least talented of the "Big Three", he's never been a transcendent athlete (all first step, not much bounce). But last year I couldn't shake the feeling that Bosh and Wade with a good supporting cast might be better than the Big Three with center-by-committee. Similarly this year it's been Bosh and LeBron with Wade looking quite average at times. It's more than just 20 pts 8 rbs, look at the matchups in this series. Indiana goes to Hibbert early and often before forgetting works for them. Bosh makes Hibbert work in a way Joel Anthony and Rony Turiaf really can't (see the beginning of Game 1).

It's funny how a team with the NBA's MVP might have the "RuPaul of big men" as it's Most Important Player. I'm happy for him, and wish him a speedy recovery because if Miami does make it past Indiana, they're really going to need him against Boston.

[doug]

to me it is more about the Pacers that performing so well as one selfless unit then the Heat...this year in some ways has been a abomination of a b-ball season, what with the strike, shortened season, stars resting etc....but to see the glass half full we have seen some fine b-ball and I will include that Wildcats championship team in there....we have the Pacers who are a well coached cohesive unit, and the Spurs who are a machine, and Kentucky with a bunch of kids who just moved the ball, made the right plays and should have been undefeated...all superb teams, but to me the media at times misses the boat, ESPN especially, they are the one's that perpetrated this whole Heat situation, Knicks and Melo thing and now Howard...where is the coverage on true quality TEAMS...the Pacers and Spurs have been after-thoughts even the Thunder haven't been given their proper due...ESPN uses the TMZ model in sportscasting , they want stars, they market stars not teams, their not a sports network their a star driven gossip network....look at what they did with Tiger, so I am glad to see the best teams prevail and well coached solid organizations advance..it looks good on the game as the game ultimately wins out...cheers..

[Ted]

I love seeing the Heat lose, along with the rest of you. My favourite NBA achievement of the past decade or two is the no-name Pistons beating the all-star Lakers. I had less respect for that Lakers team than any other team, except maybe today's Heat. They already had Kobe & Shaq, then Malone & Payton joined the team "to get a ring" to round out their careers. Just like the Heat, they felt that rings were won on paper and that they were entitled. It was so gratifying to see the Pistons give them the dose of reality that they clearly needed. A lot of these guys (LeBron, Malone, Payton, Bosh) don't get that respect doesn't come from a title, it comes from earning it. They aren't willing, or don't have the desire, to earn it and are trying to take a short cut. They deserve all of the scorn that comes their way as they don't deserve to be seen as hero. I think Magic put it best when he said "I didn't want to play with Bird, I just wanted to beat him" ... you listening LeBron?

[Steven]

It would be great to see the Heat experiment fail but I have a feeling this one isn't over yet. The Heat have the potential to run off three straight wins. You are so right that with the Knicks struggling with their superstar attempt and the Heat not winning as easily as they thought, we may avoid a league where superstars conspire to play with each other in large markets and leave the smaller market teams continually rebuilding. I think this years Mighty Red Tigers team reminds of the Raptors in that its a development year where the record will not be as important as their individual improvement. Once the boys get better and play with kids their own age in the next two years, I'm feeling dynasty in the making. I guarantee you of all people will not let them tank at the end of the year to get a better draft pick.

[jb]

Doug,

The Miami Heat are a TEAM, you can't have one of the top defenses in the league without having a team concept and fully trusting each other. I've watched the the heat a lot and they hustle and the funny thing is their superstars hustle harder than the rest of the teammates. No one is history has done what Lebron (I don't like the dude but I admire his talent and the work ethic to bring out the talent) has done, on one play be the point guard for his team and on defense guard the opposing team's centre or point guard or best player and shut them down. Jordan wouldn't be able to guard Dwight, Magic wouldn't be able to guard Rose.

I've watched 15 seasons of raptors games and I've never seen a raptors' team that worked as hard as the heat do on defense. It's a ballet of speed and aggression.

As for their offense, they lack big man depth. Bosh, while not the best big 3, is the most important big 3 b/c of the skillset he brings to the table. They run their entire offense using Bosh, whether as a release valve(18 ft jump shot) or for drawing big man away from the basket so James and Wade can have space to attack the basket. Otherwise, it becomes too much hero ball and as you can see hero ball does not win in the playoffs. Once Bosh went down, there was no one on the Heat to replace him...the old Udonis would have for a game or 2 but he's gotten old.

But the most important reason for the losses...look at their 3 pt shooting and they've been wide open shots too.

[Clayton]

I agree they all should have handled the free agency period better, and the promising championships nonsense was just flat-out stupid. But does this need to be brought up every time the Heat hit a rough patch? We get that you don't like the way it was done: you're old school; this would never have happened back in the day with Jordan, Bird and Magic, etc. etc.

But, Doug, why not offer some analysis of why the Heat are down 2-1, instead of simply rubbing your hands in glee at the fact that they are? Why are they struggling so much without Bosh? What are the Pacers doing that is making Wade so ineffective? I'd love to read about that. You've mentioned your disapproval of the way the Heat were constructed, and noted your satisfaction when they lose many times before - but some insight into why they've been underwhelming would be great.

[AT]

@Lee Z.
thanks for sharing that link...
doug, not sure if you click on irregular links that are posted in the comments section but think you should follow the one about Red Rocket... cool story

[Lorie]

Hello Doug!
Well, LeeZ Links (Hey, that'd be a great name for a line of sausages!) are usually well worth the time it takes to check 'em out but today's were superb! And did anyone catch the amusing comment at the bottom of the HP article attributed to (could it be the REAL one?) Jim Rome who tweeted: "They suspended a kid for having Matt Bonner carved in his head? Suspend the barber for making it look like Boris Becker." My sentiments exactly, Mr. Rome. If that's who you really are. And Donna Summer gave us some great songs to dance to. But, her music found a perfectly wonderful home as part of the soundtrack from "The Full Monty".
http://youtu.be/1P39Di1fnRo
Cheers! Enthusiastic patio-based ones!

[D-Mac Ottawa]

It's precisely for that "superb set of skills and a great sense of team" that Kevin Durant was and is my MVP.
Tough right now to say how either the East OR the West is going to pan out. Sort of looking like Pacers-Celts and Spurs-Thunder, but maybe not... and if it is, then who do you like in those match-ups? Man, I love the NBA!
And @LeeZ, you, yes you, are ON FIRE, sir! Two great finds. My favourite lines were "slow much?" and "that jackass upmire"... Oh, dat's good stuff.
Cheers. Go Yan Gomes! Go KD! Go Barbo! Go I'll Have Another!

[Kevin]

I never considered it before, but I am seeing a number of parallels between the Heat and the Lakers with stars and bench/role who can sometimes step up. This makes me also wonder if Drew Brees in New Orleans knows that him making $22 million likely means much rawer players supporting him. The soap opera of sports never stops.

[Colin]

I do believe that Magic, the starting pg of the showtime Lakers played the C when Kareem sprained his ankle and beat the Celtics to win the Finals MVP. So LeBron is not the first to accomplish these type of feats. He is an amazing athlete no doubt about it.

[VCitty]

hey doug,

I think the Pacers are awesome - they have knock down shooters (Granger), lock down defenders (George), big man size (Hibbert) - but I think the most underrated presence on their team is the veteran leadership of David West. It seems he is the guy who scores when they need a bucket, motivates his teammates, and keeps the team focused. Do you see anyone on the Raps being like this? Maybe Jose?

[Mauro]

hey Doug... summer time...

Italian people watching Canadian soccer doesn't sound weird ?

but sometimes...is not

http://video.repubblica.it/sport/coordinazione-e-potenza-la-volee-di-hassli-incanta-il-web/95688?video=&ref=HRESS-19

[D-Mac Ottawa]

That Philly-Celts game was freaking AWEsome! Basketball is the greatest game on god's green planet. Cheers. Go playoffs!