NBA Rant: Fool’s Gold

The Miami Heat are in a dire situation. This is the second year of that grand experiment out in South Beach and if they don’t take the whole enchilada this year, they may never get another chance. Everything is in their favor. Bron is playing at an MVP level. Wade is showing flashes of his former Flash persona. Bosh is getting more touches around the box. They are facing some rather soft competition in the first round. Rose has a blown ACL so Chicago is a bust. there is no real competition out East that can slow down the Miami Heat. Maybe Boston, is they survive Atlanta but other than them, the East belongs to the Heat.
However, an Eastern Conference Championship does not an NBA Title make. to get that title, you go through the West. And as the Heat are built, they can’t defeat any of the elite teams out West, in a seven game series. the Spurs will out coach them. The LAkers will out size them and dominate the paint. OKC can match them athletically and take the edge inside as well. The Thunder also get the Pont Guard nod as long as Westbrook decides not to do his best Starbury impersonation and sit on the goddamn ball! The Miami Heat are a fundamentally flawed team with delusions or grandeur, Fool’s Gold, and cannot ring out as they are.


Chris Bosh needs to go
One of the biggest issues holding back the Heat is Chris Bosh. Yes, he’s playing great and contributes a solid 10 to 15 every game but it’s not enough. Bosh is a defensive liability. he’s always been one. He does not deter anyone away from the hoop. dude’s gotten better this year but, for the money he’s making and the makeup of his team, Bosh needs to be averaging at least 2 blocks and 15 rebounds a game. Not happening. He bulked up somewhat in the off season, yet, still turns to face up the defender. why? you have size enough to back down most 4s. Post game, son! use more of it. Bosh is getting 15 million a year to essentially stay in the way of Wade and James. That sh*t does not work. If you insist on this ridiculous facade of a big three, bring Bosh off the bench. automatically, you’ve improved the reserve situation and Bosh can have his way on the floor. The offense can run through him and the Wondertwins could have room to maneuver. a better option would be to trade him for some solid pieces. Either way, Bosh is in the way and this sh*t needs to be addressed.

No money, Mo Problems
The Heat have overextended themselves signing the big three. each of them made at least 15 million in their first year and that scale is just going to slide upward as their contracts progress. When three cats account for 45-65 million of your total payroll, it’s going to be difficult to sign complimentary pieces. I remember LeBron talking about following the Boston blueprint in order to win titles, that is not what the heat did. They over payed Bosh, leaving very little to spread across the other 12 roster slots. When your starting center is Joel Anthony, you’ve grossly miscalculated. Miami should have pursued LeBron and got him at the requisite 15. Afterward, they should have forced Bosh’s hand and given him around 10 or 11 million, not the 13 he made last year. that would have left around 4 or 5 mil to bolster that bench. cats would sign for less at a chance to play with those three but, alas, this was not to be. Now, the Heat are strapped for cash and forced to sign ring hungry vets, over the hill role players, and one dimensional talent; all things that hinder the pursuit of that NBA title.

Complacency
Vets, hungry for a title before they have to check out, flock to Miami. this is the last ride for them and they want to make sure a title is secured. Shane Battier is a perfect example of this. Upon signing in Miami this season, he was quoted as a saying something to the effect of, “just wanting to win at this point in his career.” that means Battier wants to coast into a title, yo. he doesn’t want to put in the work. and this sentiment is echoed in his less than stellar play this season. Last year, Battier was an integral part of a Memphis team that ousted the top seeded Spurs. now, all of his stats are down and his defense, Battier’s bread and butter, is suspect at best. the overall brilliance of Wade and James temper the competitive fire of lesser players, and rightfully so. those two guys are phenoms. Mike Bibby is another solid example of this ridiculous phenomenon, as well as Eddy Curry. In fact, i’m pretty sure Curry got cut this season because of his inadequacy. you cannot win a title when the rest of your team phones it in because you have two guys who can win games on their own. Everyone in Miami should know that this is a team sport. players who execute as a unit win titles. they lost to the Mavs because Dallas was a superior team, not necessarily the superior talent.

Coach Spo
If i had to pick one reason, out of the many, why the Heat will never win a title as they are, i only have to look as far as that first seat on the bench. Erik Spoelstra is why the Miami Heat will not ring out. he is an inexperienced coach, faced with an overwhelming talent pool. The only reason he still has a job is because Wade is in his pocket and Pat Riley has too much invested in the kid to send him packing. to maintain some face within the Heat organization, Riley has to stay on high and watch “Coach” Spo pittle away what could have been a very good team with solid title chances. Erik Spoelstra is not an NBA head coach, plain and simple. If the Heat see the Spurs in the Finals, Erik will be out coached by Pop. it wouldn’t even be close. If the Heat see the LAkers in the Finals, Spo will be out coached by Mike Brown, mostly with a defense designed specifically to neutralize James. If the Heat see OKC in the Finals, Scott Brooks will embarrass Spoelstra. We all saw what Rick Carlisle and the Mavs did last year, yo. and, with the early exposure of Miami’s weakness to zone defenses, sh*t is going to get real hairy, real fast for the youngster in the big chair. a great coach would play to the strengths of his team. Doc Rivers has Ray Allen coming off the bench and convinced Garnett to play the 5, a position he hates. Coach Pop has rested his big three repeatedly this season and still won, convincingly. coach Thibs has defeated the Heat without Rose this season, because of his coaching. Mike Brown has turned the LAkers into a defensive powerhouse and, given more than a week of training camp, could develop that squad into a dynasty. Erik Spoelstra is nowhere near on the level of these other playoff coaches. LeBron James and Dwayne Wade compensate handily for the kid’s shortcomings but that only gets you so far. that only gets you an 6 game exit in the NBA Finals.