Problems "Heat"ing Up

They can't close out games. They cry after losing those games. They blow 24-point leads in the second half. They're 1-9 versus the top five teams in the league. They're shooting 1-for-18 in the final 10 seconds of games within three points. They self-gloss themselves the "Heatles." And those are just the surface problems for the most hated team in sports these days.

Although all of the above issues are cause for concern, there are underlining, root causes to those problems that are the main reason for Miami's struggles.

No. 1: The Roster

There's no depth. The front court is soft, old and injured. Pat Riley got James and Wade together but really dropped the ball putting anything around them. Chris Bosh is a jump-shooting 4 who rarely plays in the paint. Miami doesn't need someone to score from the wing, that's why they have James and Wade.

Celebrating the signings like a championship - bad move.

They need bigs who body and bang opponents. Some protectors and bruisers. Kurt Thomas is the type of guy they needed. He was available and Chicago smartly scooped him up to provide toughness, enforcement and experience to its front court. It's paying off. Erick Dampier is that type to a certain extent, but they only pick him up after Udonis Haslem went down early in the year.

Just a reminder: Miami started the season with Zydrunas Ilgauskas, Joel Anthony, Jamaal Magloire, Juwan Howard, Haslem and Bosh as its bigs. It's questionable that Magloire and Howard are still in the league, much less on the same team.You don't have to be Red Auerbach to see this isn't going to get it done throughout the season, and certainly not in the playoffs. Damp has provided some grit inside, he even flagranted Tony Parker during Friday's blowout, but he's no spring chicken and certainly can't carry it by himself inside.

Bosh could be listed as a whole separate problem but I'll include him in this roster section. As mentioned before he shoots nothing but jumpers. He's putting up 15+ shots per game because he needs to get his numbers up so people think he's good. Maybe in Toronto just getting 20 and 10 was good enough but in Miami, with James and Wade, Bosh needs to forget about his stats and jump shooting ways. The only way he will benefit them is to do some dirty work. Unfortunately, that's not his game, never has been, never will be. You don't get the nicknames "Bosh Spice" and "Rupaul of Big Men" by mixing it up inside. He's soft and is holding back LeBron and Wade.

Riley's biggest mistake was giving Bosh a max-contract. Did you know he's getting paid more than Dwyane Wade? That makes me sick. It's not a "Big 3." It's LeBron and Wade dragging Bosh along for the ride and trying to win in spite of him much of the time. Don't be fooled by the All-Star selection and 18 ppg and 8 reb (not that 8 rebounds a game is good for a 6'11" All-Star.) If I'm in the Miami front office, I'm trying to trade Bosh for anything. Actually if I'm in the front office, Bosh isn't on the team in the first place.

Bibby isn't adding what the Heat needed

A couple more signings that made no sense: Mike Miller's $25 million deal. He's not stretching the floor, he's not making plays, and he's been hurt for most of the season. Signing Ilgauskas, as mentioned, was just silly. Why do you need another jump-shooting big? And one who can barely move to boot. Mike Bibby is the newest addition and is just as ludicrous as the others. What is Mike Bibby going to do for you? There's a reason he was traded, bought out of his contract and available after the deadline. How many inconsistent three-point shooters do you need? Miller, Eddie House, James Jones weren't enough, I guess. Better add another "shooter" instead of trying to sure up the middle, not that there was anything available in the post anyway.

What goes unmentioned much of the time is how well Dorell Wright is playing. He's second in the league in three pointers made and is having a breakout year in Golden State, averaging 16, 5 and 3. He was drafted out of high school by Miami in 2004 and after developing for six years, he was sent packing after the signing of James and Bosh. Wright is doing more this year than House, Miller and Bibby combined. Another swing-and-miss by Miami management.

No. 2: The Coach


It's easy to blame the coach. Man, it's easy. But sometimes there's a reason for blaming him. When your team is 5-13 in games decided by 5 or fewer points, a lot of that falls on the coach. When you consistently blow double-digit leads late in games, sometimes by 20+ points, the coach is going to take some blame. When you have an overhauled team, which features three All-Stars, yet you get out of the gate 9-8, the coach has to step up his game.

Spoelstra might not be up to the challenge with this team

Erik Spoelstra seems to be a decent young coach in the NBA. He's done some nice things in turning around Miami over the past few years. I believe he can have a nice career as an NBA coach. But this challenge is too big for him. That become clear again this past week during Miami's losing streak. After Sunday's one-point loss to the Bulls he said there were "players crying in the locker room." I believe it was an effort to illustrate how bad the players "want" to win.

I didn't see the purpose of volunteering that bit of locker room info. And then, to make matters worse, Spoelstra back-tracked on the comments and claimed media "sensationalism" and they took his quote "out of context." He's not helping his cause with these explanations.

The Heat need a coach that can take charge of the team,and to a certain extent, the media. I'm sure James, Wade and Bosh respect him in terms of "he's-the-coach" respect, but they don't really RESPECT him. Because what's he done? He doesn't have the hardware, rings or experience. We've seen this already in Miami. Riley brought in Shaq, the Diesel clashed with Stan Van Gundy, Riley took over, Heat won championship. As Phil Jackson put it months ago, it "looks like a Van Gundy thing again."

In summary, the Heat have some problems and they're not complicated. It's the players and the coach. They don't have the roster to truly compete for a title this year, and it's causing a few more regular season losses than they planned on. They don't have a coach who can control two superstars and another All-Star who thinks he needs to shoot a lot of jumpers. And the combination of these players and this coach are having a hard time dealing with the constant scrutiny and pressure they face as the new villains of the NBA. They need to embrace it, not play the "woe is me" card like Wade did after the Bulls loss.

"Everyone is getting what they want, the Heat are losing games." Wade said. "The world is a better place now that the Heat are losing."

Poor, Dwayne. Use it as motivation and quit feeling sorry for yourself. Miami is still a good team. They're still third in the Eastern Conference. They're 43-20 and can easily go on another run. But the underlying root problems won't allow for a championship this season. It's a work in progress and this is year one of the movement in Miami.

Here's the way I see it playing out for the Heat: They simply have to ride out this year and take all the vitriol that comes with it. They'll get a top seed in the Eastern Conference. Maybe not the one seed but possibly two or three. They'll win one, maybe two playoff series. They don't make the Finals. In the off-season: New roster. Get some bigs that want to do dirty work. Get role players who want to play a role. Riley takes over. They shop Bosh around, hoping for a taker. They'll have a new outlook for the following season and how they are viewed by the public. They embrace their role as the "Hated Heat." They begin their quest for "five, six, seven" championships.

Not everyone is hoping the Heat fail and lose every game but most are. Only the guys in the locker room can do anything about it. And we all know there is only one way to get people off your back and in your corner: Win.

Welcome to Miami

The LeBron James fiasco is finally over. After two years of hype, a week of constantly changing reports and a self-serving hour-long special on ESPN, LeBron James announced he will "take his talents to South Beach."

This thing has been discussed more than Brett Favre's decision to un-retire. It turned into the biggest spectacule in recent history. It's been broken down every way, by everyone. Still, here's my two cents.

Why I Like "The Decision"

1) He needed to leave Cleveland. I know about the tormented Cleveland sports fans. Spare me the tear-fest. LeBron James is bigger than Cleveland. If your goal is to be a global icon, you dream a little bigger than living and working in Cleveland your whole life.

He's from and lives in Akron, not Cleveland. As far as I can tell he loves Akron, not Cleveland. He never even moved to the city. He isn't working, middle-class like Cleveland sports fans. He's a child star who happened to get drafted by the Cavs. If they didn't somehow get the No. 1 pick in 2003 the people of Cleveland would have just watched from afar and this situation would have never presented itself.

He doesn't care about the Browns or Indians. He roots for the Cowboys and Yankees. The big dogs. The front-runners. He wouldn't even like the Cavs if he wasn't playing for them. LeBron goes big, and Cleveland isn't big enough.

I believe LeBron knew he was going to leave after this contract was up because he didn't want to spend his whole life in Cleveland. I like Cleveland, I've cheered for the Browns and Indians in the past, but someone in his position isn't content staying in NE Ohio forever. And who can blame him?

The Cleveland fans who call him coward and traitor are the selfish ones. LeBron doesn't owe them his entire career. That's not the way professional sports works. Sorry, it may not be ideal, but it's the way it is. When your contract is up, you're free to go elsewhere. Just as said team is able to cut you at any point.

The burning jerseys and Dan Gilbert's childish, classless, rudimentary letter to the fans of the Cavs was more disgraceful than LeBron leaving, but probably equal to having a one-hour special to announce the decision. The letter most likely speaks for most Cavs fans, but that just shows how fickle they are.

It reminds me of Cubs fans and why they will never win a World Series. The fans care way more than any player possibly could. They ride the players and manager so hard it almost subconsciously turns the team against winning, just to spite the idiots cheering for them.

I doubt LeBron ever had any fantasies about playing his entire career in Cleveland. Did he want to win a title there? Sure, but it would still have been his first, the city's second. It seems LeBron doesn't care about Cleveland as much as the locals want him to, but that's not his fault.

2) LeBron James and Dwayne Wade. The two most exciting players in the league playing every game together. Whether you like either one, you can't doubt their playmaking abilities. There hasn't been a combo like this since Shaq and Kobe, but even then Shaq was a different kind of spectacular. Shaq couldn't do it off the dribble and in the open court like these two can.

It's great for the league. More people will be interested, which means more eyeballs. The anticipation for next year is already building.

Chris Bosh better be hitting the offensive boards and get comfortable with the idea of averaging 13 points per game. He is the definition of third wheel. Solid player, but I have the feeling he wanted to be, at least, a No. 2 guy, not a No. 3, in-the-shadows guy. He claimed he was "a centerpiece" before free agency. Well, not anymore. He's a candlestick that gets moved out of the way for the centerpiece.

Pat Riley needs to get on the bench from the start if they want to win next year or the following year. Erik Spoelstra seems like a good up-and-coming coach, but this is out of his league right now. Maybe after a year or two he would get it together but there's no time for that. The expectations are very high.

In Closing

I haven't agreed with how LeBron went about handling his business since the end of the season. I didn't really care for the way he handled his business on the court. I certainly didn't like the hour-long decision special. Very self-indulgent, but the demand for it was there. His communication with Cleveland management could and should have been a helluva lot better, but it wouldn't have made things much better. Gilbert probably still sends out the letter.

Most people would have preferred a simple released statement or press conference. It kind of felt like LeBron thought he was doing people a favor by answering questions before and after. I don't think that helped but it got the interrogation part over with the same night.

The way ESPN catered to the show was laughable. It shows just how much power LeBron wields.

I will say this, I haven't been a huge fan of LeBron but this decision moved him up a notch in my book. Once he wins a title, he will go higher. A ring is a ring is a ring. It doesn't matter if he did it "on his own" or he had Dwayne Wade helping. If they win multiple rings, it really won't matter. No one does it on their own.

He said winning is the most important thing and now is getting killed for picking a team with a good shot at winning. Cleveland wasn't doing any better than they have the past three years. Miami and Chicago gave him the best chance to win. And out of those two, Miami had more to offer. Case closed. Get over it. It's his life, not yours.

Brown Couldn't Make Adjustments

The Cavs finally pulled the trigger on Mike Brown's head coaching career. Cleveland canned 2009's coach of the year after another disappointing playoff series. It wasn't a matter of if, but when. The day after Boston eliminated Cleveland reports surfaced that Brown would be fired.

The Cavs and its fans expected a championship this year. They've expected one since 2007 when LeBron and Brown first made the NBA Finals. After three years of earlier-than-expected exits, they had to fire Brown.

Brown is catching the bulk of the heat after this year's loss. Mainly because no one wants to criticize LeBron James, who was MIA in Game 5 and turned the ball over 9 times in Game 6. James deserves blame, but he can't win or lose a playoff series by himself. He didn't play well most of the series and neither did the "supporting cast." But how much of that was not being put in a good position to win? Mike Brown and his staff continued a trend of not making the proper adjustments throughout tough playoff series.

Brown and the Cavs are able to cruise to 66 and 61 regular season wins because the style they play is set up to play one game. The Playoffs are a different situation and that approach doesn't work. Teams get a couple games in a row against the Cavs and they prepare for them differently. In a playoff series, a good team with a good coach can scheme on the Cavs and out adjust them. Happened last year with Orlando, and this year with Boston.

In the playoffs, play is more physical. A team like Boston knows how to use that better than anybody. Boston is playing at a very high level defensively. Doc Rivers and his staff were able to make adjustments to stop LeBron from having big nights and limiting the other players. Boston frustrated Cleveland into not playing like they had all year.

When Cleveland won Game 3 124-95 in Boston and LeBron had 38-8-7, the Celtics were embarrassed. Rivers went to the drawing board and adjusted the game plan. Mike Brown just tried to do the exact same thing. He couldn't counter Boston's adjustments. He couldn't devise a plan to get LeBron going and spark the offense. That's why he's taking blame and why he was fired.

In a half-court game like Boston and Cleveland play in the playoffs, you must be able to execute. Boston's defense out executed Cleveland's O. Boston made the adjustments and Cleveland did nothing. Brown tried force-feeding Shaq, which slowed the pace to a crawl and got no one else involved. Brown went to Ilgauskas for the first time in weeks, which slowed things down even more. LeBron needs tempo and pace. Throwing it in to Shaq for the entire 24 seconds stifled the Cavs' offense and had prolonged effects.

Brown isn't a bad coach. He had a certain degree of success, but he underachieved. Brown could never make the proper adjustments and it cost him his job. Not returning to the Finals in the last three years is the ax that swung down on Brown. It branded him as a coach who can't get over the hump with capable teams. The East has been up for grabs the last two years and it was the Cavs for the taking.

Cleveland wants to prove to LeBron that it's all about winning a championship right now. Mike Brown has proven he's not ready yet. And this did not help his case at all: worst press conference moment of the year.

The NBA Coach of the Year trend continues. Next up, Scott Brooks. (If you win that award you're out of a job within two years.)

Scoring Title Does Matter To LeBron

LeBron James claims he could win the scoring title "every single year ... but it doesn't matter."

Question: If it doesn't matter, why are you trying to convince people that you could win it every year? If it's not important then why make a big deal about how you "could" do it?

This is another example of LeBron talking when he should be playing. I know a reporter baited him, but he took the bait.

If he doesn't care about the scoring title, which I don't believe, then say it's not important and keep moving. Don't qualify it with "I could win it every single year if I really wanted to."

Everybody knows he could lead the league in scoring. He's already done it once. But we also know that Jordan won about 10. For Alpha Dogs, scoring titles do matter, and the more the better. You're not fooling anyone, LeBron.

Just win it or shut up about it. It doesn't make me think he's a better team player because he said it doesn't matter. It's always mattered.

What's The Deal, LeBron?

If LeBron won't enter the dunk contest, get him in the three-point shootout. What's the real reason he won't participate?

Every all-time great has won hardware at All-Star Saturday. Is "The King" better than Bird, Kobe, Dr. J and Jordan? Maybe one day, but he's not above participating in the dunk contest or three-point shootout.

This take suggests that if requested by the league office, a player must appear in All-Star Saturday twice in their career. I agree with some of that opinion, but I don't think the league should force them to participate.

A player like LeBron James should want to participate on Saturday.

Winning the three-point shootout or the dunk contest is another notch in the belt. It's a rite of passage. Saturday night is all dunks and threes. LeBron does both those things as much as anyone in the league.

I don't understand why he keeps ducking the Saturday events. It's because he doesn't want to look bad by not winning. But he would win the dunk contest by just entering the damn thing.

LeBron could recycle old dunks and make them look so much better. Watch a couple tapes from over the last 15 years. Dominique did it with just raw power. LeBron could win so easy. [I need to note that Vince Carter is the best I've seen.]
 

But if no dunk contest, win the three-point contest instead. He's seventh in the league in three-point attempts, averaging over five per game. Win that and nobody doubts his shooting skill ever again.

Wild Theory Alert: There is one more thing LeBron could do (other than multiple championships): Win both contests. On the same night, while competing in the Shooting Stars competition. He could do it, and you know it. He would be the greatest All-Star ever.
 

One argument is he's already won a couple ASG MVPs that he doesn't need to do anything on Saturday. Maybe that's right, but then he should've been in the dunk contest early in his career. If Jordan and Kobe could do it, shouldn't LeBron be able to do it, too?

LeBron would rather dress up in a bow tie, and act up for the camera on the bench. I'm not interested in that.

Dunk or shoot, LeBron. Dunk or shoot. You've already waited too long.

Disclaimer: It is recommended that all "Wild Theories," here and in the future, be ignored.