Pat
Riley summed up Miami Heat’s basketball collective future in a few words: “[t]here’s
winning and there’s misery.” That phrase
could not be more accurate and timely.
When the Miami Heat came together during the 2010-2011 NBA season, they
thought winning NBA championships would be easy. They believed their collective group of
talent would somehow overwhelm the rest of the Association. They were wrong. Last year, during the NBA Finals, the Dallas
Mavericks displayed that a team can defeat a group of individuals. The Mavericks were not the most talented team,
but they were well coached, they believed in team concepts, and to be quite
honest, Lebron James did not play well, at all.
As a Lebron fan, I was frustrated by his inability to dominate Shawn Marion,
and DeShawn Stevenson. He seemed to shrink
in the biggest moments of that series.
His millions of haters really let him have it throughout the summer. To a certain extent, he deserved the
criticism. They questioned his ability
to be “clutch,” which is a term as overused as “swag.”
I
am confused- why do people dislike Lebron James so much? Many of my friends prefer Kobe “selfish”
Bryant over Lebron James. The facts. Kobe Bryant has had problems with the law, he
cheated on his wife, he engaged in a petty “beef” with Shaquille O’neal and he
has been widely considered one of the most selfish players in NBA history. People love him. Lebron James has never been in trouble with
the law, all of his teammates have positive things to say about him, he is
engaged to be married to his long time girlfriend and he is the most talented
player in the game today. In fact, he
may be the most talented player in the history of the NBA. Yet, people find ways to hate him. Oh yeah, that makes all the sense in the
world. Is it because he has not won a
championship yet? Is it because he left
the Cleveland Cavaliers after he fulfilled his contractual obligations? For a guy that does not have the “clutch”
gene, he has certainly guided teams with little talent to the NBA Finals and
Eastern Conference finals consistently.
Last year’s Miami Heat team was his first team with talent capable of
winning the championship. They came up
short. The previous time Lebron was in the
finals, he played with a team that had no chance to win, and never should have
made it to the NBA Finals.
This
year, Lebron’s teammate, Dwayne Wade, another top ten NBA talent, conceded that
Lebron James is the leader of the team.
He conceded that the team will go as far as he takes them. That is significant because D. Wade is a former
NBA champion and a former NBA Finals MVP.
He is also a player still very much in his prime as an athlete; yet he
has to respect James’ undeniable talent and follow his lead. If you have watched the NBA playoffs this
year, you have seem James dominate.
Against a hungry Indiana Pacers team, Lebron dominated despite the fact
that Chris Bosh was not available.
Everyone counted them out when they were down in the series. They won that series based in large part on
James’ leadership and “clutch” play.
Against the Boston Celtics, a team that has been a thorn in James’ side
since he has been in the league, he played
out of his mind. The Miami Heat won the
first two games of the series, then dropped three games in a row. I remember many Celtics fans, and Miami Heat
haters, saying that the series was over.
Obviously, those individuals jumped the gun. As a former athlete, one thing that I always
remember coaches saying is: “Finish the game”; or “it is not over until the fat
lady sings.” Going into game 6 in
Boston, Lebron came up with a signature performance, where he scored 45 points,
grabbed 15 rebounds and had 5 assists.
Wow! In game 7, the Celtics came
out strong, but it was James’ scoring, and rebounding, coupled with Chris Bosh’s
clutch shooting that won the game. Up
next: The Oklahoma City Thunder.
The Only Thing that Matters
The
next series will be billed as Lebron James versus Kevin Durant. Yes, the two best players in the world will go
head-to-head in the series. But, I
honestly believe role players, and coaching will ultimately determine the
winner of the series. Lebron is a better
player than Kevin Durant because he can dominate a game in many facets of the
game. Durant is a dominant scorer, but
the other parts of his game are good but not great. Russell Westbrook is a great talent in his
own right. He is the point guard for the
Thunder, but he is really more of a scorer.
His decision making will be a key component in the series. Dwayne Wade is a top ten NBA player. He is capable of exploding for 40 points on
any given night. However, throughout
this year’s playoffs, his play has been erratic and he has been a terrible first
half player. If the Miami Heat have a
chance of winning the series, he will have to be consistent. James Harden is a great player and is the reigning
Sixth Man of the Year. He has a knack
for hitting big shots. Chris Bosh is the
third member of the Miami Heat’s heralded big three. He is a post player that is capable of making
20 foot jump shots consistently. Assuming
those players play to their collective potential, I believe the winner of the
series will be the team whose bench plays the best. Either way, this should be one of the most
exciting NBA Finals in recent history.
For
the Miami Heat: There’s winning and there’s misery.
Peace
Follow
me on Instagram at: Mrminter2011
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