Knicks. Celtics. Bulls. Magic. There isn’t a team in the East right now that doesn’t feel they can’t beat the Heat. The noise from the media gets louder. The questioning, second guessing. Even now the ridiculous emerges as speculation over Lebron’s and Wade’s confidence is examined. The invulnerability has been stripped away like prized booty from a dead warrior in the Iliad.
They can’t hit their free throws? They aren’t making their three point shots? Both problems are attributed to their growing doubt? That’s not supposed to be this team’s identity – scared of their own shadow.
This game, as they say, has a funny way of humbling you. Especially when you need it. The Heat are one game into a ten game stretch where they play some of the better teams in the league. It is a great test, an opportunity. It will either silence the critics, or turn them into a deafening noise.
Oddly, blowing a 24 point lead is the perfect way for this team to begin this journey. Because their losses reveal their bad habits. Against inferior teams, they can get away with it; against good teams they won’t.
The Heat have the talent to beat anyone. Enough with the endless – and stupid – questioning. The problem is on the execution. When the Heat lose, the trend goes like this:
- Build up big lead
- Blow lead in the third quarter
- Panic and start jacking up threes
Actually, the jacking up threes part occurs because this is how they think you put away teams – shooting lower percentage shots for only a point more. The Heat, despite having two of the best finishers in the game, are pretty bad at finishing off opposing teams.
The problem with three point shooting is, it inspires bad basketball. Not only is the shot a lower percentage, but it allows a defense to get entrenched. So now, what got the Heat in a position to win, is abandoned. Lower percentage shots leads to rebounds which leads to more possessions by the opposition. With their defense entrenched, the Heat’s attack turns to one of desperation. They can no longer get into the lane and draw fouls from their opponents.
The Heat need a few things – they need to get in transition, they need to score higher percentage shots (in the paint), and they need to get as many free throw attempts as possible. If any of those challenges is not met, the Heat will lose. When they are shooting threes, they are no longer getting the ball into the painted area. They are also allowing the other team to collect rebounds – and their defensive breath – and will not be as effective on the floor.
It’s easy to beat one dimensional teams. The Heat have a really bad habit of becoming one dimensional but it isn’t through any fault of the opposing team, it is by their own hand. Like a powerful, proud, samurai warrior they do themselves in only it is through pride and not through preservation of honor.
Who’s to blame? Everyone on the bench. Not just the guys earning the big money and the spotlight, but the assistants and the coach. Even Riley is to blame. This problem has been identified and examined, but it has not been changed. The bad habits are still there for the Heat and until they fix this problem – of taking themselves out of games and settling for lazy three point shots – they will continue to stumble when they should be excelling.
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