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The Heat Hangover

May 27, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Now that the Heat have won the Eastern Conference, there is a lot of backpeddling. Where does this Heat team stack up? Are they good enough to not just win this year’s championship, but several over the next few years? Some have said that if you wanted to beat this Heat team, this was the year to do it.

What about their players, where do they stack up? Suddenly Scottie Pippen is remarking that Lebron James might go down as a better player than Michael Jordan. Jordan was, according to Pippen, the best scorer he’s seen while Lebron is the best all around player he’s ever seen. Later, Pippen, backed off a bit via his tweet:

“Don’t get me wrong, MJ was and is the greatest. But LeBron could by all means get to his level someday.”

Why all of a sudden the confusion? Why was the Heat the most scrutinized team in NBA history to begin with? Admittedly, it all goes back to the Decision. Yet, look at Derrick Rose – the league MVP. Why was he getting all the PR from the talking heads while Lebron, and the Heat, continued to be lambasted?

Derrick Rose shot just 6.4% when guarded by Lebron James. When defended by Dwyane Wade, he didn’t fare much better either. The fact of the matter is, what Derrick Rose is experiencing is what both Wade and James went through. You win over 60 games, get the coach of the year award, an MVP, and a trip to the Eastern Conference Finals. Who are you? The 2009 Cleveland Cavaliers.

Lebron James didn’t want to go through what Derrick Rose is going through. He decided to take less money and swallow his pride and admitted that he needed to team up with Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh to meet his expectation of winning championships in this league. James knows his greatness will be evaluated not just by his accomplishments, but by how many rings he gets. Even now, with Pippen’s remarks, Lebron is in the discussion in comparison with Michael Jordan, but only will truly be considered once he wins some rings.

So, you get beat up in the press for it. You beat the Celtics, a team that swept you in the regular season, then the Bulls, another team that swept you in the regular season, and only lose 3 games in the playoffs. Yet, at every turn, you were catching flack. Now, the hangover. Oh boy. Maybe this team is pretty good after all?

Michael Wilbon writes an essay trying to digest the Game 5 loss for the Bulls. He was obviously invested in his team, the Bulls, but his opinions seemed to be agreed upon by most of those in the media – and there was very little to support their picks for the Bulls over the Heat in this series. Ric Bucher, who I think is an extremely horrible judge of talent and terrible observer, defended Derrick Rose, irrationally, on Colin Cowherd’s radio show after Game 4. I wonder what he thinks now that Rose missed a free throw in the clutch.

The hangover spreads. Charles Barkley commented last night on TNT, after Game 5, why he picked the Bulls over the Heat – the Bulls bench was better. Does he realize you only play 5 guys at a time? The bench only comes into play when you rest your starters and with three starters of this caliber, there is practically never a minute that one of them is on the floor.

So, while the media backpeddles and lets this latest dish of crow cool off, let’s put this team in its proper place. They assembled because of the blueprint adopted by the Celtics and Lakers. If you wanted to win in the East, you had to get by the Celtics. They did. The Bulls, grabbing the number 1 seed, didn’t have to face the Celtics but the Heat proved they were the better team. No matter how “Hollywood” Joachim Noah might say the Heat are, he’s the one faking it and sitting at home watching them in the Finals. The Heat simply kicked off the party back in July when they landed the biggest free agent in NBA history in Lebron James – a feat not achieved without the certain additions of Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh. It took all the efforts hall of fame architect Pat Riley could muster. They’ve proven not only that they can play together, but that they can carry each other when needed. Lebron closed games. Bosh found his voice in becoming a force inside. Wade, playing horrible for stretches in Games 4 and 5, allowed himself to be carried.

Now, the masterpiece has been assembled. The critics are late to the party, but the quality of the assemblage is undeniable. Only one final obstacle lays in the way.

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Message to Heat: Stop Making Excuses

November 30, 2010 By 1 Comment

With one simple line, he undercuts everything that came before. It is a simple clip, an old Nike commercial that, in truth, was forgotten to me until very recently resurrected. And, I must say, a very poignant reminder of what this Heat team is faced with.

Yes, they have Dwyane Wade, Lebron James, and Chris Bosh all stacked on this roster as its core. And we can argue to great length about the eventual destiny each star will have in the NBA galaxy sky. At this point, however, they haven’t done anything but face adversity and start simply “makin’ excuses”.

Sure, there is a lot of hype to this team and an equal amount of hype being made over their behind-the-scenes drama. We have lots of snips and reports and rumors flying around about disputes between coaching staffs and players and philosophy. And we are reminded of how simple this game is because it all goes away with one simple thing – winning.

How does the Heat live up to its potential? How does this team get to its winning personality? That is up for debate, but we are given one simple reminder by Jordan himself – work at it every day. In watching this clip, edited for consumption for the millions of YouTube viewers out there, we are told what the Heat must do.

The team of destiny, as some might cynically call it, has two games in a row – one in Cleveland which will arguably be the most anticipated regular season game in a long time. The questions will surface – how will this Heat team respond? Who will take the reigns? Will Lebron and Wade figure out how to play together?

Stop making excuses. Get to work. Focus on you, your team, your game. Everything else will fall into place.

Read more in our Forum – where this idea started. Thanks EvilEmpire for the post.

Filed Under: Featured, Regular Season Tagged With: , , ,

Old School: What Could Have Been – Jordan, Bird, and Johnson

July 29, 2010 By 2 Comments

Found this file on a possible move the Heat were considering back in the 1991-1992 offseason. It was the verge of Bird’s retirement, but looking to make one last great run with a couple of friends. Heat GM Billy Cunningham was looking to make a splash for the young NBA franchise. Here is a rare photo of his then-bold plan:

It was a bold plan, which would have brought the three NBA MVPs, all-stars, and now, hall of famers together on the same team. It would have been historical and, yes, it would not have been about the money. All three players have made millions at the time, but Jordan was just hungry to win a title.

Magic had tons of hardware, but was looking to find another few running mates he could respect and could lift their game to his level of play.

As for Bird, he was already losing out to Father Time, his playing days dwindling away like sand from an hourglass. One last shot at glory was all he wanted, to go out on his terms and to do it on the grand stage. He was also intrigued to finally be teamed up with a couple of friends from the Dream Team, which would go on to win gold in Barcelona in 1992.

What would be so bad for these three to unite, if not just for a season or two, to see how far they could take their commitment to winning? Would it have been for the titles alone? Or would the egos start to seep in and ruin what could have been a dream roster for the young Heat franchise? We will never truly know.

Props to Hot Hot Japan Hot for putting up this “archived” image.

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Magic Johnson Disapproves of Lebron’s Decision; Shows Himself to be Out of Touch Too

July 22, 2010 By 1 Comment

Magic Johnson didn’t want to be outdone by Michael Jordan on the court – nor off. Following Jordan’s lead, he too decided to rip Lebron’s move to Miami. He stated that he would never have partnered with rivals to try and win a championship.

“We didn’t think about it cause that’s not what we were about…From college, I was trying to figure out how to beat Larry Bird.” Johnson stated. Really? That’s it? Just trying to beat Larry Bird? Well, that would explain why he may not have had as hard of a time walking away from basketball when Bird retired in 1992. Of course, Magic had contracted HIV and that was a more serious reason to retire but maybe it made it easier for him because Bird retired.

The problem is, is Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh rivals to Lebron James? One never gets that feeling. Magic and Bird squared off against one another in the 1979 NCAA Finals. In fact, Magic’s Michigan State team beat Bird’s Indiana State team for the championship. Forward it to their NBA years and both players appeared on rival NBA teams the LA Lakers and Boston Celtics. So, there was a rivalry in place that went back to college and one, in fact, that favored Magic as his Lakers won more championships than Bird’s Celtics.

Look, we already talked about this old-school-horn-blowing. Michael Jordan showed that he doesn’t understand it and of course, is overlooking the help he had with his championships. Magic Johnson may have been trying to figure out how to beat Larry Bird, but he didn’t do it alone. We already showed he has three hall of famers on his teams – as did Bird.

So, what can we take from yet another outburst by some  old has-been? They are competitive guys and are sipping too heavily from the kool-aid they brewed themselves. Sure, they are all great players but they played on great teams, too. Palm Beach Post writer Chris Perkins (following our lead here at MiamiHeatwave.com?) outlined this very principle going year by year with each championship team. If you look, the teams that have won it all and have consistently won (forming dynasties) have always had a core of at least 2-3 hall of famers.

Magic, you can see your Laker teams there as well as Bird’s. Oh, and Michael’s too. Thanks for making the point for us.

Again, Lebron if you are reading this, the hell with the old guys. I won’t even give Barkley a voice here (even though he is one of my favorite players) because he never won a title. This shows that for James winning is more important than winning on your own. It seems to me it takes a lot to look in the mirror and admit, if I want to win I have got to pay the ultimate price – I have to sacrifice my ego and admit I need help. James gets to do that and do it his way with friends Wade and Bosh. Hate on it all you want, but this team is a dynasty in the making and could be the best of them all.

Filed Under: Commentary, Featured, Heat Index Tagged With: , , , , ,

Jordan Rules: There is a Reason it’s Old School

July 19, 2010 By 7 Comments

Michael Jordan was casually asked what he thought about Lebron James’ move to Miami, and he politically, questioned Lebron James’ competitiveness.

“There’s no way, with hindsight, I would’ve ever called up Larry, called up Magic and said, ‘Hey, look, let’s get together and play on one team. But … things are different. I can’t say that’s a bad thing. It’s an opportunity these kids have today. In all honesty, I was trying to beat those guys.”

Let’s really break that down. When Jordan entered the league in the ’84-’85 season, he was 21 years old. Magic? Already had been in the league for 5 years and was 25 years of age. Larry Bird? 28 years of age and in the league for 5 years, too.

Now, what about championships? Well, Bird won in 1981, 1984, and 1986 with his Celtics while Magic won in 1980, 1982, 1985, 1987, and 1988. Jordan of course won in 1991, 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, and 1998. Now, remember, Jordan said, “In all honesty, I was trying to beat those guys.” That was in reference to Larry Bird and Magic Johnson.

So, did Jordan really beat “those guys”?

Shockingly, the answer is no, not even close.

Larry Bird retired after the 1992 season. He was 36 years old and still had some game left, but retired mostly because he was physically broken down. Magic Johnson retired in 1991 because he announced he had contracted the HIV virus and needed to look into his health at age 32. He inspired many to do the same and take HIV more seriously. He did come back for the 1995-1996 season for one last season helping his Lakers get to the playoffs at age 37.

Jordan won his titles after the Larry Bird era and after the Magic Johnson era. Sure, he won one in 1991, but Larry Bird was already 36 and on his way out of the game at that time and Magic, although a bit younger than Bird and clearly with more game still left, was forced out of the game arguably in his prime.

The Houston Rockets, lead by Hakeem Olajuwon, won the 1994 and 1995 titles. Most critics say it was only because Jordan had retired at that time to get away from the game. Yet those same critics don’t cite the fact that Bird was retired and Magic was forced out with the HIV virus. It would have been great to see how those Olajuwon-lead Rocket teams would fare against the Jordan-lead Bulls teams.

Still, all of this fantasy hindsight is overlooking one critical thing – those teams didn’t win championships because of Bird, Magic, or Jordan alone. They were very, very good teams.

Quick – why do Celtic fans refer to the current team as being based on the Big Three? Well, that is because they had their original big three in the 80′s when they were winning titles and fighting with the Lakers every season to do battle for the hardware. They had Bird and Kevin McHale and Robert Parrish (and an excellent bench that saw the likes of Bill Walton riding pine and Danny Ainge playing a key role). The Lakers? Sure, they had Magic, but they also had James Worthy and Kareem Abdul Jabaar.

Now Jordan would like you to think it was because of he alone they won those 6 titles, but anyone who is observant of history will point out that he had lots of help. Scottie Pippen and Horace Grant formed those early championship cores then later it was Pippen again with Dennis Rodman – a guy, mind you Jordan, that came over from those Piston teams you couldn’t beat.

So no, Jordan couldn’t beat a Bird-lead team because they were in the league in overlapping eras. Jordan never got the chance to go up against a Magic-lead team during his championship run because Magic was retired. And we all know about the Jordan rules the Pistons had implemented to stop him. The Pistons, of course, won titles and prevented Jordan from doing so.

What to make of Jordan’s comment about Lebron? Well, like Jordan admitted, things are different now. And he doesn’t think it is necessarily a bad thing – nor could he. He played in a different era and it can be argued that today’s NBA athletes are much better on the average than they were 10 or 20 years ago. Jordan today would not be any more athletic than most NBA players out there, certainly not more so than Wade or James. Jordan won his titles during a time in which the road to the Finals in the East was also arguably much easier – the Pistons were getting older and the Celtics were down, the Knicks couldn’t find a way to build around Patrick Ewing (until Pat Riley came in there, only to bolt for Miami a few years later).

Lebron, if you’re reading this pay no heed to Jordan’s comments. He is simply basking in the glory of his legacy, he can say what he wants because he won 6 titles. The perception is that he won them and not, say, Luc Longley or Tony Kukoc or Ron Harper. The fact is, if you win, none of this matters. It is all speculative at best and can be perceived as chest thumping and even Jordan (and Barkley, too) being old blow hards. (In fact, Wilt Chamberlain made derogatory comments about Jordan’s playing days saying in his day they didn’t have cameras recording their feats. So, it continues with every generation.) Which, they are. And how could you not expect them to be? They are competitive guys who will never relinquish a “you’re right” to anyone and certainly will not even entertain the notion that they just might be average NBA’ers in this current NBA world. So, let them have their fun but make sure you get the last life – hoisting trophies over your head at the end of each season.

Jordan, just like the rest of the media, doesn’t understand what is taking place here in Miami. That isn’t because I live here or because I am a Heat fan but if this took place in Chicago, or Cleveland, or New York, we on the outside would be “hating” this, of course! But we would still have to wrestle with the fact that all three players are doing this because the opportunity was there and they have a chance to win – and win big for the next 6 years. Jordan could never beat Bird or Magic because the cards never lined up. That doesn’t diminish Jordan’s accomplishments and it shouldn’t diminish what RUN DLC (Dwyane, Lebron, and Chris) do here in Miami. If Riley had traded for these players, would they have the same attitude?

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