It was touted as a possible finals preview.
A chance for one team to continue a mid season surge that sees the reigning champions heading towards the league leading San Antonio Spurs. A chance for the other team to redeem their mid season slump and improve their declining record against elite teams.
Despite all the criticism, the hysteria and the doubt surround the Miami Heat over the past month, perhaps we can finally put it behind us.
If you have been following my blogs before this, you will remember I banned myself from talking about the Heat as a collective unit, simply because I refused to be a part of the NBA nation who regurgitated the same facts and figures night after night during the Heat’s slump.
After tonight’s performance I have decided to lift the ban.
Whilst Miami were far from perfect, any win over the current champions and a side led by Kobe Bryant who just never seems to lose the hunger for another title, is worthy of accolades.
James and Wade had low scoring nights because of poor shooting throughout the majority of the game. They were making them when they needed to. That was the difference between tonight’s game and the previous 5 in which Miami had lost. The performance could not be more opposite.
The intensity in the building in the fourth quarter was playoff-esque. I know the comparison of regular season atmospheres to playoff scenarios are too often these days, but it truly is the only fitting description.
Two men stepped up tonight, who had been largely at fault during the 5 game skid that saw Miami drop below the growing talent in Chicago in the Eastern Conference standings. Those men were Mike Miller and Chris Bosh.
Miller had been receiving a less than appreciative reaction from not just the media, but the fans over the Heat’s recent struggles. He was missing easy shots, making defensive errors and it looked like he was unsure of his role every time he was on the court. Tonight we found out how he is most effective. I like to call it the ‘Varejao role’. Given Miller is a two guard or a small forward, the job description is slightly different, but the effect is the same, and you can be sure LeBron James was as thankful to Anderson Varejao as anyone during his days in Cleveland for making his task that much easier.
Miller is constantly scrambling and disrupting, tipping and deflecting, getting under the skin of his opponents. His offensive rebounding is a facet of his game I was unaware of before he joined Miami. He also began to regain that shooting touch. He could be the key to this team. He may well be their ceiling.
If not Miller, then certainly it is Bosh. You know what you’re going to get from Wade and James, but Bosh, not so.
Bosh came out following the embarrassment at the hands of Portland, demanding the ball in the low post, believing he was being wasted. Many, including myself, questioned and showed great disapproval at his comments and his reasoning. He received his wish tonight and he backed up his words. He had no other choice but to, and to his credit he did so with flying colours.
He led the Heat in scoring and rebounding. He made defensive stops and at times worried the more skilled and taller Pau Gasol. He showed an intensity that has been lacking since he returned from LA’s All Star festivities.
If Chris Bosh can emulate tonight’s performance and redefine his season upon it’s characteristics, he can be the key to Miami losing to Boston, or Miami beating LA. The difference between; ‘they’ll be good next year’ and ‘it’s impressive they were able to succeed in their first season together’.
Because that will be the only criteria for the Heat, whether they like it or not, whether they believe it or not.
Phil Jackson will not be happy that his team lost to a team of ‘boys’ who play ‘XBOX basketball’. To the Lakers fans and whoever else brown noses this man, justify his comments to me now. The constant that is ‘he always knows what he is saying, what he is doing’ doesn’t seem to be justifiable anymore. James alluded to it in the press conference, citing that “Phil will be Phil.
Miami have fit a fork in the road. They can continue to play like they did tonight and the path will lead them toward the potential for unrivaled success. For Michael Jordan Chicago Bull success. Or they can slip back into the team we have seen the past few weeks and head towards an early exit, possibly at the hands of James’ consistent nemesis Boston or the new threat of Chicago and New York.
Nonetheless, I believe ‘crygate’ was the best thing that could have happened to Miami. The path should now be clear to them.
Original Story:
http://kingjamesgospel.com/2011/03/11...
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