Mami never let it get out of control, nor never get overwhelmed by LeBron. They played with intensity, and when Dwyane Wade went frigid in the second half, other players picked it up. But clear criticism remains.
What the hell exactly was that last shot? It was Dwyane Wade one-on-one with LeBron James, arguably one of the games’ best defenders and a much larger gentlemen. Under normal circumstances that would be a bit of a challenge for Dwyane Wade. But when you’ve watched him miss shot after shot, including two straight free throws that would have pretty much salted the game, don’t you have a responsibility to take the ball out of his hand?
via Heat lose another opportunity, fall to Cavs, 92-91 | Hot Hot Hoops.
Let me answer that one real quick: No. No, you do not have a responsibility to take the ball out of Dwyane Wade’s hands on the last shot of a game when he’s on the Miami Heat. I don’t care if he’s missed fifty shots in a row. I don’t care if an alien is about to burst out of his chest and sing “Hello, My Baby.” You give Wade that shot every single time. Because he’s Dwyane Wade and the “had a bad half and then drained the game winner” is squarely in his wheelhouse. Who else are you going to give a game-winner over the Cavs to? Cook? Chalmers? Beasley’s elbow 15 footer?
Everyone was freaking out over that game because of the second quarter (one in which the Heat did not score until a little over 3 minutes remained, I might add). But these two teams have to be in absolute full-bore with things just right to make it a good game. Otherwise it’s two plodding offenses with relatively stout defenses featuring two of the top players in the game. Which can be exciting, but only if things go right. They didn’t last night.
With the Bulls starting to warm up, the Bobcats peeling off a bit but still dangerous, the Raptors pushing for separation, the Heat need to figure out some way to start winning consistently. But as I’ve wondered since the beginning of this season, I have no idea how that’s going to happen. Beasley’s fine for what he is, and JO has a few moments now and then. But it’s easy to say that this team may be the most unreliable offense outside of Chicago in the playoff picture. And that’s not going to improve any time soon without a major trade.
