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Tag Archive - Miami Heat

Miami Heat: Winning Like A Bosh Without Bosh

May 22, 2012 in by with 2 Comments

Via Flickr - Nina Amaho

You have a transcendent MVP and a former Finals MVP, the most feared pair of wings in the NBA. Do you really require Chris Bosh to beat the Indiana Pacers? Shouldn’t that caliber of talent be able to carry a team to the NBA Finals on their broad shoulders without a handful of rebounds and mid-range jumpers? Evidently not, judging by the popular opinion.

Today’s conventional wisdom seems to insist you have to have a bona fide Big 3 to compete in the playoffs, even in round two in the East let alone any final round series. This is flawed, a cop out, excuses. Who is Indiana’s third wheel then? If you can’t beat the Pacers with LeBron James and Dwyane Wade you honestly don’t deserve to sniff the conference finals let alone the promised land.

Not that Chris Bosh wasn’t a valuable piece and a tremendous loss to the cause, but seriously, he was that critical to success? Your entire Finals run, hyped with proud public promises, hinged on Chris Bosh? Chris freaking Bosh?!

Under normal circumstances Bosh’s replacement, Udonis Haslem, would more than cover up the loss of the Boshosaurus, but this season has been anything but usual, and that goes as much for Haslem as anyone. His string of buckets late in a Game 4 win may have seemed out of the norm, but really he was simply due for a progression to the mean after the horrendous season he’s had. Really, he’s been quite a capable mid-range shooter throughout his career until this oddball one, every bit as comparable as Bosh there.

Courtesy HoopData:

Anomalies abound from 3-23 feet between these two players in the last two seasons, but on average it shakes out pretty close. From 3-9 feet for their careers  Bosh is a mere 1.8% better from the floor than Haslem, and it lessens as the floor stretches out in the mid-range, 1.5% difference from 10-15 feet, and only 0.2% apart from 16-23 feet. The effects felt from the loss of Bosh in the mid-range game should be minimal, especially if Haslem does what he’s shown he’s quite capable of from there as he did the other night.

Defensively, of the ten most used lineups on the floor this season, according to BasketballValue,  Haslem appears in four of the best five. To Bosh’s credit, he appears in three of those top five as well, and Joel Anthony, who will primarily cover for those minutes at center that Bosh had been, two. So defensively, the loss of Bosh should be negligible as well, at least on paper. Erik Spoelstra’s squads are well known to be stingy on defense, and Bosh’s name rarely comes up in those conversations. Defensive adjustments shouldn’t be a huge factor.

Has Bosh’s value really evolved so much that he went from dinosaur status to missing link status?

For his career, normalized per-36 minutes, Haslem is an 11.4 points/9.5 rebounds guy, clearly not enough to put a couple of future Hall of Famers over the top, as these former championship third wheels show us at BasketballReference.

Oh wait…

Everything is a Referendum on LeBron James

May 20, 2012 in by with 1 Comment

ELIAS: LeBron is the 1st player to put up at least 40-18-9 in a playoff game in over half a century. (Elgin Baylor, '61)
May 20, 2012 5:42 pm via webReplyRetweetFavorite
@tomhaberstroh
Tom Haberstroh

 

Forty. Eighteen. Nine.

An absolutely Herculean feat. No one’s done it in the playoffs in the modern era. Chances are, no one will again. LeBron James reminded us why he won his third MVP award this season. He reminded us why he’s compared to Michael Jordan. And Oscar Robertson. And a linebacker. And a freight train. A MONSTAR. A supernova.

He played 44 minutes, and the Heat needed him on the floor every second of that time to stay in the game. They were floundering in the first half. It took them nearly 5 minutes to score their first points of the game (a layup by LeBron), with missed shots and turnovers fueling the Pacers’ offensive fire. The Pacers missed a bunch of open and contested long 2s and 3s, but with Wade only scoring 8 points in the half and the Pacers being up 8 at halftime, it looked liked Indiana was headed back to Miami to close out this series. But then, the second half started.

Thirty. Nine. Six.

For the third time in the playoffs, LeBron James and Dwyane Wade outscored the opposing team after halftime.
May 20, 2012 6:26 pm via webReplyRetweetFavorite
@tomhaberstroh
Tom Haberstroh

Wade woke up in the 2nd half. 22 points on some tough shots (“tough shots” are better known as shots that go in, but as you’re watching you say “there’s no way that… HOLY CRAP!”). James and Wade decided to remind everyone watching why they wanted to team up together in the Summer of 2010. In the end, Miami figured out how to get Indiana’s bigs in foul trouble and abuse the paint. Between LeBron and DWade, they had 22 Free Throw attempts. And really, that’s what makes this Miami team so hard to beat. The top-heavy talent is something to fear and admire, sure. But when it’s a close game, these two guys know how to get to the line. More often than not, they deserve the shots they take. But the important part about their game is that the know how to control the tempo, create the opportunity to get a little banged up, and march up to the line to make (most of) their shots. Gets them some points. Gets guys like Hibbert, West, and Amundson in foul trouble.

Just one more thing…

LeBron accounted for 16 of those 22 FT attempts. He sacrificed his body this game, playing out of position down low to bring down 18 rebounds and draw 14 fouls. So if LeBron HADN’T scored 12 points at the FT line. And if he hadn’t scored 40 points himself. And if he hadn’t assisted on 22 points. And created six second-chance opportunities. And taken only two two-minute rests the whole game. And if Wade hadn’t woken up from his Indianapolis-induced slumber of the past 3 halves of basketball, then where would the Heat be?

LeBron’s performance was one for the ages. But he’s not supposed to be playing like this. He can do it, obviously, but not all the time. Nor should he try to. Wade HAS to be a part of this process, too. Every time. It cannot be the LeBron show. The desire to spread the responsibility, above all other things, is why he left Cleveland. The Cleveland teams from 2007 onward were successful. They weren’t title-winners, but they were certainly contenders. And why? Because they were LeBron + a ton of role players suited to his strengths. And now? It’s LeBron + one potentially-amazing closer (Wade) + one guy who gets left open and makes everything (Bosh) + leftover role players that had to be scraped together because of salary cap constraints. So far, we’ve seen highlight-reel plays from this team, but little else in the way of excelling beyond the potential of LeBron’s Cavalier teams. LeBron’s giving us all a show. But he shouldn’t.

As much as we love watching him perform like this, our expectations are higher for the collective. The stakes are higher. The pressure is higher. Above all else, we expected something different than just watching a bunch of warm-weather Cavs games. This team was supposed to be different than LeBron’s past teams, but I don’t see it.

This Heat/Pacers series has been a great one so far. Lots of chippiness. Lots of great defense. Lots of ties and lead changes and late game heroics. These are two great teams playing well above everyone’s expectations. People figured the Pacers would be good, but THIS good? No way. And the Heat. Yeah, sure, title favorites blah blah. But when Bosh went down with an injury, everyone figured they were too thin to go on. And here we are, a great series, with two great teams, and one standout superstar in LeBron. It makes for some exciting and close basketball games, but we were promised something different.

NBA Playoffs: Back To Indiana Now

May 16, 2012 in by with 18 Comments

“Hope is what gets you out of bed in the morning when it’s the day of prom and you haven’t been asked. Hope pushes the caterpillar through the cocoon and drives the salmon upstream. Your breasts may be small and your glasses may be thick but hope doesn’t hold up a mirror. Hope is a horizon we head for, leaving nothing behind but fear. And though we may never reach our goals, it’s hope that will save us from who we once were.” – Meg Griffin, Family Guy episode “New Kidney in Town”

At halftime of Game 2, to say that things looked bleak for the Indiana Pacers would have been a colossal understatement. For Indiana fans, the first 24 minutes of basketball had triggered emotional flashbacks to the 2011 NCAA National Title game between UConn and Indianapolis’s own Butler University which practically set back basketball to the peach basket era in a 53-41 “game” that was an affront to basketball. Tonight, Miami and Indiana were equally abysmal combining to shoot 35.4% from the field and commit 19 turnovers combined in a mistake prone half. Though the Pacers somehow managed to keep the game to a five point difference at intermission, there was a feeling that even this deficit was insurmountable. For the second game in a row, Danny Granger came out ice cold going 2-7 from the field, and Paul George equaled Granger’s shooting line. After the early 16-9 Pacers lead had evaporated over the course of the half, you could almost feel the panic and despair take over.

It’s times like this that are test the resolve of both players and fans. Up until last game, it seemed like everything was breaking Miami’s way in the playoffs. First, Derrick Rose went down which ultimately led to the demise of the chief rival Bulls, the most popular choice to prevent the Heat from reaching its second consecutive NBA Finals. In Miami’s own first round series against New York, Iman Shumpert and Baron Davis both crumpled to the floor with knee injuries. Elsewhere, Miami’s new presumed opponent in the Eastern Conference Finals, should they get there, featured a Boston Celtics squad with a banged up Ray Allen. For a team that needs absolutely no help beating anyone else in the league, the road to the Finals seemed like a cake walk for Miami. The only thing standing in the way of the Miami Heat was an Indiana team who had flown under the NBA radar all season long having played one nationally televised game during the regular season despite having the fifth best record in the league.

However, once Chris Bosh went down with an abdominal injury and was declared out indefinitely, the window for an Indiana upset was cracked open just enough for people to begin believing.For a while though, the Pacers seemingly still weren’t able to take advantage. There is no such thing as a “must win” Game 2, but at this point, Pacer fans were lying to themselves if they weren’t thinking that their chances of winning the series were greatly diminished if their team failed to come back from the halftime hole. If ever there was a chance to steal a road game in the series, this was it for the Pacers. All of the sudden, an out-of-nowhere 28-14 third quarter advantage gave them the hope they were looking for. Shots began to fall for Indiana and rim out for Miami. This was a total reversal from the first half. What little energy there was in American Airlines Arena was gone now, and the potential for an upset was slowly starting to seep in. Everyone could feel it.

The entire fourth quarter was an emotional roller coaster for both fan bases. With a flagrant one foul called on Wade followed by a double technical assessed to LeBron and Granger just two minutes later, the chippiness had been established, and it was officially game on. Both teams left everything they had out on the floor; the fate of the series hung in the balance. A Miami win almost assured them of a Conference Finals appearance for the second year in a row. An Indiana win evened the series and set up a scenario where the Pacers could stun the world and advance simply by holding serve on their own home court. When the dust had settled, Miami had fought back to tie the game, both teams endured an odd stretch where they each forgot how to shoot free throws going a combined 3-12 at one point, and Mario Chalmers missed a game tying 3 as the clock expired. The Pacers had survived, and Indiana had its own version of what hope means to them.

Hope is what gets them out of bed in the morning when it’s game day and nobody but the guys in the locker room believe they can win. Hope pushes them through grueling off-season practices and drives them to success on the court. Their point guards may be undersized and their lineup may not be as talented on paper, but the box score doesn’t see that. Hope is an idea that fans cling to, leaving stats behind but sticking with faith.

Last year, the Pacers were a team who the Bulls disposed of in a competitive five game series. To put it in the words of Meg Griffin, it’s who they once were. Throughout this season, they have learned from their mistakes; unlike earlier in the year, no longer does a halftime deficit mean that they are ready to fold up shop and call it a night. Not only are they learning to play as a team on the court, their level of trust within one another has never been higher. As the series shifts back to Indiana on Thursday, the Pacers have the one thing that is just as important as jump shots and rebounding. They have hope. And though they may never reach their goal, it’s hope that will save them.

2012 NBA Playoffs, Heat vs. Pacers Lineup Analysis And Reasons Why Miami Will Win In 6 Games

May 11, 2012 in by with 1 Comment

As the 2012 NBA Playoffs finally move beyond the first round, the real fun begins. Individual matchup become more compelling, the stakes continue to rise and the quality of basketball ascends as lesser teams make their fishing plans. I’ve hit on all my predicted winners except the injury-ravaged Chicago Bulls in the first-round, and you can check out those picks and my deeper analysis of the full field on Hardwood Paroxysm here for the Eastern Conference and here for the Western Conference. Now here’s my look at the second-round Eastern Conference matchup between the Miami Heat and the Indiana Pacers.

A New Lineup Analysis Tool (.GIF File On 20-Second Intervals)

As you might expect, the Miami Heat are the superior team. LeBron James and Dwyane Wade are the two best players in the series, and it isn’t even close. Shocking, right? Anyways, here is my attempt at creating a lineup analysis tool where players are compared to the average values at their position (20+ min/gm positional averages are used). For example, say Player X has an Assist Rate of 20.43, while the average NBA SF (20+ min) has an AR of 17.8. I express the value as it relates to the positional average, so Player X’s Assist Rate is 14.7% better than average (which would point up 14.7 on the graph). Here is how Miami Heat players compare to their counterparts on the Indiana Pacers and NBA averages from 2011-12:

Danny Granger and Paul George certainly have the physical tools to slow down LeBron James and Dwyane Wade, but according to NBA.com/Stats the Pacers were a net -16.1 points per 100 possessions (93.9 Off Eff, 110.0 Def Eff) with LeBron on the court in their four regular season matchups and a net -10.7 with Wade on the court. Something tells me Indiana is going to see a lot of both of those guys in this series, so I’m going to treat those stats as a harbinger of death for the Pacers.

One thing that gives me pause about predicting a six-game series win for Miami (aside from the fact that their role players are so weak), is that the Pacers actually had terrific success with their most-used lineup against Miami this season – Collison| George | Granger | Hibbert | West — as that quintet dominated the offensive glass (35.7% offensive rebound rate) and produced a net rating of +9.1 pts / 100 poss in 74 minutes against Miami in the regular season. As you can see above, Hibbert has a clear advantage on the offensive glass against Haslem, and West is slightly better than Bosh in that respect, but James and Wade more than cancel out anything George and Granger bring to the table. Without knowing the exact matchups for that seemingly magical Pacers lineup, I can still tell you that they shot an absurd 48 percent from beyond the arc while on the floor. That feels like fool’s gold to me. One thing that will throw Indy off their game is that Udonis Haslem and Joel Anthony will bother Hibbert in the post, disrupting spacing on the arc — Hibbert posted up on 51.9% of his plays this year (0.89 ppp), but Haslem only allowed 0.78 ppp and Anthony limited opponents to 0.75 ppp, according to Synergy Sports.

Advanced Stat Breakdown

One area that provides some hope for Indy is that the Heat have given up one of the highest percentages of shots from beyond the arc to opponents all season long, which could work well for a Pacers team that finished the year as the sixth-best three-point shooting team in the league. If Indy catches fire from long distance, the complexion of the series could change in a hurry. Interestingly, the Pacers hold an advantage in three of the traditional Four Factors on offense, but the most important factor (by far) is eFG% and the Heat are miles ahead in that respect. Perhaps even more importantly, Miami is a top-five defensive team in the NBA and Indiana gets to the rim even less often than an average NBA squad, so it all comes down to the three-point efficiency. James and Wade know the Pacers are hungry to prove they belong, so I fully expect the dynamic duo to rip Indy’s heart out early in the series to prevent things from getting interesting. That’s what stars do in the NBA Playoffs. Sorry Pacers fans.

Prediction: Miami In 6

Statistical support for this story from NBA.com

HP 2011-12 Season Preview: The Miami Heat, Or “Be Water, Superfriends”

December 23, 2011 in by with 1 Comment

I can see clearly now, the rain is gone. The lockout has lifted, we have a season, can I get an Amen? (Amen.) And in the spirit of renewal, our shiny new cadre of writers is putting together previews for all 30 teams in true HP style. From where teams are going to what their disgrace is to explorations of pop culture, we are about to rock, salute us, can I get an Amen? (Amen.) So sit back, relax, and ponder the awesomeness of this fully operational Hardwood Paroxysm 3.0. -Ed. 

TO BEGIN, A BRIEF VIDEO PRELUDE

By Danny Chau

Erik Spoelstra, in response to losing in the Finals with one of the most highly anticipated teams in league history, has decided to update his playbook by ripping out pages from our dream logs and stapling it to the front. Spoelstra will play upon the team’s unique interchangeability.  The Miami Heat have an incredible amount of defensive potential, but if all goes well, we’ll be witnessing an offensive awakening. Be formless, shapeless. Be water, Superfriends.

QUO VADIMUS (WHERE ARE WE GOING?)

By Curtis Harris

To discuss the Miami Heat, we must slough off all the unnecessary baggage and get to the basketball core. That means The Decision, as poorly conceived as it was and as ill-received as it continues to be, must be put aside. The WWF spectacular that greeted the arrival of The Heatles? You’ve got hide that disdain away.

Looking solely at the on-court, basketball dimensions of the Heat, what they pulled off last year is quite commendable. The roster consisted of only 4, maybe 5 players you’d want starting on a championship roster. Sadly, none of them played point guard or center. There’s the two bona fide Hall of Famers in Dwyane Wade and LeBron James. Chris Bosh when his career is through will be a borderline Hall of Famer at worst. Udonis Haslem is the type of sturdy and dependable role-player that melds together championship teams. There’s your four high-quality players. The fifth possible member is Mike Miller who was on-the-court, off-the-court all season long battling various injuries and ailments. Hopefully he can regain his health and eschew the passive mindset that crippled him in Minnesota and Washington.

The rest of the Heat roster last season was best served coming off the bench as 2nd- or even 3rd-stringers but they were forced into heavy rotation. Mario Chalmers and Joel Anthony are serviceable backups that were pressed into starters’ roles. The corpses of Erick Dampier, Jamaal Magloire, Zydrunas Ilgauskas, Mike Bibby, Carlos Arroyo and Juwan Howard haunted the Miami rotation all year.

Despite it all, the Heat dispatched the 76ers, Celtics and Bulls 4 games to 1 in each of their playoff series. Certainly there were some lackluster and underwhelming performances in the Finals against Dallas, but the Heat still won 2 games in that series and easily could have taken two more (Games 2 and 4). Was last season a total success? No. Nothing ever is unless you win the title.

But that was certainly a hell of a start for Miami’s Big 3 and this season portends better things. For starters, there’s the benefit of continuity. Having a season’s worth of experience of playing with your mates and knowing their instincts and seamlessly playing off one another. That cannot be discounted. Furthermore, Mike Miller and Udonis Haslem will be healthy as the season begins and the addition of Shane Battier further allows more rest for the Heat’s big guns.

Roster deficiencies remain outside of those players but LeBron’s a year better. Bosh as well. Wade is holding steady and may yet improve some more. These are all scary thoughts for the rest of the league considering Miami was a mere two games away from a title last season.

 

POPULAR THEORIES IN BASKETBALL-CULTURAL CROSS-REFERENCES

By Connor Huchton

In DodgeBall: A True Underdog Story, the plot’s primary villains are the Globo-Gym Purple Cobras, led by villain White Goodman and his band of seemingly unstoppable dodgeball athletes. They’re deemed unbeatable by most dodgeball experts, and seen as overwhelming favorites to win the tournament championship.

Unlike the Purple Cobras, who were eventually defeated by the team from Average Joe’s (against all odds, of course), the Heat don’t have to face the crux of movie endings. They control their own destiny, and that destiny (in 2011-2012) probably doesn’t involve an unlikely underdog’s challenge. The Heat isn’t a team comprised of villains in reality, but it’s a role they’ve largely accepted.

 

WILL YOU REMEMBER ME, I WILL REMEMBER YOU

By Sean Highkin

LeBron James is not the villain anymore. He may still be the most hated player in the NBA who has not divorced a Kardashian, but Miami’s “Big Three” experiment isn’t the focus of every popular narrative going into this season. Chris Paul is a Clipper. The blowback from the lockout and the shady circumstances surrounding the blocked CP3/Lakers trade have left LeBron unscathed. Dwight Howard may or may not become a Laker or a Net. Carmelo Anthony will play his first full season with a newly tricked-out Knicks team. Even the Cavs fans have Kyrie Irving and the satisfaction of the Heat’s loss in the Finals to distract them from full-ol LeBron vitriol. In the grand scheme of things, nobody really cares about The Decision anymore.

What this means is that this is the first year in which the Heat are just a normal part of the NBA. This season’s playoffs results won’t be painted as a referendum on LeBron James as a person by the media and NBA-consuming public like they were last year. All that matters is the team they have assembled, which should be better than last year’s. The 2010-11 Heat made it to the Finals purely based on the on-paper talent of their shiny new free-agent acquisitions, with no mind paid to chemistry or role players. With the addition of Shane Battier and the prospect of a full healthy season from Udonis Haslem, plus the chip LeBron will have on his shoulder after last year’s full-on vilification, we’ll be looking at a more complete team than we saw last year. Get used to this, because it could be the future.

It’s A Numbers Thing

September 17, 2011 in by with 1 Comment

Photo courtesy of therapup.net

Artest told Yahoo! Sports he plans to wear No. 70 next season, but the NBA has rules that prevent players from switching their uniform number from year to year. The deadline for a player to change his number is in early March to have it go into effect for the next season and once a number is changed, it has to be worn for five seasons with that team before a player is allowed to change it (unless he is traded to a new team or leaves as a free agent).

Artest wore No. 37 after signing on as a free agent with the Lakers in 2009-10 and did switch to No. 15 last season. It’s not clear what he had to do to accomplish that.

The uniform rule does not come with any stipulations for a name change, however.

If there is a request or circumstance that calls for a number change within the five-year period is approved, it may come with a cost of some kind, according to a league source.

via Los Angeles Lakers’ Ron Artest’s name now officially Metta World Peace – ESPN Los Angeles.

Look, I can’t say I care too much that Ron Artest is changing his name to Metta World Peace. As amusing as it’ll be to see “World Peace” on the back of a dude’s jersey during actual NBA games, I probably won’t start calling him that. Unlike Chad Johnson, who introduced the “Ocho Cinco” nickname informally a couple of years before making it official, Artest is expecting the entire sports world to start calling him by a new, esoteric name over a decade into a career that hasn’t exactly been low-profile.

No, what interested me most from Dave McMenamin’s report on Artest’s name change was the explanation of the process for jersey-number changes, something I’ve always wondered about and been fascinated by. Why does the NBA make players wear the same number for five years? Is it just so they don’t have to print new jerseys to sell? Major League Baseball doesn’t seem to have any rules about this whatsoever. When the Giants acquired Carlos Beltran at this year’s trading deadline, manager Bruce Bochy switched his number from 15 to 16 so that his new power hitter could keep the number he had worn for six years with the Mets. They made the decision at Beltran’s introductory press conference, and both his and Bochy’s new uniforms were ready for the game that night. Considering the NBA’s willingness to bend this rule for its stars (more on LeBron James and Mario Chalmers in a minute), its very existence seems somewhat archaic and unnecessary.

This got me thinking about other noteworthy number changes in recent NBA history, and the reasoning behind them.
Continue Reading…

Got Skillz: Kanye and Jay-Z, LeBron and Wade

August 8, 2011 in by with 1 Comment

Photo courtesy of Billboard.com.

This edition of Got Skillz is not, strictly speaking, about the musical pursuits of basketball players. As anybody with a functional Twitter account no doubt is well aware, last night saw the release of Watch the Throne, the hotly anticipated new album from Kanye West and Jay-Z. The track “Gotta Have It” features this line from Kanye: “Ain’t that where the Heat play?/N***as hate ballers these days/Ain’t that like LeBron James?” To which Jay responds: “Ain’t that just like D-Wade?” Rappers name-check ballers all the time, but this one felt strikingly appropriate. An album-length collaboration from Kanye and Hov is more or less equivalent to LeBron and Wade teaming up in Miami, and comes with many of the same questions.
Continue Reading…

Game 1 Redux: Miami’s Bullpen Finishes The Job

June 1, 2011 in by with 7 Comments

Photo via david.vigh on Flickr

The apex of my childhood sports fandom was the 1996 major league baseball season that saw the New York Yankees end an 18-year championship drought. That team played more nauseatingly close games than my pre-adolescent, lightweight stomach could handle, but I always knew if my beloved Bronx Bombers made is past the seventh inning with a lead all was well.

Mariano Rivera pitched the eighth.

John Wetteland handled the ninth.

Game over.

I don’t have the time, nor the energy to go game-by-game to exact the data, but I can say with absolute certainty that the Yankees played an inordinate number of close games that season, but if they led with six outs or fewer to go, that demonic bullpen duo shut the door with all the aplomb of an assassin.

Now, 15 years later in the wake of Game 1 of the NBA Finals, I am reminded of that devastatingly potent late game pair after watching LeBron James and Dwyane Wade finish off the Dallas Mavericks.

The production of Miami’s bench and Dallas’ inability to hit open shots (or the Heat willing them to miss) unquestionably played significant roles in the final outcome, but nothing trumps the competition like a deadly closer. Wade and LeBron were responsible for scoring or creating 14 of the Heat’s final 20 points in the last seven minutes of regulation, at once operating in unison and trading haymakers with devastating resolve. This game serves as the quintessential example of why Miami can not only win this series, but win a handful of NBA championships in the future – if they keep it close watch out.

Some have claimed the Heat offense has underwhelmed in the postseason. Maybe they’re right, but does it matter anymore? It certainly used to when the Fighting Spoelstra’s were searching for a harmonious existence and an identity amidst a season-long media firestorm. Now on the game’s biggest stage, the ends justify the means. During a televised timeout last night the head coach calmly told his bench to grind it out, buckle down and grind it out. Six months ago the thought of a team built around two of the most transcendent athletes of their generation grinding it out just didn’t seem a likely reality. We knew of Wade’s and James’ prodigious ability to get to the line, but certainly with both on the floor forming perhaps the most devastating open court duo in history, Miami would run teams out of the arena.

But having finally put it all together, the reality is the Heat attack doesn’t need to be perfect – far from it. Entering Game 1, Miami was a paltry 3-27 when shooting less than 40% from the floor. They’re now 4-27 because when push comes to shove you simply can’t contain both stars down the stretch. It’s akin to a now Methuselah-like Rivera remaining a dominant closer throwing one pitch that tops out at 90 miles per hour. Every hitter and every fan knows the cut fastball is coming each and every time, but it doesn’t matter. As long as New York gives him a lead, no matter how slim, more often than not he’s going to get the job done.

Miami’s offense was far from great last night, but they kept it close until the critical juncture when they could go to their bullpen. It’d be easy to analyze and break down each critical possession in the closing minutes, but the simple fact is two of the best players in the world are wearing the same jersey and you can’t double-team both. There are dynamic flashes as the end unfolds, James’ buzzer beater to end the third. His usual barrage of confidence shattering dunks, Wade’s geometric bending forays to the rim. Taken in the context of the finished product though, its a steady diet of the same pitch, the same attack, the same result. It’s mind numbing in its effectiveness.

Somewhere in South Beach is a 10-year-old kid who will grow up looking back fondly on the days when he could watch his beloved Heat play, knowing if it was at least close in the 4th quarter, he stood a good chance to see a win.

LeBron James and the artful transition

May 20, 2011 in by with 6 Comments

Photo via HaukeSteinberg.com on Flickr

“The concept of art is located in a historically changing constellation of elements; it refuses definition. Its essence cannot be deduced from its origin as if the first work were a foundation on which everything that followed were constructed and would collapse if shaken. The belief that the first artworks were the highest and purest is warmed-over romanticism; with no less justification it could be claimed that the earliest artistic works are dull and impure in that they are not yet separated from magic…”

- from “Aesthetic Theory” by Theodor W. Adorno

I give Adorno credit. I’ve spent the last seven months struggling to define my new and ever changing perception of LeBron James, trying to aptly express how it’s different watching him play. Why it’s different. Adorno more or less sums it up in less than a paragraph.

Jordan had to face accusations of being a one-man scoring machine incapable of leading a team to a championship. Kobe had to hear the whispers that maybe he couldn’t win it all without Shaq. Luke Skywalker had to lose a hand and face some hard truths about the lineage of his family tree. This isn’t to compare LeBron to any of them, but all have undergone a change, something palpable simply by looking at them.

James of course has undergone a degree of scrutiny never before see in the NBA, some of it his own doing, some of it a product of the time he lives in. But that’s only a part of it.

As a young, dominating member of the Cavaliers, James was something to behold – a force. Daily conversations with friends never boiled down to “Did you see the Cleveland game last night?” so much as it was “Did you see LeBron last night?” I was excited by the possibility of the unknown, the notion that anything could happen. The next play. The next game. The next 10 years. Watching James single-handedly restore a broken franchise to prominence while simultaneously shattering my perceptions of what a man his size was capable of was at once exhilarating and left me even hungrier for more.

Even as his career continued to develop and the expectations grew exponentially, there was some sense of being able to forgive his transgressions (read: inability to win a championship). James’ career arc seemed to be tilted so high that he inevitably would win a handful of rings, cementing his legacy as one of the greatest of all time. He remained the high school prodigy in many ways, still unearthing his talents before our eyes.

The Decision changed all of that.

Part of his allure in those days was his singularity, a one-man wrecking crew, it’s something that even if you weren’t a serious basketball fan, could be appreciated. His role in Miami has morphed, become more sophisticated, less about reckless abandon and more about seamless execution within the confines of a game plan. His love of playing is no longer tangible through my TV screen. Hardened by criticism and the pressure of validating his off-season moving, maybe the Wonder Kid is at the point where he’s no longer willing to make excuses for himself. But like Adorna says about the first works of art, change isn’t necessarily a bad thing.

James’ career has no definition right now, a byproduct of its still relatively early stage and the unprecedented turn of events it has undergone. Maybe that’s been the hardest part, seeing what once appeared a readily definable career turn to something much less certain.  Eight years ago I knew LeBron was the most hyped high school basketball player of all time. Three years ago I knew he was destined to win half a dozen MVP awards and lead Cleveland to the Promised Land. Today?

I know James will win titles, the learning curve for Miami has been too steep this season to think the Heat won’t put it all together at some point in the next five years. I know he’ll win more MVP awards, he “quietly” had his most efficient season ever in 2011 and many felt he was deserving of the honor. I don’t know if I’ll ever see the carefree LeBron that was omnipresent in Cleveland, the one who intermittingly danced with teammates while slaying defenses. But maybe to reach the lofty status to which he aspires change does have to happen and childish things do have to be put away.

Following Cleveland’s loss to Boston in the playoffs last year it was said that maybe LeBron was destined to be my generation’s Julius Erving. One of the all-time greats, an individual lauded for their physical dominance over the game, loved by many, but never held in the same regard as the great champions of the sport. No one will ever call Jordan or Kobe fun loving; they were killers in their prime. And therein lies my personal struggle – sometimes what we want, isn’t always what’s best.

James’ legacy is and always was dependent on him developing an otherworldly killer instinct. Maybe it took the perceived role as the villain to fully manifest itself, but the once jovial phenom has grown up. I remain in awe of his physical abilities, talents that I’m still waiting to see reach their limitation, talents that will inevitably leave an indelible mark on the NBA when they are spent. They needed focus and they needed direction. LeBron seems to have found that, maybe it’s time my perceptions do the same.

Stinkface Chronicles: Kiss My Tail Lights

May 16, 2011 in by with 2 Comments

Taj Gibson and Kirk Gibson are, as far as I can tell, of no relation. Gibson (Taj) is a black 6-foot-9 power forward who plays for the Bulls while Gibson (Kirk) is a white 6-3 former major league baseball player who now manages an MLB team in Arizona that plays in a park with a pool in it.

The only connections the two share are their last name and, either through choice or genetics or a combination of the two, both men are bald.

But after Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals, the two Gibsons have become connected in another way. Each man proved that people leave games early at their peril. You may miss something spectacular.

Something as spectacular as Gibson’s (Taj) one-handed putback slam.

[flash http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tOOeMg7eqYM&feature=relmfu w=640 h=390]

Now, wasn’t that a thing of athletic beauty? Gibson (Taj) grabs the ball as it is about six inches below the rim and about four feet from the hoop. I’m no sports scientist, but the physics involved with this thunderous slam are exceptional. So is the reaction of the TNT crew of Marv Albert, Steve Kerr and Reggie Miller. From Albert’s simple, “TAJ … GIB-SON!” to Kerr’s “Ohhhhhh!” to Miller laughing, there wasn’t much to say in real time.

(Of course Miller couldn’t resist going over the top with his “I’ve been to the mountaintop,” “analysis” during the replay. I can’t give NBA.com credit for much, but thankfully they excised that from the above highlight.)

Beside the dunk itself and that LeBron James, on the Heat bench, had to stop biting his nails so that his jaw could drop, what’s most interesting to me in the highlight is the gentleman in the gray along the baseline behind the photographers. In real time, he’s walking away just as Gibson (Taj) hammers it home. He turns his head around as soon as Gibson and Bulls fans blow the roof off the barn.

He just missed the most electrifying dunk of the game. (Some, including Dwyane Wade’s own son, would disagree with that assessment.)

You can also feel for the two team attendants who were folding towels next to the Heat bench. They missed it too, but at least they were doing their job, unlike the man in the gray.

Upon further viewing, you can see the man in the gray was more than likely supposed to be watching. He’s a photographer who leaves his position just as C.J. Watson launches the three that Gibson slams home. Instead of capturing Gibson in mid-flight, he’s been caught in mid-flight. Now, he may have been finished for the night or had a specific assignment that didn’t require him to stay put for the whole 48. Let’s just hope that was the case and that his editor didn’t ask the following: “Did you get Gibson’s putback slam? It symbolizes everything the Bulls did in the second half: offensive rebounds, distinct advantage in the paint, exceptional effort for the whole game. I’d like to use that on A1. You got that, right?”

That’d be tough to explain.

Gibson’s (Taj) putback slam and the photog’s early escape reminded me of another “wish I had been there for that Gibson moment” moment. That would be Kirk Gibson’s game-winning homer off Dennis Eckersley in Game 1 of the 1988 World Series. Most fans remember a gimpy Gibby, Vin Scully’s excellent description (“Talk about a roll of the dice.”) and the drama that followed.

Someone, however, missed that drama. L.A. fans — unlike fans in Chicago — have the reputation of arriving late and leaving early, as if the game is just another stop on their busy SoCal social schedule. To their credit, most fans remained at Dodger Stadium to see if their club could erase a one-run deficit against the game’s best closer.

At 3:53 in this highlight (sorry, MLBAM’s ridiculous restrictions on video continue), you can see a pair of tail lights under the pavilion roof as right fielder Jose Canseco stops between the 370 and 360 signs in right field. Those lights belong to the sucker or suckers who immediately rued the decision to beat traffic and listen to the rest of the game on the radio.

“Hey, you went to the game last night. That was the best. Where were you sitting?”

“In my car. I wanted to beat the traffic out of the stadium”

“They had a man on and Gibson (Kirk) at the plate.”

“But traffic…”

“Idiot.”

Using Gibson’s homer as inspiration, a Dodgers team that didn’t have much offense or talent as the A’s, used pitching, defense, hustle and grit to take the series in five. If you squint, you could substitute NBA MVP Derrick Rose for the whole Dodgers pitching staff — in the fact that like a pitcher, Rose has the ball in his hands and he controls the tempo of the game — the Bulls have plenty of defense, hustle and grit.

Gibson’s (Taj) putback slam will never have the historical impact of Gibson’s (Kirk’s) homer. Some could see it as just another blow to the already dead high horse the Heat rode in on. But Gibson’s (Taj) dunk punctuated the message the Bulls were trying to send to the Heat in Game 1, and to NBA fans who didn’t give them much of a chance: “We’ll be here ’til the end. Don’t go anywhere. You may miss something good.”

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