…and the basketball world remains in a frenzy. It’s gotten so bad at this point that unnamed Miami Heat players litterally broke down and cried in the lockerroom. The Heat have lost four in a row, and LeBron has missed potential game-winning/tying shots in four of their last six games. The bottom line is that they haven’t been able to close out close games all season long. LeBron obviously continues to take a ton of heat for his recent inability to convert with the game on the line. Many fans and writers are suggesting that Miami give Dwyane Wade the ball down the stretch. Okay, fair enough, for whatever reason LeBron just hasn’t been able to get it done… his detractors have been sure to make that more than clear. However, what no one seems to acknowledge is that Dwyane hasn’t been any better himself. Check this out: in the final 30 seconds of games where Miami is tied or trails by up to three points, LeBron James is shooting 2-10. With the way he’s been missing lately I’m sure that strikes you as no surprise. Guess what Dwyane Wade is shooting in the same situations, though? How about 1-8. Ten seconds of middle school math tells me that 2-10 (20%) >> 1-8 (12.5%)… so what do you suggest they do now, give the ball to Chris Bosh (0-1, in case you were wondering)? Bosh has been taking sh!t from everybody and their mother all year for anything and everything, and I’ve never heard the guy accused of being clutch, so I don’t think anyone’s going to recommend that. Here’s what I think: since the Heat have such major problems succeeding in tight games, maybe they should simply try harder not to get involved in them. I don’t have an exact statistic on this, but I can tell you that shooting percentages skydive on the final possession of close games. In order to win a better percentage of tight contests Miami is simply going to have to do a better job of not allowing it to come down to a final shot, and if it has to, to be the team that leads when that final shot is taken. I’m reading that they have blown nine games this season where they led with under three minutes to go. One of these recent final-possession losses was the game against Orlando where they blew a damn 24-point lead. Like I said after that game, I’m less concerned that LeBron missed a three at the buzzer than I am by the fact he and his buddies gave up such a massive advantage. The fact is that game-tying/winning shots on final possessions are not high-percentage looks. Championship teams aren’t knocking down game-winners every other night. They’re kicking the sh!t out of people. The Heat need to do a better job of avoiding getting stuck in these situations, because more often than not they will lose. This little blurb is now headed back towards the patented LeBron James mid-game disappearing act that I talk about oh so often… and which I still feel is much larger a problem than his four consecutive crunch-time misses.
As for the little statement the King made following last night’s brick that has everyone all excited… don’t buy into that crap. Here’s what he said:
“I told my team, I’m not going to continue to fail late in games. I put a lot of blame on myself tonight. I told the guys that I just keep failing them late in games and I won’t continue to do that.”
The two words that have everyone giddy are “my” and “team.” So, LeBron James has taken his talents to South Beach and taken the Heat from Dwyane Wade, declaring them “his team”, right? Wrong. Get the f@ck out of here with that bullsh!t. Look, I’ll be the first person to admit that LeBron has said his share of stupid sh!t, especially since leaving Cleveland, but this is not an example of that. LeBron James is a basketball player for the Miami Heat, correct? Well doesn’t that make the Miami Heat his team? Damn right it does. Just like the Miami Heat is also Dwyane Wade’s team, Chris Bosh’s team, and Jamaal Magloire’s team. If Brian Scalabrine made a post-game comment along the lines of “I thought my team played really well tonight”, would you give a flying f@ck? Doubtful. Stop trying to configure what LeBron says into something that means what you want it to mean because you don’t like the guy. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with the league’s top player letting his teammates know that he will not continue to let them down. Not only is there nothing wrong with it, I like it. The fact that he still has any semblance of confidence in the midst of this moral beatdown he is taking is impressive to me. You actually have to give the guy credit for having the balls to continue to take the shots he’s been taking. If I was LeBron right now I’d probably be about ready to crawl into a hole and never come out… and damn sure not ready to fire another potential game-winner on national TV. I’d be playing hot potatoe with that ball like Jamario Moon (think back to a game against Dallas during Cleveland’s losing streak if you have no idea what I’m referring to). So please, everyone, get off LeBron’s nuts… and if you must be on them, at least make sure your reason isn’t a stupid one. I don’t have time to do the usual recap post today, so I hope this will suffice.
Good stuff man.