I Hate to Say (that They Love to Say) I Told You So

I was never raised as an NBA fan.

My whole life, my mom raised me to appreciate the game of basketball because her dad (my grandfather) was a basketball coach.  I was in youth leagues when I was a kid to learn the fundamentals, and I played a lot of pick up games when I was growing up.  My parents took me to a couple games at the Coliseum in Morgantown, and even a U of R game when the mountaineers came to Richmond shortly we after we moved here in Chester.  I was even born inside the holy triangle of college basketball- the area known as the "research triangle" between Raleigh, Durham, and Chapel Hill which also features the two schools that make up the rivalry of college basketball.

But even with all that, I never truly followed the NBA at any point when I was a kid.  I knew Michael Jordan was the closest thing to Zeus on the hardcourt in Chicago.  As a teenager, I knew Kobe and Lebron were both serious contenders to follow Jordan's legacy.  But that was about it.

It wasn't until I got to college and Da'Sean Butler got drafted by Miami that I honestly cared about what went on in the NBA.  I threw my lot in with Miami the night I found out they had picked up Butler in the second round.  Several weeks later, I found out Lebron James was teaming up with Wade (and "that other guy from Toronto").  Some of the best minds in the NBA would be mentoring my favorite player.  When many others doubted their potential, I embraced it. 

Of course, many of you that listen to my frequent complaints throughout the year know how this story ends.  Mike Miller gets injured in preseason practice, and the Heat have to cut Da'Sean Butler after the final cuts had been made in order to make room for a replacement for Miller.  Da'Sean eventually ended up with the Spurs, a team I already favored anyway.  So it all worked out in the end.  But I couldn't shake the feeling that the Heat were a Dynasty in the making.

Some said their superstar attitudes couldn't work.  I said that some degree of humility would be prevail.  Some said there would be no rings.  I said 2 in the next 3 years, and 3 in the next 5.  Some said LeBron James was a punk.  I said... actually, I kind of thought LeBron was a punk for a while too. 

But the fact remains the same.  An actual army of people, led by Skip Bayless, Rick Reilly, and angry Cleveland residents, were actively hating on the team from Miami.  Pick one of the multitude of reasons that were floating around out there, and that was surely why this superteam would never work.  The big 3 wasnt born out of trust and good drafting, it was smashed together out of arrogance.  Surely such a conglomoration can't work- at least, that's the storybook ending we would be read by our parents if this was a morality-teaching picture book from our childhood.  Arrogance is bad.  It doesn't lead to rewards.

And yet here the Miami Heat are, officially in the NBA finals.  The regular season is over.  Sometimes they sank, sometimes they swam.  But regardless, they're here, and like the all-stars that they are, they have saved their best basketball for when it mattered most.  They've gotten to the NBA final in- correct me if I'm wrong- 15 games?  That's pretty rediculous, when you consider that they had to beat a scrappy Sixers team, a veteran C's team, and a MVP-led Bulls team. 

Doc Rivers said it best.  As the Heat had regained momentum in one game vs the Celtics pretty early on in the series, the sideline cameras panned over to Doc as he told his players "Remember what we talked about.  Did you think I was kidding?  You're not going to outathleticize them.  You can't beat them at their own game."  And he proved to be right.  No team is more freakishly talented or athletic than the Heat, and now that they've finally figured out the winning formula (D-Wade and LeBron do their thing and take turns leading the team, while Bosh is just a really really really good role player.  If a team decides to double guard James or Wade, or the PF pulls for help defense, then  Bosh gets to make them pay with a nice stat line), the sky is the limit for this team.  Can a team really play unselfish, extra pass basketball for 7 whole games?   I don't know, but I do know what happens if no one is capable of doing so.  Ironically, arrogance is what protects the ultimate team of arrogance. 

So yeah.  Keep fueling their fires, haters.  I really do hate to say that I was right about the Heat.  I want nothing more than a classic showdown, where the focus was the team and not the individual.  I want Scotty Pippin and Jordan taking on whoever could challenge.  But the Heat are elite, and they're here to stay.  And the more the Skip Baylesses of the world hate, the more the talented ones in South Beach are going to rub it in your face.

The Sixth Man: Heat vs Bulls

Hello and welcome, readers, to my newest recurring entry that I will henceforth refer to as The Sixth Man.  This name is a tip of my hat to ESPN's 5v5 basketball segment which features five bloggers from around the internet answering five critical questions regarding notable basketball games or series around the nation.  Since I'm unlikely to be asked to participate in ESPN's 5v5, I instead will offer my opinions on here regarding basketball games as the sixth man.

Today's 5v5 concerns the NBA's eastern conference finals- the Chicago Bulls at the Miami Heat.



1. Who will be the best player in the Miami-Chicago series?

Dwayne Wade.  Derrick Rose is the rightful regular season MVP, and he has carried that excellence into the playoffs.  However, Derrick Rose isn't the only superstar on the court.  LeBron is always a monster (except... well, except when he isn't) and Chris Bosh has his moments.  But I think Dwayne has been the spark plug, gasoline source, and accelator for the Heat in the playoffs so far, and I think his experience that Rose lacks along with his incredible talent pushes him over the top for MVP of the conference finals. 

2.  Which player will you watch most closely?

Carlos Boozer.  Miami is a flat out more athletic team than Chicago, and that's saying a lot when your point guard is D-Rose.  The 1-2 of Wade/James is, to a certain extent, pretty unstoppable; the best Chi-town can do is contain them.  Carlos Boozer has to be on his defensive game and contain Chris Bosh.  It's one thing if Dwayne and Lebron start lighting it up, but if Chris Bosh is firing on all cylinders too, this isn't even a fair series.  The good news is that Bosh is a bit of a baby, and if Boozer comes out playing inspired in the first half, Bosh can easily get down on himself and shoot horribly as the game goes on.  That puts more pressure on the Big 2, which could lead to some easy implosions.  Boozer's offensive consistency should get a shout-out here too, as their front court often goes as he does.

3.  What is the potentially fatal flaw for each team?

For Chicago, I think it's Derrick Rose.  I know that seems counterintuitive, but when Chicago struggles offensively, Rose takes over the game.  The problem is that Rose isn't a superhuman and is capable of playing almost as poorly as the rest of his team given the right (or wrong, if you're Chicago) circumstances.  Rose loves to drive to the basket, and when you're playing a defense that can be as physically imposing and brutal as the Heat, that can take its tole over multiple games.  Not to mention fatigue over the course of one game and foul trouble.

For Miami, this is the part where I'm supposed to say they're perimeter shooters have to play more consistently.  While it's true the outside has to play well to open up the lanes, I think they will get enough to make it a non-issue.  I think a bigger problem is Miami's ability to grab rebounds and limit Chicago's second chance points.  The bulls badly outrebounded the heat in the regular season, and their control of the boards allowed them to dominate Miami in the regular season.


4. Chicago won 62 games and Miami 58. Is this the real NBA Finals?

I think a cruely efficient Mavs team might be offended by this question.  Bulls-Heat might be the best remaining matchup, but don't get it twisted.  The NBA finals do not occur in the month of May.


5. Who wins?

Chicago's run ends here.  I said it throughout the entire calendar year of 2011- with rare exception, you can't win the NBA finals with a scoring point guard.  Miami wins in 6 games and takes another big step to quiet all the haters.