And the Heat lose...

I wanted to write about the conclusion to the NBA season in two parts because of the divergent storylines dominant today. The less important of the two is in regard to the so-called failure of the Miami Heat; the on his way out Chris Bosh, the apparently soon to be fired Erik Spoelstra, the unretiring Pat Riley, Dwyane Wade the premature showboating snot and the sometimes anointed greatest player in the game and serial choker, LeBron James.

That’s a lot of baggage for a basketball team located in one of the nicest parts of our country. And none of it matters, after all, basketball is just a game and while the goal of the NBA is to win the championship it isn’t really that much of a failure to win two games in the finals.

LeBron James showed his arrogant immaturity with an otherwise benign comment at the conclusion of the series meant to demonstrate that life is bigger than basketball but since he doesn’t think before speaking and has had no one do anything other than kiss up to him since he was like 12 he missed and said it in the most condescending way possible. Watching the comment I understood his meaning but couldn’t help wincing, what a jerk.

James couldn’t help himself earlier either, mocking the easiest to cheer player on the court, mindlessly following Wade’s faux coughing fits. Wade himself attempted to assert himself as a leader but instead couldn’t come back completely from a hip injury in game 5 and wasted years of goodwill with boorish behavior.

Of the so-called “big 3” Chris Bosh is who everyone thought he was. He played as well as he ever has and no one should expect anything more. Only disillusioned Miami fans or those whom have never seen a game before (all apologies for the redundancy) would have mistaken Bosh’s game for a close approximation of Wade’s or Jame’s. And that’s ok, it’s the NBA’s weird max salary rules that lead to a player like Bosh, who is very good but not great, to be paid like the absolute best in the game. It would be shameful if Bosh is scapegoated and then traded, but if he is, one hopes he is sent somewhere he can be appreciated and play his game.

So what does Miami do now? Do they blow everything up and start from scratch? That’s ridiculous. No matter the drama, no matter the disappointment of this season, the Miami Heat is a work in progress. Coach Erik Spoelstra has proven himself able and ready. He has worked for the Heat for more than ten years and earned his job the hard way. The Heat, with a completely revamped roster and employing with two players used to being the number one option, won two games in the NBA finals in their first year. Starting over for the second year will do nothing but lead to more disappointment. Considering the chaos, the constant chatter and pressure on the Heat this past NBA season, for them to make it to the finals, they will be back. So long as they build on what they have already done.