Not for the faint of heart among two-time defending NBA champion Miami Heat fans, Wednesday night—after a two-day trip that included a stop by the White House—the “Heatles” fell to the Washington Wizards in disastrous fashion. The loss was their third straight.
Many have insinuated that the Heat have been coasting through the early part of the season. Prior to Wednesday’s game against the Wizards, reigning MVP LeBron James addressed the coasting talk, “We’ll see Wednesday how I’m coasting. You’ll see the numbers I’ll put up on Wednesday. Just watch.”
Famous last words? Pride before the fall? Pick your cliched idiom.
The Heat fell behind 43-18 in the first quarter alone, giving up a lead as high as 34 before attempting to flip their proverbial switch. They drew within nine before finally falling 97-114.
The loss, seems to have served as a wake up call for James.
I apologize, I’m back focused! I needed that. Thanks! #StriveForGreatness
— LeBron James (@KingJames) January 16, 2014
Just needed to reboot back up
— LeBron James (@KingJames) January 16, 2014
Of course, his apology insinuates that he hasn’t been focused lately. Perhaps, one could say, he wasn’t striving for greatness?
That assessment may be unfair. However, James’ tweets seem to endorse the idea that he alone—if not his teammates as well—has been coasting, as he seemed to adamantly refute. And, to be fair, his play hasn’t been too far off of his standard high-efficiency fare.
Realistically, the Heat need to do more than reboot. It is becoming increasingly clear that they struggle immensely to find success—especially on defense against opposing point guards—in Mario Chalmers’ absence.
In their 92-102 loss to the New York Knicks, they gave up 13 points and 14 assists to Raymond Felton. Brooklyn Nets eight-year veteran backup point guard Shaun Livingston racked up 19 points, five assists and 11 rebounds in a 104-95 double overtime win over the Heat. Then there is Wizards point guard John Wall. He tallied 25 points, nine assists and five rebounds in the latest loss for the reigning champs.
If LeBron James and the Miami Heat expect to reboot—like a computer operating system—they’ll need to get healthy and get their perimeter defense back in order.
On the plus side, at least they have a functional Greg Oden now.
Previous Tweet Posts:
Tweet of the Night: Dwyane Wade says he must play much better after embarrassing loss to Wizards
Tweet of the Day: Bill Simmons Weighs in on 3-Team Trade
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Michael writes the Tweet of the Day for SheridanHoops.com and is also a correspondent for BleacherReport.com.