At the other end of the court, there are few holes in Miami’s offense — the primary one being that in half-court situations they are essentially a jump-shooting team. In fact, Dwayne Wade is their most effective scorer in the low-post. This could be a problem come money season when the pace of games invariably slows down.
However, Miami’s most serious problem is its inability to maintain intensity. Actually, this modus operandi is the main reason why repeating as champs is so difficult. In this century, only Phil Jackson’s LA Lakers have won successive titles.
Overconfidence is the culprit here: The belief that the defending champs can turn their collective A-games on whenever they must. This leads to too many minutes of lackadaisical play and inexcusable losses (see the Wizards win over the Heat a couple weeks back). Plus, it’s not easy to flip the switch into overdrive once the playoffs commence.
Over the course of the regular season, any given team might play the Heat once every four weeks or so. This means that opponents’ scouting reports are sketchy and their preparation time is extremely limited. But during a playoff series, every weakness of every team can be thoroughly identified and abused. This works both ways, of course, yet the defending champs have the most to lose.
So, then, which possible opponents might eventually be able to take maximum advantage of Miami’s flaws in May and June?
OKC, because of their teamwide speed and quickness.
Memphis, because of the heft and interior muscle of Zack Randolph and Marc Gasol.
San Antonio, because Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker know how to win; and because Gregg Popovich is the NBA’s reigning master of designing fail-safe game plans and making both between-game and in-game adjustments.
Should Atlanta and New York continue to evolve (and stay healthy), Miami might even have trouble getting out of the East.
It should be noted, however, that despite all the entries on the negative side of Miami’s ledger, LeBron James has the skills, the unselfishness, the will-power, and the sheer greatness to unilaterally transform every minus into a plus.
The newest addition to the SheridanHoops columnist staff, Charley Rosen is an American author and former basketball coach. From 1983–1986, he was an assistant to Phil Jackson with the Albany Patroons of the Continental Basketball Association. He also served as head coach of the Patroons, as well as the CBA’s Rockford Lightning, Oklahoma City Cavalry and Savannah Spirits. A native of The Bronx, N.Y., the 71-year-old Rosen is the author of 16 books about basketball. He is known for his in-depth analysis and caustic views.
Good to see CRosen doing what he does best again.
The quality of FoxSports’ basketball coverage fell when he left & the other website he currently contributes to isn’t worth it