Fire Hospital Sports Presents - The Miami Heat: Late-Game Choke Artists, Criers?

As their team name suggests, the Miami Heat are on fire, just not in the NBA Jam sense of the word. They are now 5-11 in games decided by five points or less, and that’s a legitimate concern for the ‘Big Three’ and their bandwagon fans as the NBA Playoffs near. But why has a supposed ‘dynasty in the making’ with three all-stars and a supporting cast of alleged sharpshooters failed time and time again when the game was in the balance? We here at Fire Hospital have decided to take a look at why the Heat are so dysfunctional in late-game situations.

First and foremost, it’s almost as if they expected to never find themselves in these kinds of situations. For all intents and purposes, the season didn’t even need to be played. The rings were ordered and the parade route was planned. But surprise surprise, it hasn’t quite unfolded as many had expected. The Heat were stuck around .500 for the beginning portion of the season, but since then have started to put some wins together. The problem is that they can’t seem to beat the elite teams in the association, or even teams with winning records. This is especially true when the game has come down to the final shot. A droopy-eyed armless child would have just as much chance as making a game-winning shot attempted by any member of the Miami Heat right now.

Charlie Sheen jokes aside, James, Wade, Eddie House, and Mike Miller have all missed on opportunities to tie or win games at the final horn. The whole team, coach Spoelstra included, appears to tense up in final shot scenarios, and the guy who ends up with the ball has generally choked #burned and missed. 

Miller vs. Celtics

Wade and James vs. Bulls 

If the the Heat want to win a title, they could definitely learn from the Bulls of 1996 and 1997 in these pressure situations. The two examples in question are the John Paxson and Steve Kerr NBA Finals shots in ‘96 and ‘97, respectively. The Paxson play was specifically designed to anticipate a double team on Jordan as well as collapsing down low for a potential rebound. This left Paxson wide open on the outside for the three, and he nailed it:

Kerr’s game winner wasn’t by chance either. In an earlier game in those same Finals, John Stockton had left Kerr to help out on Michael and stole the ball, sealing a Jazz victory. MJ was aware of the potential for a similar attempt by Stockton, so in a timeout just seconds before the play took place he told Kerr to be ready to shoot. Stockton went for the steal, Kerr was ready, and he made no mistake:  

  (you can see how Stockton can’t get back in time)

While both of these shots went to the role player, it should be something the Heat are prepared for. Double teams and switching will be inevitable on James and Wade late in any playoff game, so there is a possibility for both House and Miller to be open. Instead of thinking “I’ll never get the last shot because it will always go to Lebron or Dwayne,” those guys need to want the ball. They need to be ready to shoot instead of launching a prayer if the ball surprisingly goes to them. If that mindset is engrained in the whole team, they’re going to be tough to beat.

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As for the ‘Crygate’ incident, that’s just funny. We’re talking about grown-ass men who are making ridiculous amounts of money crying in the MIDDLE of the season! Maybe after the last game of your career or winning/losing an NBA Finals or an Olympics, but not after the 63^rd game of the season. Whoever it was had to be #burning, plain and simple. However, while it is pretty pathetic and quite frankly a little sad, it’s somewhat understandable from an athlete’s point of view. Sometimes the emotion of the game gets the best of you. What is absolutely absurd is that Spoelstra felt the need to tell the media. He’s the one who really #burned in this case. Imagine how awkward that’s going to be for the player who cried for the rest of the season. A conversation between Amare Stoudemire and Carmelo Anthony implied it was Bosh, which won’t help his public perception. He is going to get getting chirped incessantly by opposing players and mainly fans for the rest of the year, especially in the playoffs. This is almost at the Pedro Martinez “Who’s Your Daddy?” level and we all know how bad that was (even in 2010): 

Only time will tell how the Heat are able to cope with these two very different problems, and honestly, I think anyone who didn’t hop on the Heat bandwagon will be fine with them failing miserably again and again. They’re going to have to earn a title; nobody’s going to hand it to them.

Cheers