This weekend Dave Hodge of The Reporters on TSN said of the Miami Heat that NBA fans will either hate them or love them, but in his mind, he just wants to see them play.
Well, following the Miami Heat's first loss against the Boston Celtics on Tuesday Night, I can honestly say that I don't even care to watch them play. The Heat were down by as many as 19 points and that invited chants from the raucous Boston crowd of "over-rated, over-rated", but despite their near come back win, the Heat had absolutely no business being in this game at all. And that is precisely the problem that I have with the Big Three of this team.
It appears as though they have a sense of entitlement, as if the Las Vegas odds of them winning the NBA title this year has already gotten to their heads well before the season has begun. Between LeBron James' ridiculous ESPN full hour feature to announce his free agent signing and how Chris Bosh handled his departure from Toronto, this Heat team just screams "we don't need to try that hard to win a game".
Sure if you look at the stats, James, Wade and Bosh combined for 52 of the 80 points scored by the Heat, but at half time, the Big Three combined for 21 points and 9 turnovers. Those stats are just unacceptable for three guys who make up 77% of your payroll. The final game stats don't do justice to the lack-lustre performance these guys demonstrated in the first half. You would think that playing Boston, a team who has made it to the NBA finals twice in the last 3 years, that the Heat would be fired up and ready to make a serious statement. Maybe an 0-1 start to the season will be a better motivator?
The best part of watching the opening game of the NBA season was Rajon Rondo's response to the question " is Miami the team to beat in the East". Without hesitation number 9 said, "I think we are". You got it, Rajon. Go Celtics.
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