Apparently, There is Crying in Basketball

As many of you are no doubt aware, yesterday’s latest Miami Heat catastrophe ended with several of the self-proclaimed “Heatles” in tears in the locker room following another one point loss. While I’m not sure how this latest development affects the future employment of those who work for the outrageous ESPN “Heat Index” site, it does beg the question of who were the offending parties. Here are the odds for some of the most likely suspects:
• Chris “1 for 18” Bosh: 2/1. Bosh admitted he had tears in his eyes after the game. It seems pretty likely that one of those managed to sneak out and roll down his cheek. This may also be due in part to the fact that even though he screams, flexes, and generally tries to look tough when he dunks, at the end of the day he is just window dressing on a Rajon Rondo poster.

• Eric Dampier: 5/1. What did his contract push in Dallas get him? Zero shot attempts in 22 minutes and losing minutes to Zydrunas Ilgauskas, who hasn’t made a shot since 2006. If you give Dampier 18 shots in the last ten seconds of a close game, he can probably make more than one. This would be, of course, more than…
• LeBron James: 15/2. Shooting a robust 14.3% in the last ten seconds of close games is not going to make you a global icon. This is an unfortunate development for a man I have vowed to start supporting. I have no problem with him wanting to be the leader and referring to the Heat as “my team,” but it’s time to step up.
• Mike Bibby: 350/1. Leaving $6 million on the table is tough; however, you have to be legally alive to cry.
Stan Van Gundy really eviscerated the Heat in an Orlando Sentinel article today, saying that “if you don’t want the scrutiny, you don’t hold a championship celebration before you’ve even practiced together.” Never mind that his team is pretty soft too, but StanVan has a point (rest of the article here). It seems pretty apparent that the hype around this team in the offseason dictated how they were going to carry themselves over the course of the season.

They forgot the little fact that basketball is a team game, not a three-man game. It was easy to forget about the ample flaws in not only the piecemeal assemblage of the supporting cast, but also in the games of LeBron, Bosh, and Wade. LeBron has an average midrange game, Bosh is horrendous on the post, and Wade can’t shoot from deep. Sure, they’re killing teams when they get out in transition, but their halfcourt offense has been a disaster. Without a steady point guard to feed them the ball, these guys can’t play the drag-out, slow-paced game that characterizes playoff basketball. As constituted, this team is going nowhere.
I can’t remember ever hearing of a championship team breaking down in tears during the season. Did Michael Jordan or Kobe Bryant ever cry after losing a regular season game in March? The only time you’d ever catch those guys crying is when they’re cradling the Larry O’Brien trophy.

This is not a good start for the seven championships Mr. James promised us a few short months ago. They’re allowed to be frustrated- who wouldn’t be with all that talent and so little to show for it- but come on, tears? It’s one thing to say you’re tough, to call yourself “Team John Dillinger,” etc., but at some point you have to back it up. Quite simply, they are not.
A team that gets down on themselves and acts defensive with the media is not a team that is winning a championship any time soon. I despise using the word “swagger,” as its definition is nebulous at best, but a winning team has swagger. They carry themselves with a confidence that borderlines on arrogance (Celtics and Lakers), the knowledge that they have won before (the Spurs), and an energy that allows them to elevate their game when needed (Oklahoma City). The false bravado Miami employed all season has been squashed, they haven’t won a big game as a group, and their energy appears sappped.
I wrote a month or so ago that as a Celtics fan, I was worried about Miami’s win streak. Now, I’d be surprised if they even made it to a playoff matchup with the Celtics.