Word is the Miami Hate, I mean Heat, are in tears as we speak...seems like having a "Decision" show to make yourself a world wide fool, and then have an introduction ceremony with more pyro and moving stage parts then a U2 concerts DESPITE the fact that you had ZERO wins at that point might have been a bad idea...Putting a bullseye on your back when you have zero W's looks like it has backlash attached to it...For LeBron James to predict 7 (you read that right...7) NBA Titles at that very Introduction Ceremony might have been a tad buffoon-ish as well...Not to mention for those of us in Canada who watched Chris Bosh announce on espn that he was signing with the Heat because he is a "winner" (YIKES...could he find anyone in Canada who agreed with that assessment?!?!) and lost our lunch watching Bosh act like an attention starved small child during his FA process also may have been ill-conceived...
The result is this team put themselves under an unprecedented microscope...they surpassed the Lakers as the #1 hated team in the Association (hence the name Miami Hate)...For those of you who have read my blog for a while you know that I never thought Miami was the right place for these 3 by any means...With big men like Amar'e now, Dwight Howard shortly, plus David lee/Carlos Boozer/Joakim Noah all possible teammates why oh why would Bron Bron and D-wade chose Bosh to be their 3rd (distant 3rd) in the Big 3?!?! With the new CBA sure to significantly improve the owners take, and likely to have no Exceptions (Trade...Mid-Level...Veteran...B-Annual...etc) why go to a team that has a punchline for a roster?!?! No Exceptions means once your team has spent to the Cap (which Heat have) then adding talent is only available through draft and trade...A big thing for me was that D-Wade and Bron Bron were both just eliminated in 2010 by the Rajon Rondo coming out show...other PG's in the East are Jameer Nelson (has been All Star before) and Derrick Rose (2011 has been D-Rose's coming out party)...all names listed here are significantly better than what Miami offers...after seeing the crucial importance of a top PG in the East why oh why did these guys go to the Heat where Mario Chalmers is the only PG on the team?!?! Chalmers as your answer to Rose/Nelson/Rondo is under the "Hey good luck with that" category...
This entry is to look at one of the under-the-radar FA signings in the summer-o-fun in the NBA this past summer...Derek Fisher...D-Fish had a choice to make between signing with the Heat to PG James/Wade/Bosh...or...re-up with the Lakers and PG Kobe and the gang...he chose the Lakers...I think Fish would have been the perfect PG to run this Heat team...in his years with the Lakers he has been in a zillion hostile environments...a zillion packed houses of fans who go to one game every year - the Lakers game...A) to see a great team in person...but really B) to cheer rabidly against the hated Lakers...LBJ, Wade and Bosh went from being loved to being hated overnight and they were never going to be able to deal with it in a way that they can get through it and remain a Title contender...Fisher would have surely helped...There are so many scenarios/situations that would have been new to this Heat team...none of them would have new to 14+ year vet Fisher...
The truth about the recent Heat slump is that all 30 NBA teams experience this "down" during the "up and down" of a NBA season...a 5-time Champ like Fisher would have been able to A) accurately prepare the guys for what the season was going to bring (especially the road games)...B) helped the team understand the proper path to a Title (for example when the Lakers struggled about a month ago there was frustration yes, but zero panic as they know the goal is to progress to the point where you are playing your best b-ball in June)...C) in the past 2 seasons Fisher has been great with big plays in Championship series W's vs Orlando and vs Boston - both of whom (plus Chicago) will be on the Heat's dance card in the playoffs...D) (not as important but still worth mentioning) D-Fish would have automatically lessened (a tad) the hate for the Heat...Fisher's story of his daughter and her medical issues are well documented and you can't help but cheer for a guy like Derek Fisher...
Miami is 1-8 vs the Magic/Celtics/Bulls...5-14 in games decided by 5 points or less (worst team in the NBA for that)...in the final 10 seconds of a game in this season the Heat have taken 18 shots to tie or win the game...they have made 1 (LBJ vs Memphis...the Grizz went on to win that game in OT!!!)...I am a firm believer that Derek Fisher would have been instrumental in improving all of these areas
When Fisher ultimately decided to stay with the Lakers he said he couldn't leave "my guy" (Kobe)...truth is even Fisher could see that the on-court abilities of James are UNREAL, but so are Kobe's, and Kobe is a better teammate and better leader - really a better winner than Bron Bron
July 14/2010...Lakers re-up with Fisher...I wonder what the Big 3 in Miami thought at that time...could they have seen this rough road coming...we sure did...Derek Fisher sure did...fast forward to one day ago where the players are in tears...Good Luck in the playoffs Miami...you will need it
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