Lying in 'Wade'

At the risk of stating what you already know, LeBron James has won a championship. Seemingly overnight, he has wrapped his third MVP season up with a bow and exercised most all of his "clutch gene" demons and gone from sports culture pariah to grounded family man who still has enough of a hairline to make going to the barbershop more than a social formality, at least according to Samsung commercials. Unfortunately, the Heat's title run has done little to improve their public image as the most easily disliked team in the league and with the championship-sized monkey off of LeBron's back and jokes about Chris Bosh's appearance only stretching so for nowadays, popular opinion has set it's sights on 2006 Finals MVP, Dwayne Wade, implying that at last, "Flash" has lost a step. However, further investigation shows that maybe such claims are just kind of a low blow.

Shockingly, banging the drum at the head of this movement, is Wade's former T-Mobile spokespartner, the recently slimmed down mound of rebound, Charles Barkley, who insists that Wade must cultivate a post game a la Kobe Bryant in order age gracefully in the NBA. While it may be true that Wade no longer has the  raw athleticism and explosion to dominate games as he one did, it's hard to determine how much of that can be attributed to his still ailing left knee and the wear and tear of the NBA grind and how much is the result of his secession of the Miami to Heat to LeBron. Last season, Wade made it clear that he was officially the Robin to LeBron's Batman and as a result, the notion that the big three of South Beach were competing for control of the franchise disappeared and Wade, in his reduced role, raised the Larry O'Brien trophy for the second time in his storied career.

Alas, likely the only unselfish occurrence in Miami all of last season, (except the Marlins handing over their whole squad to Toronto, but that's neither here nor there) which earned Wade such laud and respect has been the very same mindset that has called his skills into question this season. The Heat look more mortal than they have since their initial fumbles when Wade, Bosh, and James first aligned, with an inexplicable loss to the lowly Wizards (then without Nene) and perhaps the more telling and recent loss to the Rose-less Bulls. With all of that said, by the numbers, Wade is shooting a career best 51 percent from the field in just over 33 minutes per game. In addition, Wade is shooting a career best 32 percent from three. The most telling number of all, however, is one. The Heat are first in the East as we near the halfway point of the season.

Despite their expected lofty position at the top of the Eastern Conference, the Miami Heat definitely have issues to address before repeating as champs, not the least of which being improved and hungry teams in New York, Atlanta, Memphis, LA (Clippers), and familiar foes in OKC. The league has appeared to again place value in bruising a versatile front lines, an area where the Heat are incredibly deficient. Their own versatility  of placing LeBron in the post in the half court and pushing the ball through teams otherwise seems more negated than ever as other, equally athletic teams threaten to get over the hump. Without production from the 4 and 5, or at the very least the ability to stop other teams' 4s and 5s. The Heat's chances to repeat are very much in doubt.

As for Wade, he'll likely ride his newly regimented minutes like the passenger seat of the Batmobile with LeBron at the wheel and assuming his health holds up, will have plenty of pop come April and, perhaps, June. If the Heat are ill fit to take on an NBA that's improved around them, odds are it won't be Wade's fault. Until that time, Dwayne Wade will be waiting in shadows waiting for his number to be called. I'm no Heat fan by any stretch, but I'd hate to be the guy to bet against him.

Heat Lightning

The NBA Finals are finally upon us and, as many expected during this condensed season, youth has risen to the top. In a battle of elemental fundamentals, the much scrutinized Miami Heat will have their second shot at raising a banner in the East, while the ever-maturing and largely adored Oklahoma City Thunder will represent the West and attempt to realize their potential just 3 short seasons into the OKC era, leaving the city of Seattle to look on with mixed feelings.

Neither team got to the Finals without first weathering the last stand of a couple of the league's elder statesman in Boston and San Antonio, but this is arguably the first time during this post-season where Miami and OKC playing a team built to run the floor with them. This should make for a series that could, at times resemble a track meet more than a basketball game and makes for some interesting matchups on both ends of the floor.

The most intriguing matchup by far will pit everyone's favorite second pick of a draft, Kevin Durant, *shakes head at Portland* against the world's most reviled first pick, LeBron James. I'm curious how often these two will actually be guarding each other. With all respect to Shane Battier, I'm hard pressed to find a player more capable of at least making Durant work for his points than LeBron James. Kevin Durant's game seems to become more well-rounded by the season and this year he's really been rising to the challenge defensively, making the effort to check the league's elite. I doubt very much Scott Brooks will have Durant guard LeBron for any extended period of time, as Harden will likely draw Wade and Sefolosha the daunting task of James, but down the stretch it would surprise me if Durant requests to guard James and, as LeBron struggles to do late it games, rises to the challenge.

Now, for all the flack that LeBron James takes for his inability to make (or even take) clutch shots late in games, let's not forget whom we're talking about here. I dislike the guy as much as the next sports fan with a pulse and a television, but he makes the term "beast mode" almost seem appropriate for use in sports journalism. The luxury of LeBron is his ability to be so dominant in games that the final minutes aren't important. As if it was in doubt, LeBron's performance in Boston proved that he's more than prepared to step up in big game situations, but he's yet to prove that he's up for the big moment.

Dwayne Wade has proven himself capable of brilliance time and time again, James Harden is OKC's most well-rounded (not best) player, and Westbrook is showing naysayers that his shoot-first-have-it out-with-KD-later point guard philosophy can be successful, but I think the most compelling matchup in the finals well be the Bosh/Ibaka matchup. As fun as it can be to mock Chris Bosh's emotional, don't-dive-because-you-might-hurt-me attitude, he's an invaluable cog in the Miami offense as their only post and mid-range scorer who compliments James and Wade perfectly. His ability to step out, board, and straight up make teams pay for over helping makes him Miami's X Factor in my opinion. What's scary is that he seems to be playing with a chip on his shoulder for the first time in his career. Look out, he's not just happy to be there anymore.

Serge Ibaka makes for some of the most highlight worthy defensive plays in the NBA, on top of that he's really perfected a mid-range jumper that, during the Laker series, made Bynum and Pau look like second fiddles to the Perk-Ibaka tandem in the post. Given Miami's lack of interior scoring, look for OKC to go small again as they did in San Antonio. His ability to check Bosh, patrol the paint, and hit open jumpers could pay championship dividends.

For all their differences in personel, these teams are built to win in a pretty similar, fast-paced, fashion. Neither team is especially deep, with a roster centered around three scorers and a bunch of blue collar guys who know their respective roles, and this series could go either way and will be hotly contested. With that said, I give a slight, but distinct edge to the Thunder heading into the series. With the exception of Battier's performance in game 7 of the conference finals, I've yet to see any of Miami's gunners step up and consistently hit the shots afforded them by James and Wade's penetration. I will say that Mario Chalmers' play has been drasticly undervalued and he may be due for a coming out party similar to Jeff Teague's rise to relavance against D. Rose last season, but as I mentioned before, Miami is facing a mirror image of themselves in the athleticism department. As a result, if this series becomes essentially a battle of "Big Threes" OKC's trio compliments each other a little better than the three amigos of South Beach.

On the OKC end, I think the Thunder learned a lot real quick from the Spurs about how to play as a team and share the ball. To take such a shot to the mouth from San Antonio (with emphasis on game 2) and recover so quickly and thoroughly is a testament to that team's character and coaching. I kind of feel like the Thunder said "if you can't beat them, join them" and their more unified offense makes them a scary team that I feel has one or two more dimensions than Miami that may prove to be the difference.

NYHypocriC

This is less of an article and more of a thought that's too big to be confined by a tweet, so know that going in if you're a stickler for article layout, tone, and fluidity; not going to be one of those posts.

Anyone who knows me knows that there's not much about NBA basketball that I don't like to discuss. If anything, I think a borderline flaw of my personality is that I have a really hard time talking about basketball casually. What I mean by that is, if someone notices me wearing a Mavs hat in a pizza place and asks me what I think of the Knicks while he's waiting for his food to be ready, rather than simply say "they're struggling" or even the slightly more in-depth but equally brief answer of "Melo's holding the ball too much and putting the team in a funk," I have a tendency to jump into thirty to sixty second diatribes about how Baron Davis' return won't solve the team's issues. To be fair, sometimes I've had some really cool spontaneous pizza place convos as a result, but more often than not I get polite nods and generic "yeahs" and the occasional "aren't you the guy from those Miller Place theatre productions?"

My point in saying that is to underline the fact that while I have an opinion about most everything NBA, I really don't have many basketball hot buttons. That is to say that while there's not much I won't talk about, I'm not the kind of person who is of the belief that my opinion about the game is unquestionably right. However, I do have a couple of pet peeves that I feel are worth airing out in this micro-forum.

1. Kids eight and older who where LeBron James jerseys and couldn't name more than 10 other players in the entire league. While no childcare expert, I've worked at a summer camp for a good five years and these kids are out there and growing in numbers since the Miami ordeal. For the record, eight and younger I can see just having the jersey for style, or as a gift from the cool aunt or something, but there comes a time when a kid has to be conscious of what they're wearing and take responsibility for it.

A story to illustrate my point. http://polidmb.blogspot.com/2011/07/lots-of-people-talking-few-of-them-know.html

Secondly, it bothers me at this point when people are huge New York Knick fans and yet despise the Miami Heat.

Yes, LeBron James, Wade, and Bosh changed the landscape of this generation's NBA irrevocably. Yes, at the time, to some, the formation of super teams built around 3 (arguable) mega-stars of the hardwood seemed to force the wheels of change for major metropolitan teams and all but slam the final nail in the coffin of any hope of contention for small-market teams. Things appear to have calmed down a bit since then as Miami has not yet won their predestined title and small markets like OKC, Denver, and Portland continue to be sleeper picks for title-worthy teams. However, in the aftermath, resentment still remains as some Knick fans scoff and lament at the idea of the Big Three of South Beach, while enjoying their own Trio of Doom in Chandler, 'Melo and Amare on the Garden floor four nights a week.

Let's bear in mind that the Knicks had just as much of an intention to land LeBron as Miami did and also had their sights set on a future acquisition of Chris Paul, Deron Williams, or other top then-free agents. For that reason alone, whenever I hear a Knick fan moan about the Heat, it sounds more like sour grapes than a critique on the state of the NBA.

Now, I realize as much as the next guy that Miami has its own little swagger and nuances about itself that make them pretty insufferable. Did 'Melo hold a TV special to highlight his destination that took an hour to say what could have been said in two minutes? No. Did the Knicks have a parade after 'Melo's signing during which he and Amare used their fingers and toes to keep track of how many future titles they would earn? No. Did 'Melo and Amare pretend to cough and be sick after losing the previous game to a flu-ridden German in embarrassing fashion? No. The Heat have their quirks that I can see making LeBron and whatever franchise he's with easy to dislike, but to have such a dramatic passion for Knick success and Miami failure is still a bout of extremist thought that I can't quite endorse.

The Brooklyn boy himself, Carmelo Anthony, did not have a TV special to announce his destination, but his own countdown to free agency was a spectacle in and of itself larger than any LeBron decision special. Here's a professional basketball player using the media time and time again to state his desire to leave the team to which he's currently signed. LeBron was foolish, but at least waited until the summer to hit the eject button. That team environment in Denver was clearly toxic to the common fan, so imagine what it was like for those actually involved. Call me crazy, but I'd prefer an hour of farce television over half a season's worth of seeing your star player beg for a passport to greener pastures while his team crumbles around him. If you ask me, neither guy is the epitome of how to properly handle pending free agency.

If you're a Knick fan who is essentially saying "if you can't beat them join them" and basically telling me to blow this piece out my nose because super teams are the new trend, the Knicks are following suit, and you resent the fact that I'm trying to guilt trip you into turning your back on a team that is finally relevant for the first time in 10 years, I respect the heck out of that, believe me. I've been a Maverick fan since MJ hung up his red and black shorts and I learned the name Michael Finley. It's not like my team is hurting for money, stingy, or building a team brick by brick through the draft.

What I am saying is, if you're going to turn a blind eye to the correlation between New York and Miami's rise to power (though the Knicks don't look like it lately), you've got to let your Miami grudges go at this point. It was a long time ago, by professional sports' standards. By all means, hope the Knicks crush the Heat when they square off, but beyond that let New York play its game and Miami theirs and if you want to complain about it, look in the mirror.

Talent vs. Chemistry: David and Goliath Take To The Court

We've all seen the highlights of the ticker tape parade held in Miami when LeBron James and Chris Bosh decided to bring their talents to South Beach and join Dwayne Wade on the Miami Heat. The Heatles went on to spark the "Floridian Invasion" and tell the world that they were going to win not one, not two, not three--you get the idea--championships. Eager to believe anyone with confetti falling on top of them, America almost bought it.

Lo and behold, the Heat have taken their lumps, struggling mightily against the league's upper echelon. Although, to be fair, they still don't have a Ringo. Inspired by the Heatles and the money burning a hole in his pocket, Donnie Walsh and the rest of the Knick organization sought after and got another marquee player to ball alongside Amare Stoudemire, in Carmelo Anthony. For the sake of this questionable classic rock analogy, let's say that the Electric Light Knickerbockers were formed. And, yea, from the deep valleys of Times Square to the high rise apartments of the Upper West Side, there was much rejoicing.

Ah, but alas, despite motivational music videos, passionate 'Melo chants, and Ronny Turiaf's awe inspiring beard, the Knicks have a lowly record of 7-10 since the trade, and have fallen below .500 for the first time since about Christmas. The NBA's new collective bargaining agreement seeks to initiate a sort of franchise tag that will keep superteams like this from forming; however, the play from these supergroups appears to be anything but harmonious.

I happen to be in favor of this aspect of the new CBA, but not necessarily because I'm against big-market superteams. the Celtics and Lakers account for 31 of the 64 NBA titles won, so let's not pretend that the league has always had its talent equally distributed. With dedicated players, the Oklahoma City Thunder are poised for a long stay as one of the Western Conference's elite franchises. i admit the humble, loyal players like Kevin Durant have become more of the exception than the rule; however, the Nuggets are a tremendous 11-4 since losing the almighty 'Melo, and are proving to be The Little Engine that Could for small market teams all over the league. And, of course, how can we overlook the most consistent team of the past ten years, currently with the best record in the NBA? The Spurs have been the epitome of class and success for what seems like forever, but there is a problem.

The Spurs, despite being statistically the best team in the NBA, are losing money. The Hornets, another team in the thick of the playoff hunt, are owned by the NBA itself because potential owners are hesitant to maintain the team in small-market Louisiana. These small-markets are competing with the larger markets of the NBA, but they're bankrupting themselves to do it. The NBA must step in to keep these teams afloat financially, and the on-court game will take care of itself.

An NBA with 30 elite teams may sound ideal, but it's impractical. I'll settle for a league with eight title contenders and 12 more teams that are fun to watch. In this era of homemade All Star teams, it may seem like the very structure of the league is collapsing, but I believe the league will continue growing with teams cyclically falling in and out of contention. So what if the Lakers are never in last place? When has that ever happened anyway? The Heat and Knicks are proving that talent doesn't win titles. Hardworking, unselfish teams like the Nuggets, Blazers,Thunder, Spurs and Rockets are placing the premium on great coaching and attitude, not just great players. These teams are showing that the heart of the small market team in the NBA is arguably stronger than ever. It simply falls on the NBA to ensure that those hearts keep beating.

I leave you with a quote from the Heatles' hit single, "Come Together":

One and one and one is three,

Got to be good lookin' 'cause they'll never win rings.

Come together, right now, in Miami.